Thursday, October 4, 2007

I See You Shiver With Anticipation

I'm living a sort of anachronism these days. Not so long ago, even just when I was a young punk in my department, people going on the market used to go insane waiting waiting for the JFP to come out in the second week of October. Even as a first and second year, you knew what day it was going to show up in people's mailboxes, because they were there early in the day, waiting for the mail to come in. Then people would spend the rest of the day with their faces four inches away from the newsprint, trying to see what jobs they'd be applying for.

Of course, some of that still goes on. Everyone's waiting for a big pile of updates to the APA's on-line job listings sometime next week. But already being able to see some job ads sort of takes the edge off the anxiety. People going on the job market are already thinking about particular jobs they're going to be applying for, and thinking about how to tweak their application packages for a few specific departments.

People, that is, except me. Why? Because I'm awesome, that's why. So awesome that until two days ago 'd totally blanked on renewing my APA membership. So now, my old password for the APA's website doesn't work and I can't see the jobs. Like I said: awesome.

So until I get my new password--which for some reason has to be sent by snail mail--I'm living like people did back in the day. Waiting.

Update: Um, it looks like I'm facing a serious threat of disrupted domestic harmony unless I add that, in fact, it wasn't me who took care of renewing my APA membership, but the Future Dr. Mrs. Dr. PGS. God knows, if I had to do it myself, it still wouldn't be done.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, that's rough. (Not serious though, I imagine, but it doesn't take much these days to heighten one's anxiety.) A couple of years ago before I was ready to be on the market, the APA office was able to email me my password when I also didn't renew. Strange...

But perhaps someone you know can hook you up with a pdf when it comes out.

Himself said...

The Summer web ads aren't all that inspiring. There's still a huge gush in October like some horrible academic aneurysm.

Anonymous said...

You're forgetting to add the biggest indignity of the whole JFP thing: In order to get the JFP, you must be an APA member. Which means that you must PAY MONEY to the APA for the privilege of seeing the job ads. Bitches.

Anonymous said...

When I registered for the APA this year, the website's "forgot password" link started working for me well before I got my password in the (snail)mail. If you're getting antsy, you might try that.

Himself said...

I don't know who's forgetting this 'indignity' – indeed, I thought that was what the post was about. Given that you have to join the APA to go to interviews, it doesn't seem too unreasonable for them to make you join to read the job ads etc. (although agree that actually they shouldn't do either – let the bloody departments pay). In any case, as languagepolice alludes to, in my experience there are pdfs floating around – if you know someone who's in the APA, you can get them to email you the JFP – it's unlikely to be in their interests not to.