the academic job hunt
(below is a rough recap of some of the things discussed at the ‘so you want to be an academic’ pre-conference workshop at IRGO2. If I’ve missed/forgotten anything, hit me up in the comments - e.)
Searching for a job does not have to feel like you’re facing a firing squad. I’m going to talk about my experiences on both sides of the desk, but it must be noted, I’ve never gone tenure-track in the US context, which has it’s own unique hurdles to jump. For that, I suggest reading “a critical communication studies job search timeline’ by Jonathan Stearne.
job hunting: getting started
Firstly, you need to think about what kind of position you are after: academic or non-academic? Research, teaching, or a mix. PhDs are becoming more valued outside academia in non-science fields, but you might still have to work to sell yourself as ‘ideal’ and not ‘overqualified.’ This post deals predominantly with seeking an academic position outside the US tenure system.
Secondly, you need to ask yourself (and your supervisor!) ‘am I ready?’ Take a good hard look at your own prepared-ness. Going too early is just a waste of time, particularly with the glut of freshly minted PhDs out there. As a general rule of thumb, start applying for academic positions about twelve months out from your submission date (add it into your research and work timeline). The hiring process can be quite long, so you want to rack up your applications well in advance to optimize your chances of walking out of your studies and straight into a job.
Thirdly, assess what you want, not only in terms of a job, but also in terms of your overall work-life balance. Think about places you would like to live/not like to live, whether you’re happy to work an 80-hour week or not. Your first job is your first step in what is hopefully a long career, so from the outset try to guide your career towards where you want it to go. You may not always get what you want, but in the immortal words of the Stones, if you try, you can get what you need.
Fourthly, work smarter. There are a lot of useful tools and services that will help you get maximum job search coverage for minimum effort. More on those in a minute.
Finally, be prepared for rejection that may have nothing to do with your merits as a young scholar. Don’t over-invest in any advertised job (at least not until you’ve formally accepted an offer!).
be wery wery qwiet - we’re hunting jobs!
My first piece of advice here is be open to opportunity - you may have a dream of working at Particular University, but you might need to accept a position at Secondchoice U. and work towards your goal long term. This is not to say accept ANY job — we all have our limits of things we won’t do (for me it was working in the US tenure system, for a colleague it was working anywhere that didn’t have access to a surf beach!) but be reasonable about where you are on the pecking order (hint: the bottom). The first job is the hardest to get. Once you have been in a position for a few years (unless you completely balls it up, and we know you won’t do that), you will start to build your own reputation and can then move onto the next stage of your career. The hard part is getting into the academic system so you can start that profile-building.
Having thought about what you want, what you would like (but don’t necessarily need), and what your deal-breakers are, you can then start job hunting. I’ve previously posted a list of some websites to get you started — this list has a slight bias towards Commonwealth jobs in the broad field of media and communications, and is by no means complete, but you can see there are a LOT of sites where jobs are advertised, not even counting individual institutional HR pages. Learn to use email alerts and RSS to bring alerts to you. Pay attention to key words and set aside some time to search around the sites and get familiar with how they classify things: sometimes, fields are listed under strange sub-categories, and multidisciplinary scholars may have to track two or more categories. Also, make sure you are on discipline-specific association lists — set up a digest mode if they’re high-traffic lists, but make sure you at least skim them, especially during hiring periods.
On a similar note, you are probably going to discipline conferences — treat the entire conference as one big job interview. Dress appropriately, pay attention, don’t be afraid to introduce yourself around (and see if you can get invited to lunch with people higher up in your field - lunch is where everything happens at conferences!) Be memorable for being a professional young scholar with an exciting research agenda, not the slob who forgot their presentation notes!
Finally, before you start applying, google yourself (yes, go ego-surf). What are the top hits? How do they make you look to other people?
So, you’ve set out your parameters and some job ads have come to your attention. Be organized with them (pay attention to due dates!), and take a closer look at what you’ve got. Here is the first round of selectivity: go for jobs only where you either meet or are very close to meeting the requirements. For example, don’t apply for Chairs, full Professorships, or Heads of Department positions when you’re still to complete your dissertation. However, if a position says ‘PhD required’ and you expect to have yours either finishing examination or in revision by the time the panel meets, and you kill at all the other requirements, then maybe it might be worth a shot.
To find out, you need to read the job description. Closely. Several times. Don’t stick just with the short blurb in the newspaper or careers website, but go to the University HR site and read the full job description. While you’re there, check out the HR policy on hiring, and on the search process. See if they have an institutional CV template. If they do, use it — it’s what your search committee will be familiar with, and they’ll be able to grasp more easily what you have done.
But back to the job description itself. Go over it, identify key phrases, and think about how they apply to you. Try and get a sense of what kind of person they are looking for — are they seeking to invest in new scholarship, plug a hole in their research profile, or for someone to teach over a gap in their syllabus. Once you have a sense of that, you can focus your application accordingly. Send in only what they ask for, and make sure it’s in before the due date.
so what exactly is an application pack?
Every job will have a different application pack (yes, you will be shaking your fist to the sky over this sooner rather than later). So follow what they say to do. That being said, here are some general helpful tips.
