Here are the roads I took to start searching:
1. The internet. It's awesome. higheredjobs.com is awesome.
2. Places my favorite people have worked. Mentors. Friends. Professionals who put on great programs at conferences. Places that host great scholars.
3. Schools that, for whatever reason, I thought were awesome. There is nothing deeper there.
4. Places I knew my partner would be cool with.
HIGHER ED JOBS (www.higheredjobs.com).
It really is a fantastic website. But like all employment sites, it's only as good as what's posted. There's nothing but great things in terms of how the site functions, your search parameters, etc. My only beef is with the inconsistencies of job descriptions and often times crap-tastic construction of position postings. The website itself does a great job of trying to force employers into making sense but not every school seems to take that advice.
The good news here is this: if you're reading a job description and think "this makes no sense to me" then you know it's probably not the right job. HOW a job description reads and is constructed tells you A LOT about a school and what matters to you. For me, I care about how it reads. I care about how it sounds. I care about how it's constructed. Organization matters. This tells me what I can expect from my future team.
MY FAVORITE PEOPLE AND PLACES.
This is my favorite, hands down. After a few years in and two live-in positions I knew who I respected, who I liked and who I wanted to develop towards. It seemed simple asking those people how they came to be and from where. This is ultimately how I landed my position. When you know the experience someone else has had, who they are, and what they care about, half of your research is done. I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of walking into an institution blind. Especially for the mid-level. At this point the opinion of those close to me mattered more than my gut feeling or a list.
SCHOOLS I THOUGHT WERE AWESOME.
I realize this sounds silly. But really, if you have a cool mascot, a bunch of awesome traditions and a student base that causes others to care that aren't even associated...you must be doing something right. This all sounds selfish but the visceral reaction you get from the name of a school or the sound of a fight song matters. It's that connection that keeps you going when things get crazy. How you FEEL...matters. Deeply.
PLACES MY PARTNER WAS COOL WITH.
Having to search with a partner was awesome. That sounds counter-intuitive, I know. But in all honesty it made our partnership stronger. Because we were searching together we knew that certain discussions about what matters both personally and professionally needed to be had. This allowed us to have them. We both agreed we would search in the same areas. Areas that were connected to things we care about like family, friends, culture and regional dynamics. The agreement was simple. Whoever got the job that gave the best opportunity would take it and the other would follow. It's not a massive sacrifice because the only real sacrifice would be not being together.
How it worked out was really, really cool. That doesn't mean I didn't take a few shots at applying for jobs that may have not been my thing. Often times just the process of writing the cover letters and managing my resume was the practice I needed to prepare for the postings that truly mattered to me.
The other interesting item about that is HOW you applied for a job and WHAT THE process looks like tells you quite a bit about things that truly matter. How an institution treats candidates, gives information and communicates will often times tell you if it's the right fit. When you hear questions that resonate with you or feel like the process is something you would run...you've probably found a good fit.
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