MLA Career Center and Professional Development
MLA Career Center
The MLA Career Center, located in the Washington State Convention Center (Conference Center, Tahoma 4–5, third floor) will be open on 9 January from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on 10 and 11 January from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The center will not be open on Sunday, 12 January
Career Center Lounge. A space for job seekers to sit and relax is located in the MLA Career Center during the hours that the center is open.
Interviews. The MLA Career Center provides tables for departments and programs that are not interviewing in hotel suites. Interviewing teams will be assigned a table upon arrival. Job candidates are reminded that almost no unscheduled academic interviews take place at the convention. Candidates and interviewers need to arrange interviews with each other before the convention. If your interview is scheduled for the interview area, ask an MLA Career Center staff member for the table number when you arrive at the center. If the interview is scheduled for a hotel suite, candidates need to contact the interviewer for the location.
Job Counseling Service. Job counseling will be available in the interview area on 10 and 11 January. Sign up for one-on-one sessions to discuss job-search and career options on a wide spectrum of careers inside and outside the professoriat.
MLA Professional Development Workshops, Sessions, and Events
Scores of sessions are focused on professional development. Some highlights are listed below; to view a more expansive list, visit the Professional Development Sessions at the 2020 MLA Convention page.
Career Diversity Showcase. Get to know a panel of humanities PhDs who work in a variety of careers, and hear about their paths from advanced study in the humanities to fulfilling work in roles across the private and public sectors. 10 January, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Washington State Convention Center (Conference Center, Tahoma 2, third floor).
MLA Career Fair. The career fair offers job seekers with advanced training in the humanities a chance to meet recruiters from mission-driven organizations and companies. 10 January, 12:00 noon–3:00 p.m., Washington State Convention Center (Conference Center, Tahoma 3, third floor).
Mentoring Sessions for Job Seekers in Languages. At the Career Pathways roundtable on 9 January, 11:45 a.m.–1:15 p.m., representatives of various types of institutions and from fields outside the academy discuss work and career trajectories. The roundtable is followed by a workshop (1:45–3:00 p.m.) that offers small-group mentoring on the job search—inside and outside the academy—focusing on applying to and working in different types of academic institutions and in different kinds of positions, as well as focusing on nonacademic humanities career paths. Both sessions take place in the Washington State Convention Center (Conference Center, Tahoma 1, third floor).
Career-Related Workshops. As part of our ongoing commitment to professional development for all convention attendees, the MLA Career Center is sponsoring sixteen workshops at this year's convention. Covering topics such as securing funding in the humanities, crafting an academic curriculum vitae or a nonacademic résumé, editing your own work, networking and using LinkedIn, and building an online scholarly presence, these sessions offer guidance and resources to humanities professionals at every stage of their careers.
Cash Bar and Networking. Would you like to connect with other attendees who share your interests? Join us for the cash bar and networking event arranged by MLA Career Services. 11 January, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Sheraton Grand Seattle (Boren, fourth floor).
Consultancy Sessions. Experienced consultants from the Association of Departments of English (ADE) and the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (ADFL) will be available in the MLA Career Center for one-on-one sessions to discuss questions connected with managing departments or programs. Washington State Convention Center, (Conference Center, Tahoma 4–5, third floor) on Friday and Saturday. Contact ADE (dsteward@mla.org) and ADFL (dlooney@mla.org) to make specific arrangements.
Language and Literature Program Innovation Room. Visit the Language and Literature Program Innovation Room to discover successful and promising new programs, courses, and initiatives in areas such as strengthening the major, diversifying the curriculum, public humanities, interdisciplinary humanities careers, harmonizing literary and writing studies, and heritage language learning. 10 January, 8:30–11:30 a.m., Washington State Convention Center (2A, level 2).
Speed Mentoring. This session connects graduate student members with accomplished academics from a variety of disciplines and institutions. Longtime MLA members share what they've learned from mentoring graduate students, assisting with departmental hiring, and serving on tenure-review committees. Preregistration is required. Write to Brian DeGrazia (bdegrazia@mla.org) with questions. 11 January, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Washington State Convention Center (Conference Center, Tahoma 2, third floor).
NEH Information
On 10 January, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., in the Washington State Convention Center (Conference Center, Yakima 1, first floor), staff members from the National Endowment for the Humanities highlight recent awards and outline current funding opportunities.