Firstly, don’t have a pro-forma CV where you fill in the name of the university before sending it off. It is better to rewrite for every application, so you can direct the committee to your strengths as you see them in relation to THIS position. This is where what I call a ‘modular’ CV file helps - instead of one document, have a file of pages, with each page listing your strengths and achievements in one areas. You can then drop them into a new application in best order, without having to completely rewrite. Use citation software (EndNote, Zotero) for your own citations, so you can cite in the house style (APA, Harvard, MLA - see what style the academics in the department use on their own pages and follow their lead). And if you’ve found an institutional CV template, use that.
Besides the CV, you generally have at least a cover letter, and often these days either/or a writing sample, a sample of a syllabus or a teaching philosophy statement, and a list of referees. Some ask for all, some ask for bits to be submitted at different stages. Again, send what they ask, when they ask. Sending unsolicited extra material is just more work for the panel and it will probably get binned.
Most applications will have a cover letter. Give yourself time to work up a good cover letter, and don’t be afraid to google up examples to help you. Make sure you get the titles right, and spell names correctly. You have five (harried!) minutes to get a the attention of a busy stranger. The letter is a good place to sell yourself and get your application put on the pile marked ‘review’ rather than ‘reject.’
Be confident in your letter, but don’t oversell - most panels have finely tuned bullshit detectors. Also, (and this is where your research comes in), know and work to the cultural expectations and institutional language of the place you are applying to. Remember, you might be going to work there, so show a willingness to adapt to their culture. Use the terms they use (paper, course, module or term?) and understand what titles mean (an assistant professor in the North American system is not the same as an associate professor in the Commonwealth system). Work to your strengths, but the letter is also a good place to sell yourself as the complete package: teaching, research and service. Try not to just rehash your CV, but instead use your cover letter to contextualize and explain important points, and how they relate to the position advertised.
There is some debate on what to send as a writing sample, but generally speaking offer the best sample that reflects the needs of the position, and is within the limits (words or type) stipulated by the search committee. Don’t be afraid to respectfully contact the search chair if you need clarification on what they are looking for.
Teaching materials are sometimes also asked for in the original pack, though generally it seems they are asked for only from the shortlist candidates, at least at research intensive institutions. However, it may be useful to keep some on hand, particularly for first level and graduate level courses (which my informal polling suggests are the two most requested types).
Finally, think carefully about your referees; try to rank them by closest by discipline and highest by rank, but make sure you can trust them to give glowing references. A weak letter of support can be damning. Also, give your referees heads up of the jobs you are applying for. There is nothing worse for a candidate when a committee contacts a referee and they go “who?”
Finally, keep copies of your applications, and keep them organized. After a while, you start to develop a sense of what you’re doing right and wrong (and who knows, you might need to refer back to it when you get The Call).
omg i got the interview!
First, take a deep breath (okay, flail, then take a deep breath). You made a short list and have been called in for an interview. There are two things to think about, the logistics and the interview itself. Logistics, like ‘will they fly you over, or will it be a teleconference’ will need to be dealt with on a one-on-one basis. My North American colleagues say it is frequently becoming the case that institutions will ask you to pay your own travel, then reimburse you later (so, if that’s where you see your career heading, you might like to start saving in a slush fund now). My experiences in the Commonwealth system have generally been that the host institution both pays for and organizes interview travel. YMMV, but be clear who’s obligated for what.
Let’s talk about the interview itself. You may like to start humming the Mission: Impossible themesong right about now, because going to an interview is a little bit like planning a tactical assault. Some things to consider:
- research! know the place back the front
- who are the rock-star scholars? what is the overall direction of the dept research agenda?
- what kinds of papers do they teach? (do they even call them papers?)
- how might you fit in to all this? where are the areas of synergy, and where can you offer something new and fresh in both their teaching and research profile?
- (HR again) – have a sense of pay and conditions (incl. relocation!)
- Google “academic job interview questions” and have practiced answers (us using the same questions over and over isn’t lazy, it’s consistent!)
- Have a few questions of your own for the panel (generally, you’ll have a chance to ask them at some point in both the formal and informal proceedings)
- Don’t bullshit a panel. We’re experts :D
- Your ‘interview’ is actually your entire visit. (fit is as important as research) Just as when you go to conferences, behave yourself accordingly.
Afterwards, make sure to touch base with the panel chair and thank them for their consideration - you might get a chance to do this at the close of interview, or it might just be a quick email flicked off the day after. But it’s always worthwhile to leave a good final impression, even if you don’t get the job. It leaves the door open for you to apply again for the next job that comes up.
Sometimes, you might know that day, or it might take a few weeks for you to learn how you fared. There are things going on that you are not privy to (such as checking logistics with HR, or polling all staff after your visit to see how they found you), so be patient. If you haven’t heard back after a few weeks, a polite email to the Chair would be appropriate. But that being said, be prepared for rejection that has nothing to do with your merits. You’d be surprised how often I’ve heard people involved in jobsearches bemoaning that they can’t hire ALL the shortlist. Sometimes you get the bear, but sometimes, the bear gets you. Shake it off and move on.
If you don’t get a job, don’t badmouth ANYONE - not over coffee, not to a friend, and especially not on Facebook or Twitter. Academia is a small place, and throwing the equivalent of a toddler temper tantrum is a smell that lingers.
If you DO get a job offer, CONGRATULATIONS. This is why you researched their HR site. Negotiate what you are worth (because you are worth it), and don’t forget details like a relocation allowance or help for your partner to move with you. If you are moving to a new country, see if they have settlement support services. Universities are often quite supportive of helping their staff make the best start in their new position, so don’t be afraid to take advantage of what they offer to jumpstart your awesome career!
