Landing a job in Academia

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Landing a job in Academia
Robin K. Cameron Department of Biology
Hamilton,Ontario, Canada
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Why I think Im qualified to give advice on
getting an Academic job 2 academic 1 industry
interviews - 1st job 7 academic interviews - 2nd
job

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Know what to expect, be prepared

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Know what to expect, be prepared

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Know what to expect, be prepared

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Landing an academic job 1. Applying for the
job 2. Preparing for the Interview 3. The
Interview 4. After the interview

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Applying for the job What to send? What they ask
for. -Cover Letter ( your fit, what would you
add) -CV -Research Interests -Teaching Interests
or Philosophy -letters of reference -most
significant publications

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• Applying for the job
• CV
• standard academic style
• dont list your skills
• (weave them into your
• research interests/statement)

You are applying for an Academic position not
graduate school or a post-doc
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Applying for the job Research Statement, Plan,
Interests -a mini grant proposal (2- 5
pages) -include people who will do the
work (students, post-docs, yourself) Show them
that you have a plan to answer interesting and
important scientific or engineering questions.

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• Applying for the job
• Teaching Interests or Philosophy (1-5 pages)
• -teaching style
• how do you inspire students?
• what ideas or concepts do you want to convey?
• what topics have you taught
• what would you like to teach?
• get advice from lecturers you admire

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Preparing for the Interview Go to the
Departmental web site and get to know the
Faculty -especially those you will be meeting
with during your interview Potential
collaborators? Expertise that might be useful to
you? Expertise that you have who might benefit?

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• Preparing for the Interview the Job Talk
• (45 to 50 minutes, dont go over)
• Find out about the audience (experts
  non-experts?)
• Introduction that everyone can follow (10)
• get across why your research is
• interesting and significant in your field (25).
• Discuss your future plans (10)
• know who the experts in your field are and
  imagine
• what types of questions they will ask
• -practice with your supervisor and/or lab mates

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• Preparing for the Interview
• Preparing the Teaching Lecture
• -get advice from experienced lecturers
• the faculty will pretend to be students
• will ask questions
• -if possible, dont pick a topic
• that you are not familiar with.
• -know which faculty are the experts if you
• dont know, admit it!

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The Interview 1.5 to 2 days in length You will
meet with the Chair, Dean/Assoc. Dean, members
of the search committee, other interested
Faculty, Graduate Students Job Talk, Teaching
Lecture Lunch and Dinner and Breakfast

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The Interview - Practical Tips If you have
trouble eating when you are nervous, snack
before you go to the interview. Dont be too shy
to ask for a bathroom break. How to
dress Biologists - almost anything goes, although
wearing jeans may be too casual. Engineers -
wear a good suit Chemists, Physicists?

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• The Interview
• Your Goal
• impress them with your Science Personality
• -convince them that you fit the job dept.
• -check out the equipment facilities
• -convince them that you are ready to make the
  jump from Grad Student or Post-doc to Supervisor

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• The Interview
• Their Goal
• -to find out if you your research fit the
  department (do they want to work with you on
  committees for the next 20-30 years).
• -to impress you with their Science, Personalities
  and Facilities.
• to find out if you are ready to become
• a supervisor?

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The Interview - Meetings with Chair Describe
the department, take you on a tour of the
facilities, talk about teaching, inform you
about the tenure process, answer any question
you might have. Dean/Associate Dean Tell you
about the University

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The Search Committee (4-8 people) Faculty in
your field or related fields, A Graduate
Student, a Faculty member from another
department

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The Interview Meeitng with the Search
Committee -the most difficult part of the
interview, often done over lunch (try to eat
right away) -standard questions that each
candidate is asked -plus ones specific to each
candidate or department

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The Interview - Search Committee Meeting Sample
Questions Name two scientists whose work has
inspired you? If you won the lottery, what would
you do with the Defend your Publication
record (too little or low impact) What sorts of
projects would you give to students (undergrad
grad) or post-docs?

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The Interview, Search Committee Meeting Sample
Questions continued What sort of a supervisor
will you be? Do you want a big or small
research group? Funding Sources? Can you compete
for funding? What specialized equipment will you
need?

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Sample Questions continued Can you see
yourself collaborating with anyone in the
Department or the University? What would you
like to teach? Tell us about your teaching
experience. Where do you see yourself in 10
years?

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Sample Questions continued What sets you apart
from others in your field? Will you be competing
directly with others in your field and if so,
will you succeed? Why should we hire you? How
will you contribute to the Dept? What novel
contributions have you made to your field?

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• The Interview - Individual Meetings with Faculty
• know what each works on
• they will tell you about their work
• Show interest, Ask Questions
• specific questions about your work or your talk
• discuss potential collaborations
• they may tell you about why they like the
• University, the neighbourhood, the city, the
  country
• - you can ask questions about the city etc.

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The Interview - Meeting with Graduate
Students (often over lunch the second day) They
may ask you what sort of supervisor you would
like to be? They will try to get an idea of
whether you would be a good supervisor
teacher You can ask about the Grad program
how they feel about it. You can often get an
idea about problems by chatting with the Graduate
students

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Who Decides who gets an offer? Non-committee
members submit comments can influence the
committee The committee decides in some
departments or The committee makes
recommendations and the whole department votes

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After the Interview -some people e-mail to thank
the chair for an interesting and enjoyable
visit. -some e-mail to say thank you and ask
when an offer will be made

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After the Interview If you were prepared the
interview went well, but you dont get an
offer, dont take it to heart. You may not have
been the right fit in terms of research or
teaching. They may have interviewed you even
though your research didnt quite fit because -
you are a woman - or a visible minority They
may have realized that they didnt have enough
Start-up to support your research

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Start preparing right now for your Academic
interview and career -go to job talks in your
department -think about why you think some are
better than others -critique seminars you attend
in the same way Work on improving your own
seminar presentation skills now -think about why
you enjoy some lecturers more than others -think
about what youve learned as a teaching
assistant (your teaching style, how you convey
important concepts) Start working on your
teaching philosophy now See if you can a guest
lecture for your supervisor

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Know what to expect, be prepared