#2: Participate in conferences

After completing my MA, I nearly went straight into a Phd program. I decided, instead, that I needed to make sure I could function happily in an academic environment "on my own"-- which, for me, meant writing and adjunct teaching-- before committing myself to a life of institutionalized research. Upon reaching this decision, however, I felt I needed some kind of structure to aid me in this task of individual research. I hit upon the idea of using conference due dates to structure my academic writing time; it worked beautifully. But I gained far more than a writing schedule from my involvement in conferences-- I gained inspiration, networking opportunities, even a makeshift, geographically scattered academic community.

And of course, giving papers at conferences looks brilliant on your c.v. It also functions as a way to squeeze some telling content into your c.v.-- so even if you have never taught or volunteered, speak no foreign languages, and have minimal degrees from no-name schools, an application board can look at a list of your conference papers and get a rich sense of your interests and capabilities.

Here's a sample CFP link, one I've used many a time: http://cfp.english.upenn.edu