What makes a community college job interview different than one at a four-year college or a university? Do you need a PhD to get hired? What are they looking for? Professor Rob Jenkins joins us to explain the hidden curriculum of navigating the community college job market, including:

How long a typical interview lasts.

What it really means when they ask you to do a job talk.

How much of your expertise they want to hear about.

Why your commitment to teaching well matters the most.

Important things not to say or do.


Our guest is: Professor Rob Jenkins, an associate professor of English at Georgia State University Perimeter College. He has spent more than 35 years in higher education, mostly at the two-year college level, where he has served as a faculty member, a department chair, an academic dean, and a program director. He writes the “Two-Year Track” columns in The Chronicle of Higher Education, and is the author of six books, including Welcome to My Classroom, and Think Better Write Better. For the past 15 years, he has led workshops on preparing for two-year college careers at research universities across the country. For more information, visit www.robjenkins.com.
Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a historian.
Listeners to this episode may also be interested in:

The Employability Journal, by Barbara Bassot

Candid Advice for New Faculty Members, by Marybeth Gasman


Building a Career in America’s Community Colleges, by Rob Jenkins


Putting the Humanities PhD to Work, by Katina Rogers

Academic Life episode on leaving academia

Academic Life episode on moving far from home for an academic job

Academic Life episode on the long road to the dream job in academia

Academic life episode with the American Association of University Professors

Academic Life episode on the role of community colleges in higher education


Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week to learn from today’s experts inside and outside the academy, and embrace the broad definition of what it truly means to live an academic life.
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