Talk:Mathematics Jobs Wiki 2008-2009

Why list acceptances

If you accepted a position this year, or if you won a postdoctoral award such as an NSF postdoc, then it would be a service to the community to add your name here.

Traditionally short lists and offers are often viewed as confidential in the academic job market. In my view, much of this tradition is not true confidentiality and it would help the mathematical community to share information. But it is a non-trivial question and sometimes there are reasons to keep these things confidential. However, I have not seen any good reason for universities to hide to who they actually hire. Indeed, my advice to my own department would be that it is good for us to publicize acceptances sooner rather than later. Although I have not seen confidentiality of an acceptance help our department, I have seen it hurt.

People generally work very hard to succeed in the math job market. They deserve to know who did succeed and why. They may use this information to improve their job prospects the next time, or at the very least to better understand their fate. At the same time, universities are public or quasi-public institutions, and their final decisions should be visible to the public as a matter of accountability.

Wiki Nonmoderator 11:03, 7 March 2009 (PST)

Listing your name increases your web page hits

I have been monitoring my web page hits and have noticed that after changing my status on the Jobs Wiki that the number of page hits increases by three or fourfold as compared to the average number of hits. I view this as a good thing since I want as many people as possible to know my name and research interests. To be sure, many of the people who look at the wiki are other job applicants, but many of these will be my future peers. Senior mathematicians too look at the wiki, and the more page hits for my vita or research statement by them the better. This is just my two cents.

128.138.64.60 12:42, 2 March 2009 (MST)

you're just another rat running the ratrace in which the big prize is a small piece of rotten cheese. Why don't you instead worry about getting fame from your talent? Indeed, because talent you have none.