preparing for today's academic job market: lessons from the trenches

Preparing  for  Today's  Academic  Job  Market:  

Lessons  from  the  Trenches  

Emad  Shihab  emads@cs.queensu.ca  Queen’s  University  

Caveats  

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The  presenter  is  not  an  expert    We  will  not  discuss    

•  Academia  vs.  Industry  •  Why  do  a  PhD  •  Perks  of  Academia  •  Funding  

What  We  Will  Talk  About…  

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Preparing  you  applicaDon  package    Interviewing  –  Phone  and  On-­‐site    Post  Interview    Staying  sane,  being  realisDc,  etc.  

ApplicaDon  Package  4  

ApplicaDon  Packages  Come  in  Packs  of  Four  +  1  

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Cover  leJer    Research  statement    Teaching  statement    Curriculum  Vitae    +1:  Website  

Cover  LeOer  

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Should  state:    

1. What  posiSon  you  are  applying  for  

2. The  highlights  of  your  awesomeness  •  Research  accomplishments  •  Teaching  accomplishments  •  Funding  accomplishments  •  Anything  else  that  is  unique  to  you  

3. Why  you  are  interested  in  this  job  

4. What  else  you  are  aJaching  to  the  applicaSon  

Research  Statement  

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Probably  the  longest  document  in  your  package…    …make  it  an  easy  read!  

 Give  it  to  a  non-­‐expert  and  make  sure  they  are  impressed    

Research  Statement  -­‐  Content  

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 MoDvate  your  problem    Discuss  what  you  did  •  Highlight  (at  least)  one  important  finding  •  Put  your  research  achievements  in  context  •  Don’t  be  shy!    

 Discuss  the  future  •  Make  it  short  and  to  the  point  •  It  should  be  an  evoluSon…not  a  revoluSon  

Research  Statement  –  General  Advice  

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 Sell  what  you  are  good  at,  even  if  it  is  making  lemonade    Show  a  big  picture,  and  most  importantly,  that  your  problem  is  worth  invesDng  in  

Teaching  Statement  

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Level  of  importance  depends  on  the  University  you  apply  to    I  found  it  to  be  the  most  difficult  to  write,  since:  

1.  It  is  hard  to  not  be  cheesy  2.  I  had  very  liJle  experience  with  teaching  3.  It  is  hard  to  quanSfy  good  teaching,  i.e.,  the  

results  secSon  of  the  paper  is  missing  ;)  

Teaching  Statement  -­‐  Content  

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Why  you  got  into  this  business  in  the  first  place    Share  some  of  your  teaching  experience    Why  you  think  you  are  a  good  teacher    Discuss  grad  teaching/supervision    List  what  courses  you  are  comfortable  teaching  (make  sure  you  show  breadth)  

Curriculum  Vitae  

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Basically,  who  you  are  (academically)  •  Research  Interests  •  EducaSon  •  PublicaSons  •  Industrial  experience  •  Teaching  experience  •  Awards  •  Professional  service  •  References  

Curriculum  Vitae  

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Research  Interests    •  Make  them  as  wide  as  possible    PublicaDons  •  Show  quality  and  quanSty    •  Show  your  submissions,  especially  if  they  are  

quality  pubs  •  Show  collaboraSon  

Industrial  experience  •  Make  sure  to  list  what  you  achieved  •  Who  you  worked  with  

Curriculum  Vitae  

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Teaching  experience  •  List  class  sizes,  topics  taught  •  YOUR  responsibility  

Awards  and  Grants  •  Show  your  research  &  presentaSon  excellence  •  Show  them  you  can  make  money!  •  Show  them  you  can  make  money!  

References  •  Choose  them  carefully,  very  carefully  •  The  bigger,  and  more  diverse,  the  beJer    

Interviews  15  

Phone  Interviews  

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Generally  conducted  with  the  search  commiJee  •  15  –  30  minutes  long    Typical  quesDons  •  Tell  us  about  your  research?  •  Why  our  department?  •  What  courses  do  you  want  to  teach?  •  Where  do  you  plan  to  get  funding  from?  •  When  do  you  plan  to  finish?  

 Expect  any  type  of  quesDon!  

Phone  Interviews  

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Towards  the  end,  a  common  quesSon  is  …  •  Do  you  have  any  quesDons  for  us?    Feel  free  to  ask,  but  what  you  should  know  by  the  end  of  the  conversaSon  is:  •  Why  they  are  hiring?  •  What  is  the  teaching  load?  •  What  is  unique  about  the  university?  

Most  importantly,  let  them  know  you  are  a  good  fit!  

