Blogging About the Academic Job Market
8 September 2009 at 12:53 pm Peter G. Klein 1 comment
| Peter Klein |
Political science profs don’t like it. The passage on job-market-rumor sites caught my eye in this Inside Higher Ed piece on the poli sci market (via Randy).
One change in the hiring process that is clearly frustrating to many graduate directors and search chairs is the popularity of Web sites devoted to the latest news and rumors about the status of searches. . . . Some in the audience said that they should try to discourage graduate students from frequenting the sites, given that postings are not only of questionable accuracy but are sometimes “hateful,” as one political scientist said. . . .
PoliSciGuy, one of the anonymous editors of Political Science Job Rumors, reached via e-mail, defended the site. He noted that his e-mail is on the site so he can respond to complaints about postings, and said that there is some moderation to remove certain posts. But he said that there is a strong demand for the information — even unverified information — from job seekers. “If we tighten things down too much, then a new board will spring up without moderation. So, we try to strike a balance between allowing enough free flow of information that this board remains the focal point for all political science rumors, and still being responsible about what we allow to remain posted.”
He also said that grad students know how to place the site’s information in perspective. “I’m not sure if graduate students actually rely on this message board, per se,” he said. “I think that they likely take it as one data point along with information they gain from other graduate students, advisers, and the rumor mill that has always existed at every conference bar.”
Exactly. There has always been a job-market rumor mill, in academia as in every other profession. Until now, this information has been restricted to faculty and students at elite schools, in particular specialized networks, who happen to know the guy who knows the guy. . . . Rumor-mill websites simply democratize this information. Yet another example of the great keepers of the democratic flame opposing something that looks like actual democracy.
Update: Maybe the hiring schools should just tweet their openings (HT: Cliff).
Organizations and Markets 
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Cliff Grammich | 8 September 2009 at 10:36 pm
Aside from the interesting passage that Peter quotes above, I’m not sure I saw anything in that article that couldn’t have been written about the poli sci job market 10 to 15 years ago. I can’t believe it’s gotten *worse* since the time I was plying those waters.
A colleague who sent me the WSJ link and I have been kicking around what is the larger meaning, if any, of tweeted job announcements. Maybe nothing more than expanding the word-of-mouth network?