Dude Who Got the Job

I found out who got the job I interviewed for at the end of the summer, and I totally understand why I didn't get the job: I was too research-y.

Dude Who Got the Job (DWGJ) had been an adjunct at a small, combined/regional branch of a state school and had many years of teaching experience (though probably not too many more than myself). He'd been adjuncting since 2001, and though his listed specialty was more of a fit with the job ad, he'd never published anything, nor were there any conference papers to his name since earning the PhD.

When asked in the interview about my research, I had three projects to discuss with them, two of which were publication opportunities (one article and the dissertation/book manuscript). For a teaching school, I can see how I would look like a candidate that cared a great deal about my research, whereas DWGJ had the past nine years to teach all sorts of introductory literature and writing courses (including tech writing, which I've never taught) and had demonstrated the ability to carry a 4/4 (at least) teaching load.

Lesson learned: try to recognize when a school may be asking about research in order to determine what kind of teacher you are/will be.