Those of you on the faculty job market know that it’s stressful. The stakes are high and the odds are long, but one of the worst parts is the lack of feedback. You send in your application and then… nothing. Maybe a friend on the inside gives you an update. Maybe you find the list of interviewees posted on the departmental seminar page. Most likely… nothing.
Well, the internet was practically invented to promote the free flow of information (thanks, Al!), and this is no exception. Physicists were one of the first groups to share job info online, with the Theoretical Particle Physics Rumor Mill dating back to the mid-90s.
Ecology finally got on board in 2007-8, with a job news wiki. This evolved into a shared google spreadsheet in 2009-10 and 2010-11 to increase the ease of use. Unfortunately the spreadsheet was prone to unintentional (?) reformatting and suspected vandialism, so it moved to a discussion forum that required registration last year. That prevented vandalism but perhaps discouraged participation. In any case, the new site’s owner didn’t renew the lease on the forum and the lights went out.
I thought the ecology job site was out of business this year, but recently found out that it’s back in its google spreadsheet form HERE. It doesn’t seem as well-updated as in past years, and the discussions tab used to be surprisingly active for anonymous conversations facilitated by a spreadsheet. So get on there and share what you know. Just don’t make any reckless edits or spread any false info!
Note that in contrast to the physics rumor mill, the ecology one doesn’t name names. Probably for the better, but an interesting cultural difference nonetheless.
Dynamic Ecology 