I have just spent a bunch of time updating my LinkedIn page as well as my GitHub portfolio site. I really need to kick my job search into gear so I can have some success this year.

And I need to get some beer. I love beer.

But seriously, I need to be much more focused and professional with my job search this year. I can’t afford to stay on this adjunctia roller coaster - it sucks the big one. There are a few things I need to focus on in order to do better this time around.

  • Send out a book proposal: I have dragged my feet for years on this. Really, I should have sent out a proposal more than four years ago. Just bang out a proposal and get on with it. And even then, I don’t need to wait on a publisher’s interest to begin editing the diss manuscript - I have at least one good book on revising a diss into a bool MS.
  • Present at one or two conferences: I know I can’t afford to travel to conferences, but I need to find some way to do it. Bring plenty of business cards and copies of my CV. Learn how to network, even given that it is a painful thing for me to do.
  • Send job applications before deadlines: I have a terrible habit of waiting until the deadline before sending an application. This has created some sloppy applications, in my opinion. A bad habit indeed.
  • Get some advice and guidance: Contact Jim Smethurst about being on the job market. In fact, make a list of all the faculty I can think of who have a positive view of my work and contact them all. Network, motherfucker.

I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. In fact, one of the best things I can do for myself is to find a therapist. If even anyone was in need of therapy, I am certainly on the list. I have been hanging out in my little hovel of an apartment for far too long. Depression is a nasty thing, and I have it bad. Depression is the number one reason why I am still unemployed/underemployed. I need to have a more positive view of myself and my abilities.

I need to take stock of what I do well and what I need to improve upon…but mostly I need to stick to the positive side of the street. I have a tendency to focus on the things I don’t do well, letting my strengths atrophy and my weaknesses overwhelm. I am in a bad cycle of wallowing in what is wrong with my life, avoiding any proactive fixes and solutions. Let me try to forget where I think I should be, focusing instead on where I am and where I want to be. I know how to do a job search, but I have been tripping over my own feet for too long.