The Job Search and Hiring
On this page you will find a range of career resources for PhDs in the humanities who are seeking jobs in and outside the academy, as well as guidelines and tools for faculty members and hiring departments. Although resources have been organized by audience, we recommend browsing all of them. It is useful for job seekers to understand what they can expect from hiring departments and for hiring departments to know what guidelines job seekers have been given.
The Job Search: Information and Recommendations
For Job Seekers
In this section, you will find information relevant to both the academic job search and careers outside the academy. We strongly recommend that all job seekers browse the resources below to familiarize themselves with a broad range of career options.
- MLA Job List
- The MLA Job List Blog: Job Search and Career Advice
- Guidelines for Search Committees and Job Seekers on Entry-Level Faculty Recruitment and Hiring as well as Postdoctoral Applications (revised 2023)
In addition to the guidelines, we also recommend these specific statements and recommendations from the MLA:
- MLA Recommendation on a Minimum Salary for Full-Time Entry-Level Faculty Members (revised 2026)
- MLA Recommendations on Minimum Per-Course Compensation for Part-Time Faculty Members (revised 2026)
- Checklist for Job Seekers (revised 2023)
- MLA Guidelines on Letters of Recommendation (revised 2023)
- Recommended Guidelines for Interviews for Academic Positions (revised 2020)
- Advice to Graduate Students: From Application to Career (revised 2020)
- Statements on Reimbursement, Tenure Policies, and Acknowledgment of Applications (2002–26)
Job seekers may also wish to consult
- Administrations Censured by the American Association of University Professors. Access to this list is provided in accordance with the action of the MLA Delegate Assembly.
Resources from the MLA’s Connected Academics
Through 2019, the MLA undertook a major project, Connected Academics: Preparing Doctoral Students of Language and Literature for a Variety of Careers, generously funded by the Mellon Foundation. The project supported initiatives aimed at demonstrating how doctoral education can develop students’ capacities to bring the expertise they acquire in advanced humanistic study to a wide range of fulfilling, secure, and well-compensated professional situations. The resources created through that initiative are gathered on our Connected Academics resource page and key documents are below.
- Doctoral Student Career Planning: A Guide for PhD Programs and Faculty Members in English and Other Modern Languages
- PhD Career Exploration Activity Packet
- Preparing for Life outside the Academy: A Primer and Resource Guide
- Résumé Writing for Humanities PhDs
- Transferable Skills for PhDs in the Humanities
- Connected Academics Proseminar Syllabus
For Faculty Advisers
The MLA encourages faculty advisers to become familiar with the most recent data on academic hiring and to share this information with their graduate students. In addition, we recommend the following faculty resources on doctoral education and on assisting students with career planning.
- MLA Guidelines on Letters of Recommendation (revised 2023)
- Report of the MLA Task Force on Ethical Conduct in Graduate Education (2020)
- Doctoral Student Career Planning: A Guide for Faculty Members and Departments of English and Other Modern Languages (2017)
- Report of the Task Force on Doctoral Study in Modern Language and Literature (2014)
For Hiring Departments
The MLA encourages all faculty members serving on hiring committees to review the following documents, which contain best practice recommendations for hiring entry-level faculty members in MLA fields.
- Guidelines for Search Committees and Job Seekers on Entry-Level Faculty Recruitment and Hiring as well as Postdoctoral Applications (revised 2023)
In addition to these guidelines, we also recommend these specific statements and recommendations from the MLA on interviews, hiring, and compensation:
- MLA Recommendation on a Minimum Wage for Full-Time Entry-Level Faculty Members (revised 2026)
- MLA Recommendations on Minimum Per-Course Compensation for Part-Time Faculty Members (revised 2026)
- Disability and Hiring: Guidelines for Departmental Search Committees (revised 2025)
- MLA Guidelines on Letters of Recommendation (revised 2023)
- Recommended Guidelines for Interviews for Academic Positions (revised 2020)
- Statements on Reimbursement, Tenure Policies, and Acknowledgment of Applications (2002–26)
Academic Job Market Data
- Reports on the MLA Job List
- ADE Bulletin Cluster: Current Trends in in English PhDs: Data and Responses (2024)
- ALD Bulletin Cluster: Data on Doctoral Education: Pathways and Outcomes (2024)
- Humanities Indicators Project from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, especially: