I went to a recent seminar about the preparation and practice of finding an academic job. The following summarizes the answers given by the panelists, each of whom was giving his or her opinion. The short version is that your letters of recommendation are key. They are the summary of your skills and qualifications by your (future) peers. The panelists are all research-oriented faculty, which may skew some of the opinions provided. One quality resource on teaching jobs can be found here.
Most important things in a candidate:
- Publications (some in the right places)
- Letters (don't really lie)
- Fulfilling the needs of the department
- Put "top" school in middle of interview schedule, chance to work out mistakes but not be burned out
- Energized / excited about place
- In 1:1 with faculty, only discuss own research for half of time (~15min)
- Be formal (jacket, etc)
- Prep work with faculty letter writers (explain research, plans, etc)
- Ability to connect across areas (your own area will get you the interview, the other areas will get you the offer)
- Talent, passion, impact in research
- Have a set of questions for 1:1 time of "do you have any questions?"
Things to avoid:
- Wrong / bad job talk (did you target the right audience, and yet convey knowledge in subfield)
- Attitude (arrogance that job is yours, or desperation about finding a job)
- Two interviews in one week
Letters of Recommendations:
- Especially letters from externals
- Prepare a statement of contributions (what have you really done / achieved?)
Things to focus on:
- Take risks in your research
- Network and get your name out / aware of
Postdoc versus Second Tier:
- Find collaboration and mentoring in a postdoctoral position
- It depends
Non-Research:
- Still except some quality research
- Your research talk is a demonstration of teaching
Deciding on schools to apply:
- Location
- Areas of Focus
Packages:
- Find packages from previous applicants
4 comments:
Ooo, does this mean you're thinking about graduating?
And blogger does not appear to like me very much. I tried to leave a comment earlier and blogger kept hanging!
As a PhD student, I am always thinking about graduating. Always thinking about my thesis and proposal, and paper submissions, and committee members.
Yes, I realize that. I was just wondering if you were operating within a time frame. We get referral bonuses, you know ;)
I have a time frame in mind, but I also am looking for jobs in academia. And with industry positions as the backup option next spring / summer.
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