How to Get A Job (as a professor)

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Today I went to a job presentation. It was given by a graduate student in the Spanish Department. It was held in a small room and attended by some 10-12 faculty members and may be a couple of friends of the presenter. At the assigned time, she came in, she plugged in her computer and she started going through the material on her slides. The content was part of the work she is doing as part of her dissertation. She spoke fast and, at times it wasn't too clear to me because she made reference to aspects of her work that many people in the audience seemed to understand (e.g. types of courses taught at the university, classifications of groups of students, etc.). The audience was attentive and more than half made copious notes while the presenter spoke. It wasn't about the content, though. They seemed to be focusing on something else, perhaps it was more about the how than the what.
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At the end of the presentation, one of the senior faculty members started making comments. After a brief moment of praise, she launched into a thorough list of questions and suggestions the student could follow to improve her presentation. The presenter had seemed calm, but her delivery had been very fast (i.e. she had completed it in 31 minutes when she had 45 minutes to do it). This was an indication that she may have been nervous, a fact the presenter confirmed saying her legs were shaking and her hand sweating. Almost everyone in the room commented on the things that could be improved. The presenter asked if she could record the comments (nobody minded), so she did, but also took note of the things she was being told. She seemed appreciative and grateful. After some 20 minutes, the meeting wound down and people started leaving, wishing the presenter good luck. It was over, but it wasn't really, it was just the beginning. This had not been a real job presentation, but rather a rehearsal, a preparation presentation. The presenter now has to follow on the path of real job application, she has to travel to the universities that have called her for interview, give the real presentation with suggestions incorporated, and hope for the best.
It was striking to experience to what extent this was a joint endeavour. The student will obviously have to battle it out on her own, but everyone present did their best to prepare her, to coach her. It is this kind of activity that I think gives students (and faculty) a real sense of belonging. Hats off to them!

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