Comments on: Advice for job interviews at AAA

By: Rex

Rex — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:48:17 +0000

Never be ironic.

By: Dr. Sanders

Dr. Sanders — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:20:09 +0000

Alex, one important thing you didn’t mention/use is irony. Should you be ironic in interviews or not?

By: orange.

orange. — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:08:57 +0000

Excuse me Sirs, I will immediately stop spamming your blog.
My piece of advice actually is, Kerim,
don’t hide behind badges.

By: orange.

orange. — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:49:40 +0000

[replace ‘behaviour’ by ‘strategy’]

By: orange.

orange. — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:46:44 +0000

“AAA seems to be an interesting and very exotic culture to study”

Absolutely. *g
Am currently figuring out what on earth a “tuxedo” might be, my imagination having gone wild this way..

But talking seriously, demonstrating devotion can also be right the wrong thing, as it possibly evokes aggressions, too.
Ca depends very much on who interviews you and on, well, who is interviewed. Moreover a behaviour that has proved to work well in one situation, can be a mistake in another.

By: lorenz

lorenz — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:32:02 +0000

Here it is. As alternatives to answering “islamic and counter-secular american grass-roots fundamentalism” or "Science and technology studies" to every question, you might use this quick guide on how to talk postmodern.

By: lorenz

lorenz — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 10:40:03 +0000

Exciting! When reading these lines, I wasn't sure if the post was irony. Use "one" instead of "I"? AAA seems to be an interesting and very exotic culture to study (from my non-american point of view). Advice 3 reminds me of an recent article about the "Cultues of Views" and the Evil Eye. Anthropologist Thomas Hauschild told that these ways of controlling who is allowed to look at who is especially popular in religious societies as a means of control and to establish hierarchy. You're not allowed to look at some christian nuns without using a seperating wall, f.ex. Or think of the veil.

By: orange.

orange. — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 08:33:36 +0000

And what about the girls, hm?

By: ckelty

ckelty — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 03:47:47 +0000

Rex is, as usual, dead on one half of the time, and can’t count the other two thirds of the time. Numbers 1 and 2 are perfectly good advice, though just any Tux will not do anymore– I find people to be more discerning than ever, finding ways to check if your tux is Zegna or Paul Smith or Comme des Garcons, or god forbid an unhireable Men’s Wearhouse sackcloth. Numbers 3,3 and 4, however are bad advice. In my case, it was not in fact the unerring gaze of the senior professors that kept me focused on my lighter, but the desperate need to remain as high as possible during the process. As for “science and technology studies” this would have been perfect 18 months ago, but Moore’s law clearly states that the hipness of any given subfield of socio-cultural anthropoology turns into its opposite, so I would recommend saying “islamic and counter-secular american grass-roots fundamentalism” in response to every question. Finally, hotel rooms demand lap dances, not sitting–but that is also a risk, one that vey much depends on departments…

By: Nancy

Nancy — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 01:53:54 +0000

Funny. At the one CASCA (Canadian Anthropology Society) conference I went to a couple of years ago, attire ranged from sports coat and slacks to jeans and plaid shirts.

By: Kerim

Kerim — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 00:02:41 +0000

I actually think we are moving more and more twoards wearing tuxs. There seem to be many more people wearing power-suits to deliver talks than I remember from 10 years ago.

By: Rex

Rex — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 22:33:50 +0000

Yes, I know. It is distressing to see so few job applicants today wearing tuxedos. I remember when I was a young lad and first began attending AAAs, the halls of the hotel were full of people in formal wear. The decline is standards is so distressing!

By: Kerim

Kerim — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 19:21:47 +0000

Cute. Advice on things like this may seem silly, but as we have learned from Bourdieu, we shouldn’t expect everyone to be equally habituated into the social norms expected from such situations. Simple advice stating the obvious can also be helpful as a cruch in a stressful situation.