Landing an Academic Job

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Landing an Academic Job

• Mike Brudzinski
• Geology Department

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My bias Deep sea fishing

• Trained at Large Research Universities
• Science Field
• Equal interests in Research and Teaching

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My Keys The Hook

• Figure out your identity
• What makes you unique
• Publish as much quality work as possible
• Create a five-year plan

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What are the Fish looking for?

• Someone who can bring recognition
• Someone who can bring money
• Someone who can adjust over the years
• Someone who can fit in
• A star

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Networking Learning to Cast

• Conferences and Meetings
• Visiting Speakers
• Collaborators
• Use your email and phone

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Your Application The Lure

• Cover Letter
• CV / Resume
• Research Statement
• Teaching Statement
• Letters of Reference
• Publications

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Cover Letter

• Try to keep it one page or less
• Describe your identity clearly
• Illustrate your abilities with examples
• Suggest how you would fit in
• Department
• School
• Surroundings

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CV / Resume

• Contact info
• List all career related activities
• Research, Teaching, Service, Work Experience
• Things you might not think of
• Funding, Mentoring, Outreach
• Warning Some will only look at publications

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Research Statement

• Approximately 2 pages
• Well organized use bullets, numbers, bold
• Will need to have some timeline aspect
• Previous work, Current work, Next step, Five-year
  plan
• Topical organization is better

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Teaching Statement

• Approximately 2 pages
• Decide on Philosophy or Logistics/Courses
• Illustrate with examples
• Include training and/or experience
• Consider department needs

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Letters of Reference

• At least 3, quality better than quantity
• Tell them what your aim is
• Provide them with full application materials
• Big names mean a lot, but know the climate

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Publications

• If feasible, it is good to provide copies
• Probably only need one copy for your file
• Could use internet links in CV, but limited

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Send Updates Chum the Water

• Find excuses to update your application
• Publications are great for this
• Periodic CV revisions
• Revised statements or new letters could work
• Use email to make a response more likely

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The Interview Reel Them In!

• Preparation is the Key!
• Practice your talk and get critical feedback
• Know the department well
• Have questions and answers ready

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Learn from the one that got away

• Always ask directly for feedback
• Areas to improve, what you didnt have
• Warning They dont have to tell you anything
• Talk to the other fishers and fish too
• Other applicants and faculty often know more

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You can always throw one back

• Dont restrict where you apply
• If you get an offer, you can negotiate
• People take jobs just to move up the ladder

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My Keys The Hook

• Figure out your identity
• What makes you unique
• Publish as much quality work as possible
• Create a five-year plan