I was introduced to Wiki not too long after this class started. Only about a week in, really. Before that, I had thought it was some offshoot of a Wikipedia page, I guess. I was working on a student who was job searching and he shared that one of his sources was a Wiki page. Obviously, this confused me. I am always open to learning new resources for job search sites, but a Wiki page? He explained that on the page people start a thread for when new academic jobs are posted at an institution, then they update each other on where they are in the hiring process. For example, whoever gets a call for a first interview will share when they got the call and when they are scheduled for that interview. Second interview candidates are supposed to give that information, and so on. The purpose being that other people who have applied aren't feeling like they are in limbo uncertain if that university has begun the hiring process or not.
While in theory, this sounds like a good idea. I'm sure many of us have applied for jobs and had to go through the waiting process. Not sure if that organization has made calls about interviews or even hired someone, until at some point you realize it's not you. Sometimes, weeks or months, or maybe never, you get that email or status update on your application saying you weren't chosen. It's frustrating and you just wish you knew. While there's something to be said for just knowing, part of what my student shared were the negative side effects of constantly knowing. He shared that he woke up every morning and one of the first things he did was check this page to see the status of the places he had applied (I'm assuming others as well). It had begun to lead to depression and anxiety. Like many articles, news stories, and personal anecdotes this student shared similar feelings described in this article by Forbes about 6 Ways Social Media Affects our Mental Health .
We talked about changing this habit, and other ways to cope with the stress of the job search and disappointment of rejection, more useful job search sites, and mentors and advisors that could be of help, but I couldn't help but think that this Wiki page seemed to be creating more stress than doing good! If you're interested in checking it out, you can do so here (you need to scroll down to the Application Year section to see the job updates portion). Does anyone else have any experience with Wikis?
Here's another short article from Psychology Today about Social Media and Happiness in case you're curious! Psychology Today
While in theory, this sounds like a good idea. I'm sure many of us have applied for jobs and had to go through the waiting process. Not sure if that organization has made calls about interviews or even hired someone, until at some point you realize it's not you. Sometimes, weeks or months, or maybe never, you get that email or status update on your application saying you weren't chosen. It's frustrating and you just wish you knew. While there's something to be said for just knowing, part of what my student shared were the negative side effects of constantly knowing. He shared that he woke up every morning and one of the first things he did was check this page to see the status of the places he had applied (I'm assuming others as well). It had begun to lead to depression and anxiety. Like many articles, news stories, and personal anecdotes this student shared similar feelings described in this article by Forbes about 6 Ways Social Media Affects our Mental Health .
We talked about changing this habit, and other ways to cope with the stress of the job search and disappointment of rejection, more useful job search sites, and mentors and advisors that could be of help, but I couldn't help but think that this Wiki page seemed to be creating more stress than doing good! If you're interested in checking it out, you can do so here (you need to scroll down to the Application Year section to see the job updates portion). Does anyone else have any experience with Wikis?
Here's another short article from Psychology Today about Social Media and Happiness in case you're curious! Psychology Today
Leah, thanks for sharing about the use of a Wiki page for job searching - that is a new one for me too. (Whenever I hear the word “wiki” I think of the Sam Witwicky character played by Shia LaBeouf from the Transformers movies!) While maybe a little unconventional, it does make sense that it could be used to facilitate this sort of collective journey through the difficult hiring process. It can be daunting, and going through it with others, even if only vicariously, can take some of the stress out of it. One of the interesting things about what you describe is that it seems almost counter-intuitive. The hiring process is one big competition that effectively pits applicants against one another. But despite this, the participants on the Wiki page are sharing their experience and knowledge for the benefit of others.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad that you brought up about the negative emotional side effects of constantly knowing. The old adage “ignorance is bliss” seems to take on newfound meaning in the digital age of constant connectivity. I addressed a similar downside on my blog about the dark side of Web 2.0. I think that while these technology tools available today can certainly provide a lot of benefit, we have to be careful that we don’t fall victim to them in the process and allow them to be in control. This week’s challenge to disconnect for a day is a good reminder of this and a worthwhile practice to get in the habit of doing frequently.