I have about thirty minutes before leaving for the airport, so I figured I'd put pen to paper, so to speak. I am off to West Virginia, via Cincinnati, for a job interview.
The higher ed job search process is a little ridiculous. At one large SEC school last year, I interviewed with a total of 24 people - TWENTY-FOUR!!! - throughout the course of the day. Not just bosses or co-workers - people from other departments, RA's, the whole nine yards. Taken together over the course of eight or nine hours and it adds up to a stressful day.
I have developed a strategy, though, to deal with this. I call it the "it's just a job" attitude. If things go well with the school and they offer me the position - great. If I'm not the right fit or they aren't the right fit for me - I can handle that as well. It's just a job; it doesn't define me as a person. No need to stress out about it.
This strategy has not been 100 percent, but it helps me from becoming overanxious about the day. This is the seventeenth school I've visited over the past five years, so you would think I would be used to the questions and kind of have an idea of what to expect. I don't, really, but it's okay. I'm honestly more concerned about the travel arrangements (will I make my connection in the Cincinnati airport?) than about any interview questions.
In any event, I've never been to West Virginia before, so at the very worst, I'll be in a new state tonight.
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