2009 Employment Center Applicant Information

Applicants: Please read before registering

Making the decision to participate

How does the Employment Center work?
The traditional system of computer scheduling is no longer offered at the Employment Center. Appointments are now set by employers by invitation, either in advance or on site in Washington. Employing institutions may look to the Winter List for new potential applicants, but the reality of today's job market is that by January, many deadlines have passed and many employers will use the Employment Center to meet existing candidates of interest. Applicants who have made job applications the previous fall and are on various short lists will find themselves with numerous interviews during the Employment Center. Applicants just beginning a job search will find themselves at a serious disadvantage Read more in the Overview.

Should I participate?
For those who are currently on the job market, the Employment Center is a central meeting place for employers and applicants who are attending the Joint Mathematics Meetings. Interviews are arranged either in advance or on site by invitation of the employer. The Employment Center is a great resource not only for interviewing purposes, but also for finding out what jobs are available in the mathematical community, meeting other applicants, and making a personal connection with employers not possible on paper. However, there is no guarantee of interviews, and in fact some qualified applicants may find themselves with no interviews at all.

What kind of employers are there?
Many of the employers are academic mathematical sciences departments. There are a few nonacademic employers each year. There will ordinarily be no research-oriented postdoctoral positions listed or discussed at the Employment Center. Attention generally goes to versatile candidates who are well suited for teaching positions at bachelor's-granting colleges. Many appointments will go to applicants who applied for jobs in the fall and are now being sought out by the institutions for in person meetings during the Joint Mathematics Meetings. Through the Winter Lists and on site lists, those employers who are still open to the possibility of recruiting new applicants will be arranging some interviews on site.

This year's list of participating employers will be printed in the Winter List of Employers, and mailed to registered applicants in December. The web site (www.ams.org/emp-reg) maintains a list of employers who used the service in prior years. A list of LAST YEAR's employers is available; this year's list will not be made public to applicants until December.

What are my chances of getting interviews?
Applicants should understand that the Employment Center provides no guarantees of interviews or jobs. It is simply a convenient meeting place for candidates and employers who are attending the Joint Meetings. Last year, those who responded to a follow-up survey reported an average or three to six interviews in the Employment Center.

Data from recent Employment Centers show that women represent about half of the most sought-after applicants, although they make up less than half of the total Employment Center applicant pool. Those without permanent authorization to work in the United States will find themselves far less requested than U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Newer Ph.D.s tend to be invited for more interviews than those who have been working longer. Most jobs listed require a doctorate. Approximately 32 percent of applicants responding to a recent survey report having between zero and two interviews in the Employment Center. The rest reported higher numbers. Most of the applicants reported that at least some of the appointments had been arranged in advance of the meetings.

Will I get a job?

Keep in mind that interviews arranged by the Employment Center represent only an initial contact with the employers and that hiring decisions are not made during or immediately following such interviews. A good outcome, in the following weeks or months, would be an invitation for a campus visit. In a recent survey, 65 percent of applicants responding reported being invited for at least one on-campus visit to an employer they had interviewed with during the Employment Center; 46 percent reported receiving at least one job offer in the months following the Employment Center. Of all responding applicants, 16 percent reported (in May) having no new job offers from any source.

REGISTER before October 22, 2008

Applicants will be registered when they have completed the following steps:

1. Register and pay for the Joint Mathematics Meetings. At this time, you can only register on site.
2. Mark the "Employment Center Applicant fee" box on the Joint Meetings registration form and pay the appropriate fee.
3. Submit an Applicant (brief resume) form electronically. At this time, you can only submit this form on site.

Advance registration fees for applicants using the Employment Center are US$25 plus the Joint Meetings registration fee, vs. US$40 on-site registration fee plus the Joint Meetings registration fee.

Applicants registered by October 22 will receive their Employment Center materials two to three weeks in advance unless they request otherwise. The package will include all job announcements received from employers registered in advance.

After the October 22 deadline
Registration for the Employment Center will continue after the October 22 deadline until the final registration deadline of December 15; however, the applicant form will NOT be included in the Winter List but will be posted on site at the Employment Center (a serious disadvantage). Those who do not register by December 15 must register on site at the Joint Meetings Registration Desk and pay the higher fees.

Registering on Site
Registering on site is possible, at the US$40 rate, on Monday. Feel free to enter the Employment Center area first to consult staff about the decision to register on site, and to check on which employers are participating. Most employers will not notice an applicant form which arrives on Monday. Registration on site is advisable only for those who already have interview invitations and would like a message center folder for employers to leave messages in.

Applicants who need to register on site for the Employment Center must go to the Joint Meetings registration desk and pay for the Employment Center. They should receive a receipt which needs to be brought to the Employment Center to complete the registration process.

Getting ready

What do I do in advance to prepare for the Employment Center?
The most important preparation is to register for the Employment Center before the advanced deadline date, October 22, 2008. If you complete your registration by then, your name and brief resume form will be placed in the Winter List of Applicants. This booklet is then distributed to all registered employers approximately one month prior to the start of the meeting. Therefore, employers will know that you will be attending the meeting and will be able to read your qualifications ahead of time. You may also want to consider doing some networking before the meeting and letting employers know that you will be attending the meeting.

What do I bring?

• Many copies of a brief resume. The best format is back and front of one sheet. These may be given to employers at an interview, left with a note in the messge center box of an employer, or left in your own message folder for public use. Photocopying at a convention center is expensive.
• A few copies of your standard application documents: generic cover letter, teaching/research statements, full vita, etc.
• Bring a list of job applications already made.
• Pack suitable clothing for job interviews; these could occur over a period of 3 - 4 days.

All applicants:

• make sure you have the Winter List of Employers and check the bulletin board for additional listings or revisions.
• look for your Employment Center message center folder, to make sure it is there, and to see if any messages have been left by employers.
• if you like, you can leave a brief resume and note in the message center box of any registered employer. Some employers pay attention to those materials and respond if interested; other employers face certain restrictions in their recruitment efforts and will be unable to respond.
• also locate the reference area containing college guides, maps, and a few job descriptions left by employers.
• Check your message center folder regularly. Also, if possible, check your personal email in the email center at the Joint Meetings since email is being used more and more. All message center folders and contents will be discarded at noon on Thursday, January 8.
• How can I arrange an interview with an employer? Employers determine their own schedules and make their own appointments privately, either in advance or on site using the Employment Message Center. If you have been selected for an interview, then you will find a message in your folder, or perhaps receive an email before the meeting.
• Can I walk up to employer tables to ask for an interview? No, you can leave a note for an employer or application materials in their folder. If they are interested in contacting you, then they will leave a response in your folder.
• What is the Joint Meetings Message Board? Please do not use the Message Board to communicate with employers who are participating in the Employment Center. The Message Board is a separate service that is offered at the Joint Meetings and is completely unrelated to the Employment Message Center. The Employment Message Center is a service that is available to all applicants and employers who are participating in the Employment Center and is always located in the Employment Center area. If you need to communicate with an employer who is participating in the Employment Center, then please use the Employment Message Center service.

What should I do after the Employment Center?

• formally apply for jobs you may be interested in
• thank interviewers if desired

Return to Employment Center page

Questions about AMS employment services should be directed to emp-info@ams.org