A couple of weeks ago, I was telling a close friend about the recent emails I received from recruiting companies asking me to apply for administrative positions at very prestigious institutions. She asked me how I felt about those recruitment emails and whether I’d consider them. I did not need time to answer that question. I told her I wasn’t interested. I told her about my goal and plan for the coming few years. She said, “I’m glad you’re clear on your goals.”
Her response made me reflect on how I’ve reached this clarity. My reflections took me back to spring of 2012 and my first ever encounter with Kris Blair.
I was attending my first Computers and Writing conference as a second-year doctoral student. I was sitting at the infamous Graduate Research Network (GRN) job market table discussions trying to get a sense of the academic job market. As an Egyptian who was still trying to understand the academic culture in the US, I always found myself lacking knowledge and experience about anything job market related. I sat at that GRN table with one purpose: listen and learn.
Kris Blair was the discussion facilitator at that table. When I mustered some courage to ask her about what search committees expect to see on resumes, she said, “we expect to see a trajectory and a thread that connects the applicant’s work.” She went on to explain that while search committees understand that graduate students may publish some seminar papers or present on some cool thing they did in grad school, it is important to see a thread among all those pieces of work that demonstrates focused research areas and growing expertise in particular areas of interest. We don’t want to see publications or conference presentations on random topics that are or are not related to each other or to the dissertation topic, Kris said.
Oppss! I felt seen!
That right there was my first lesson in clear academic goals. I had published a couple of articles and a proceedings chapter before I joined my Ph.D. program, and I was in the process of sending out conference proposals on so many things that I did in my doctoral courses. My CV was a good illustration of what Kris described as “random.”
Opps! That wasn’t good!
I did not know that I was doing myself a disservice by going all out and presenting at all the conferences on all the things. On the contrary, I thought I was being active and showing the cool things I’ve done in my graduate courses, assuming that would help me build a good image and ethos. Well, Kris Blair shattered those naïve thoughts and false assumptions in less than a few minutes.
Opps! Now what?
I won’t claim that I’d fully embraced that precious mentoring advice from Kris until I’ve finished grad school. Only then did I start the serious contemplation of my academic career that may or may not have existed at that point. It took me about two years and more focused mentoring from another senior scholar to help me find my footing in academia: research areas, interests, academic goals … A Trajectory! A Thread!
But Kris Blair’s influence on my career did not stop at that 2012 GRN job market mentoring discussion.
In early 2021, shortly after I had been tenured and promoted to Associate Professor, I found myself in an academic and professional limbo. I was not sure where to go from there, what my goals were, what I really wanted to do moving forward, how to use my passion for research and administration to determine my next steps in academia. I knew I was beyond making random decisions or taking random steps. Kris taught me better nine years prior.
After lots of journaling, thinking, reflection, taking inventory of my interests and passions, I knew it was time to have another conversation with Kris Blair. And yes, despite all her responsibilities and busy schedule, she was willing to talk to me and help me sort through those entangled “threads” in my head.
For more than one hour, she asked me all the questions I needed to think about and answer if I wanted to have a clear goal. She actively listened to me talk, sometimes ramble, about my goals and what I thought I wanted to do next. She gave me clear ideas on what to do, how to turn those abstract goals into actionable steps that would lead me to where I wanted to land eventually. She shared her own experience and career path, something I’ll always cherish and value. She shared resources and helped me chart possible paths to achieve those goals.
She listened.
She validated my goals and dreams.
She offered guidance and resources.
She gave sincere advice and support.
But above all, she told me that I could do it and that she would always be available if I needed any further guidance or needed to talk more.
The following few weeks were a good time to think more clearly about our conversation and what my next steps would be. I had a clear goal and a relatively clear path for the next season in my academic journey. I was able to visualize my “trajectory” and make calculated decisions to move forward to make that trajectory a reality.
Earlier this summer, I was feeling flustered, scattered, stuck, and frustrated at what I described in my journal as career halt! For the first time in years, I felt that I was not making progress in most key areas of my academic career. I needed to get back to the drawing board and re-assess everything I was doing… or not doing.
I went on a personal retreat to have the time to think clearly away from the constant buzz and distractions of my daily life.
I recalled every single mentoring advice Kris generously gave me in the past.
I thought about the new “threads” in my academic career.
I contemplated all the pieces of work currently on my plate.
I reflected on the steps I’ve taken recently and pondered my next steps.
I drafted clear specific goals for the coming five years.
I mapped out the resources I have available that would get me closer to achieving those goals.
I took note of the mental, emotional, and cognitive obstacles I could encounter, and planned some intervention strategies.
On my way back home, that’s what I wrote in my journal:
I'm finishing up this retreat with
a renewed sense of purpose
A renewed sense of direction
A newly adjusted professional, academic, and personal compass
A renewed groundedness
A renewed commitment to what really matters
A renewed attention and devotion to real priorities
A renewed enthusiasm and love for my career
Do you see the “thread” in this journal entry? Kris Blair’s advice was central to my thinking, reflection, and planning. It’s the mentoring that I keep going back to every time I want to renew my clarity. It’s the mentoring advice that keeps on giving because it was always mentoring with a purpose.