Love me love me

When I got my first long-term contract in 2003 three years seemed like forever. Then I was offered another job which I really wanted while I was still doing a job I really wanted, so I started working half-time on each. I've been lucky there (also possibly naive as doing two part-time jobs can be wearing on the brain). But my fellowship runs out in September, and one of my jobs sometime between September and the end of the year, and although the other one could last for a couple more years it seems like it's time I should be thinking about applications again. So I am currently applying for jobs in London, Toronto, Kent, and Exeter.

I'd forgotten that rather miserable thing where you have to switch into CV-speak to sell yourself. Active verbs and bullet points; a breezily self-confident tone; lots of spin. The result has very little relation to what I'm actually like, but I suppose it shows how well I can play the game. Also I've been purposely avoiding the RAE rat race for the last few years and instead publishing things I find interesting; it's depressing to look at something I enjoyed doing and thought would be interesting or helpful for other researchers, and just think "well it's a bit short isn't it". One of the applications will involve a section on media work too. I haven't done much of that for a while.

I don't know if it helps or not to have a strong sense of the absurd. I'm going to put on one of these CVs, under Skills, that I am conversant with Web 2.0 technologies. Web 2.0 is a term made up by journalists, but on the other hand I have embedded a YouTube video on my blog (see below) and I do del.icio.us. I have a tagcloud on my tiddlywiki! The people who read this application (I know and respect them) will hopefully not think less of me for this but rather see it as a sign of flexibility on my part. I know that particular department is under pressure to go all Web 2.0 -- very Blairite. The temptation is to get carried away and start talking about collabularies and folksonomies.