Posted by Tamar on December 30, 2005, at 17:32:26
In reply to Re: consent procedures » Tamar, posted by alexandra_k on December 28, 2005, at 21:45:23
> Tamar...
>
> I appreciate the thought.
>
> Consider this.
>
> 260 applications for 15 places.
>
> That isn't unusual.I am familiar with the situation. I am an academic. I’m doing it from the other side now.
> Any applicant in the top 100 could do really very well.
>
> A typo is enough to rule you out.Not if I’m reviewing the resumes. If I like the look of someone’s resume I won’t hold a typo against them. I want the most promising students rather than the most careful students. I’m not unusual in that. I whine with my colleagues about the standards of spelling and punctuation, but we still want the most promising students.
> And thats grad school.
>
> When it comes to employment...
>
> Over half the people who come out with PhD's never work in the field.So make sure your PhD is one of the best. Publish a couple of papers while you’re writing it. Try to present at a conference or two. And the most important thing: make sure your supervisor is someone who is genuinely willing to give you adequate attention. Oh, and find respected people to write you references. I’m sure you know all this.
> There you could be looking at 200 or more applicants for one place.
>
> And thats to work at the university of where?It depends on the field, of course, and how specific the job is. But many of the applications are from people whose work isn’t in precisely the right area of the field, but who hope to get an interview. If a job comes up that fits exactly your area of specialism, your chances of getting an interview are usually pretty good.
> A history of mental instability...
>
> I'm not a f*cking genius.You don’t need to be a genius. You need to work hard and have a little luck. Most of all, you need a good supervisor. Your mental health history shouldn’t make a difference, though it could impact on your confidence.
> I can do it.
>
> Me and thousands besides.See the precise thing that you do? You can do that better than the thousands of others who are doing something slightly different.
> People find out...
>
> Game over.
>Many institutions now claim to have positive attitudes towards people with disabilities. That includes mental health problems.
I know that some people can be prejudiced. And that’s not fair. But many people are not prejudiced; I’m pleasantly surprised at how many people really do understand. I know you’re very worried at the moment, and certainly it’s not an irrational fear. But I have been in the interview team in several academic appointments and no one had either the time or the inclination to do any kind of background checks on the candidates. That’s what references are for.
If you applied for a job in my department tomorrow I would have no idea of your mental health history and I would only find out if I made an effort to (and maybe not even then). I want the best person for the job: the most talented person, the person with the most appropriate publications, the person with the most impressive plans for their future teaching and research, the person with the best idea of how they could collaborate with others in the department in both teaching and research. Do I want the healthiest person, if their ideas are not as good? No. I want the person who is going to make the best *academic* contribution to my department; someone I can be proud to call a colleague.
I can easily imagine people being proud to have you as their colleague. I wouldn't say that if I didn't believe it to be true. You have what it takes. All you need now is a little luck (and a PhD).
Tamar
poster:Tamar
thread:584230
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20051205/msgs/593519.html