…or, I don’t know, the digital humanities adjacent…?

I’m interested in having a fairly broad discussion about the connection between the university and a graduate’s entry level job hunt in the context of technology; what advice can I offer, what should we be teaching, and what tools and resources can I suggest?

I am particularly interested in exploring digital tools used in applying to jobs, presenting resumes or resume-type information, and online portfolios. I would also love to hear from those that have been hiring managers or have been on hiring committees to know what they look for in entry level applicants and how they would like written and digital materials to appear. I suppose I would also like to have a discussion about when and where job hunting skills and etiquette should come into play; for example, learning to save work samples or write down accomplishments are not things that all students know to do. Some students graduate and have no idea how to write a cover letter or resume; should that be woven into classroom assignments or left to career services and the internet? As far as actually creating something, I’ve thought about pitching workshops to career services or creating a digital repository for information that career services does not provide but those are not terribly concrete ideas at this point.

Those are just a few thoughts that I have had. I’m very open to hearing advice, opinions, concerns, and questions from across the board; let me know what you think as a student, a teacher, an administrator, an employer, etc. I also look forward to hearing from people of all technology skill levels as well.

I am coming at this from the perspective of an entry level job seeker myself and also a graduate student in the Higher Education Administration program at GMU. No matter what part of higher education I end up working in, I want to be able to give my students good advice and suggest relevant digital tools for their job searches. I’m not the most tech-savvy person in the world, but I am happy to share the bits of knowledge that I have.

Although there are some examples out there of people’s DH job application letters and tenure & promotion materials, there’s no central repository of professional materials to help guide people through what should be a straightforward process of presenting one’s credentials. Those of us who have served on hiring committees have all read great and terrible job letters, but most letter writers have only seen their own.

There’s even less out there showcasing the other side of the equation, particularly in the promotion  process. The ability to study not only the candidates’ tenure materials but also the letters prepared by department committees, chairs, college committees, deans, etc. would appear be of intense interest (and real utility) to people in all kinds of professional positions.

After being hired, promoted, whatever we like to put all this messiness behind us and conceal it under the professional veneer of superior credentials inexorably prevailing, but it’s a complicated process of negotiation that could use some cleansing daylight.

I think it’s safe to assume that anyone who doesn’t participate in this session has crafted his/her professional reputation from a tissue of lies.