Followers of this blog might enjoy reading this brief narrative of campus and AHA annual meeting job interviews.  The comments following the article are worth a glance as well.  However one might respond to the article and the diverse commentary, I would like to suggest that the author’s experience points to the utility of attending an AHA annual meeting before one is on the job market (academic or otherwise).  We have instituted registration policies and negotiated hotel rates that make attendance more financially feasible for students, especially since transportation costs for the foreseeable future will be defined by fares to a “hub city.”

I would also enter the conversation by weighing in on the pros and cons of presenting a paper at an AHA conference where one is interviewing.  I think it’s a great idea, anxieties aside.  One is offering search committees an opportunity to see, first-hand, one’s ability to present, answer questions, etc.

The AHA hopes that at some point in the not-too-distant future we will have an appropriate space on our web site for these kinds of postings and conversations.

Image courtesy of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.