Sitrep 8: March 23, 2025: “Your success isn’t up to you.” – Chris Smith, “Enduring Skills and the Future of Work”

Inside Higher Ed’s 2023 collection of articles titled Job Search Success in Today’s Dynamic Higher Education tries to casually walk in the direct center of the fence, portraying the difficult realities of the job search market today in higher ed, while also reassuring the reader that they have some agency in the process. Their ads promise that “While your competition sips their morning coffee, you’ll have already applied and be on your way to a productive and rewarding day – and possibly a new job too” (3), while at the same time Katie Smith offers three pages of do’s and don’ts for writing a single introductory email to a perspective employer: “In conclusion, writing effective emails during the job search requires time and effort” (6). If one masters the process of writing an email that includes developing templates, researching the names, titles, and pronouns of anyone that is part of the search committee or administrating it in order to personalize references to any interactions or knowledge one has with the committee members, then they can move on to “embracing your humanity and honing your interpersonal skills through practice” (9) to set themselves up with a strong collaborative skill set in the odd chance they might receive a job interview. These kinds of competing promises that contrast quick success and Sisyphean labor contribute to overwhelm or paralysis for career searchers, as the pamphlet makes clear: “People and organizations are feeling stuck when it comes to making decisions right now. With the future seeming especially unknowable, making the wrong choice can feel both terrifying and inevitable” (15).

Oddly, I’m relatively frequently put in the position of being a part of this sticky process for others’ searches. This week I’ve committed to writing a reference letter for a student who is applying for a summer film and television internship. The student has told me that it is “competitive” and even though the application requires three letters of reference, the organizers “strongly recommend” that students submit five letters of reference. Five. For a summer internship. Sigh. No wonder students are so stressed out. They keep being given lists and lists of things they “have” to do in order to be competitive to get what they want. It’s obvious that there are best practices in job hunting like everything else, but I’m not convinced there is a silver bullet. The path to tenure for me started when a colleague in a different country called me and said, “There is a position opening up here and they came to me. I gave them your name.” I appreciate Linda Louie’s acknowledgement that getting where one wants to be takes “creativity and rigor” (16), and that she also couples that with the caveat that “there is no definite right or wrong course of action” (17). Career hunting is an individual endeavor, yet it is often approached in very canonical ways, with books, articles, and counselors attempting to curate the mix of “right” actions and insider insight. And for all this, career counselors are often working outside of relationship with their customers, forced to give firehose presentations that consist of quick advice in short meetings or workshops. This is not necessarily their own fault.

Daniel Moglen suggests that mentorship, or even a mentorship committee, might be a viable solution (23). I agree that having a group of individuals who actually know you or can take the time to at least participate in a portion of your life/academic journey are probably those best-suited to fulfill the “psychosocial support” needs of a career search (23). Since our personal identities are bound up in and shaped by the kinds of work we do, it is essential to “identify someone who is caring and compassionate,” “has a shared identity or background, exhibits cultural humility, inspires you, or is in the type of position you hope to get” (24). It is unlikely that a single person will be equipped with all of these qualifications, therefore seeking out a small cadre of mentors willing to engage in sharing specific kinds of experience might be the most useful help a job hunter can obtain. In my career, I continue to mentor graduates years later who reach out to ask for this or that advice on the next stage of the journey. I’m glad career counselors, assessment tools, articles, and guidebooks exist. When effectively utilized, they can augment (or be – depending on the career counselor) the relationship/s students need to walk through the oft disheartening and pressure-filled career search that contain so many elements that are out of one’s ultimate control. Sometimes however, the thing that is most needed by those in the job-search is simply to receive the encouragement of being seen, an affirmation of their value. That usually comes from people who are trusted and who know them well. Reaffirmed, and armed with the knowledge of who they are, they can then set out again to tackle their introductory emails.