On-­‐site  Interview  Prep  

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Research  the  department  •  Why  would  you  be  a  good  fit  •  How  do  you  see  yourself  contribuSng  •  How  are  young  professors  doing  

Research  the  faculty  •  What  are  their  research  interests  •  What  do  they  teach  •  What  was  a  recent  good  publicaSon  

Research  possible  funding  sources  •  Show  that  you  are  thinking  like  a  faculty  

Typical  On-­‐site  Interview  IDnerary  

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Day  1  

9:00  AM   Get  picked  up  by  faculty  

9:30  AM   Meet  with  department  chair  

10:00  -­‐  11:30     Job  talk  

11:30  –  12:45   Lunch  with  faculty/students  

1:00  –  1:45     Meet  with  students  

2:00  –  2:30   Meet  with  Vice  Provost  

2:30  –  4:30   Meet  with  faculty  members  

5:30  –  8:00     Dinner  

Day  2  

8:30  AM   Get  picked  up  by  faculty  

9:00  –  9:30   Undergrad  program  director  

9:30  –  10:00   Meet  with  Dean  

10:00  –  11:30       Grad  program  director  

11:30  –  12:00   Meet  with  lecturers  

12:00  –  12:45   Lunch  with  faculty/students  

1:00  –  2:00   Wrap  up  with  dept.  chair  

Job  Talk  

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PotenDally,  the  most  important  talk  of  your  life    Should  cover:  •  Who  you  are?  •  Research  interests  •  MoSvate  problem  and  show  importance  •  Provide  context  and  big  picture  •  Give  a  summarized  version  of  your  main  work  •  Show  achievements  •  Provide  future  direcSons    

The  talk  should  REALLY  impress  a  non-­‐expert!    

MeeDng  with  Faculty  

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Mood  will  vary  based  on  faculty  member    The  most  asked  quesDon  •  Do  you  have  any  quesSons  for  me?    What  you  want  to  convey  •  You  are  working  on  important  problems  •  You  can  get  money  for  your  projects  •  You  are  excited  about  collaboraSon  •  You  want  THIS  job,  not  any  job!  

 Most  faculty  are  super  nice,  enjoy  the  discussions  –  I  did!  

MeeDng  with  Lecturers  

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Your  toughest  criScs,  at  least  for  me  …    Most  will  ask  you  about  your  teaching  experience  •  How  you  handle  different  situaSons  •  Why  this  school  or  department  •  What  your  expectaSons  are  •  What  you  are  interested  in  teaching    InteresSngly,  not  so  interested  in  student  teaching  evaluaSons  

MeeDng  with  Deans  

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Mostly  interested  in  your  personality  and  your  fit    Some  asked  quesSons  related  to  my  research    All  Deans  asked:  What  quesDons  do  you  have  for  me?  ….  all  Deans!    Be  careful,  most  Deans  have  veto  power!  

Lunch/  Dinner  MeeDngs  

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The  most  volaDle  Dme  of  the  interview    Your  personality  has  to  really  show    Most  discussions  were  about  non-­‐funcDonal  aspects:  •  Living  in  the  area  •  Children  •  Funding,  or  lack  of  

Just  like  ge_ng  arrested,  everything  you  say  can  and  will  be  used  against  you!  

Interviews  –  Final  Remarks  

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Interviews  can  be  mentally,  physically  and  emoDonally  draining  –  you’ve  been  warned!    Be  at  your  best  behavior,  but  be  yourself    Be  prepared  for  all  kinds  of  quesSons/feedback    Take  notes  •  What  would  living  here  be  like?  •  Will  I  enjoy  being  here  for  the  next  30  years?  •  Are  people  running  away  from  this  place?  •  Are  junior/senior  faculty  happy?  

Post  Interview  26  

Post  Interview  

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Send  thank  you  notes,  if  you  see  fit    Get  advice  from  others  based  on  your  observaSons    Be  paSent  …  outcome  can  take  2  weeks  –  3  months    

Post  Interview  -­‐  Outcome  

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You  get  an  offer,  congratulaSons!    Let  the  negoSaSons  begin…  •  Salary  •  Student  support  •  Startup  money  •  Travel  money  •  Lab  space  •  Teaching  load  •  Moving  expenses,  start  date,  etc..  

Be  careful,  it  is  a  buyer’s  market!  

Post  Interview  -­‐  Outcome  

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You  get  an  email  thanking  you  for  your  Sme    Lick  your  wounds  and  understand…  •  You  will  get  something  else  •  Making  it  to  the  interview  is  an  

accomplishment  on  its  own  •  You  will  only  get  beJer  with  Sme  

 Leverage  your  advisor  and  family  for  support  

and  encouragement  

General  Stats  

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According  to  Taulbee  survey,  124  PhDs  got  hired  to  a  tenure-­‐track  posiSon  in  2011    Although  it  is  difficult,  it  is  not  impossible    The  harder  you  work,  the  beJer  your  chances  are    

General  Stats  

31  Source:  hJp://www.cccblog.org/2012/05/07/surge-­‐in-­‐postdocs-­‐conSnues-­‐according-­‐to-­‐latest-­‐survey-­‐data/  

Timeline  

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May  –  August:  Prepare  applicaSon  materials    September  –  January:  ApplicaSon  season    January  –  May:  Interview  season    May  –  June:  Hear  back  

Where  to  Find  Job  PosDngs  

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CRA:  hJp://cra.org/ads/    The  Chronicle  of  HD:  hJp://chronicle.com/  

 University  Affairs:  hJp://oraweb.aucc.ca/pls/ua/ua_re    AcademicKeys:  hJp://www.academickeys.com/  

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The  views  presented  here  are  based  on  the  presenter’s  experiences  

Warning!  

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Happy  Job  HunDng!