BEING ON THE MARKET:A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE

Oliver Schilkeoschilke@arizona.eduwww.oliverschilke.com

MY OWN JOB MARKETEXPERIENCE

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MY OWN JOB MARKETEXPERIENCE

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2014

A FEWDISCLAIMERS

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1) Biases

A FEWDISCLAIMERS

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1) Biases

2) Credits

Modupe Akinola Katy MilkmanColin Fisher

THE JOB MARKET PROCESS

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I. Entering the Job Market(May-August)

II. Creating a Job Packet(June-September)

IV. Submitting Applications(September-December)

V. Fly-outs (November-February)

III. AOM(August)

THE JOB MARKET PROCESS

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VI. JOB OFFERS(November-March)

ENTERING THE JOB MARKET(MAY-AUG)

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Am I ready?

• Critical questions:– Do you have completed research

projects? – Do you have publications that

represent YOUR research? • Other important questions:

– Does your advisor think you are ready?– Are you ABD? – Will your dissertation be done by next

summer if you work on it 50% of the time?

• Don’t be “kind of” on the job market

ENTERING THE JOB MARKET(MAY-AUG)

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Some basic information:

• ~70-100 research/balanced positions for Management Assistant Professors

• Check out http://apps.aomonline.org/Placement/

• Register for AoM listservs to get listings

• Start a spreadsheet with deadlines, contact info, application requirements etc.

CREATING A JOB PACKET(JUN-SEP)

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Full packet

• Cover letter (1-2 pp.)• CV (3+ pp.)• Research statement (3 pp.)• Teaching statement (1 p.)• Job paper (<50 pp.)• 1-3 additional publications/working papers• 3 letters of recommendation

CREATING A JOB PACKET(JUN-SEP)

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Cover letter – Craft your identity

• “I am writing to apply for a position as an Asst. Prof…”

• Summarize your research interests in 1 sentence

• 2-3 short paragraphs summarizing your research

• 1 short paragraph about teaching interests• Highlight anything unusual that makes you

memorable (in a good way)• (optional) Specific or idiosyncratic reasons

you are a good fit/are likely to accept a job there

CREATING A JOB PACKET(JUN-SEP)

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CV – Assume this is the only document people look at

• Education, anticipated completion date• Dissertation topic (abstract optional)• Publications• Refereed conference presentations• Teaching experience with ratings (if they

speak well for you)• Awards/honors/grants• Other work experience (keep it short)• References

CREATING A JOB PACKET(JUN-SEP)

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Research statement – Brag about your research

• Try to have an “umbrella” that encompasses or explains your different research topics

• A sentence or two on why you are passionate about this research (optional)

• Break research down into 2 or 3 streams, 2-4 paragraphs each

• Include current/future directions (pipeline) – these are important!

• Use a style accessible to those outside your specialty

CREATING A JOB PACKET(JUN-SEP)

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Teaching statement – what can you teach?

• Explain teaching interests (what could you teach)

• Teaching experience (what have you taught); include ratings if they are not horrible

• Teaching approach – this might be important for certain schools

• Some schools ask for copies of your teaching ratings (a.k.a. “demonstration of teaching effectiveness”)

CREATING A JOB PACKET(JUN-SEP)

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Job paper – demonstrate your skills

• Should represent your best writing and effort

• Often based on your dissertation• Usually empirical

• Journal-ready working paper, manuscript under review, or forthcoming article

CREATING A JOB PACKET(JUN-SEP)

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Recommendations – what do others think of you?

• Faculty who know your work well and think highly of you are best (not the most famous person who would do it)

• If you haven’t asked people, do it NOW!• Dissertation Committee Chair should

probably be one• Any co-authors, committee members, or

mentors are OK• Be sure to track if your letter writers

submit their letters on time

AOM(AUG)

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Pre AOM

• Look for postings that mention AOM interviews and apply on time

• Set up “informal” interviews/coffee with faculty from schools you are interested in

• Prepare to talk about yourself (elevator pitch, etc.)

• Take lots of business cards• Pack (or buy) several nice outfits• Stay in the main hotel where the

interviews are

AOM(AUG)

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At AOM

• What you might be asked in interviews:– To describe your research

• Job talk paper• Current projects

– What would you like to teach?– Why you are interested in this school?– What are you looking for in a job?– What would you like to know?

AOM(AUG)

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At AOM

• Other things to prepare:– Prepare questions for schools of

interest– Dress code: business casual + or suit

• If you don’t have any interviews, DON’T WORRY! AOM interviews are not part of the process for many schools.

AOM(AUG)

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Post AOM

• Send personalized “great meeting you” emails

• Decide if you will be a part of the public information sharing across grad students about job market details

SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS(SEP-DEC)

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Send out your packet

• Mostly online• Earliest due date around Sep 1 • Get in touch with admin or head of hiring

committee in case of any questions• Be sure to track if your letter writers

submit their letters on time• Wait patiently

FLY-OUTS (NOV-FEB)

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Hearing about fly-outs

• Between Oct and Feb (most in Oct and Nov)

• Don’t be afraid to tell a school a fly-out date doesn’t work for you

• If you have questions, ask them of the person who calls you

• Don’t get upset about schools that don’t call you! It probably isn’t you – it’s them (e.g. they want a “macro” person; they just hired someone who does your thing; etc.). KEEP CONFIDENT!

FLY-OUTS (NOV-FEB)

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Prepping your job talk

• Start early (~August)

• Polish your ppt

• PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!

• At the end, try to mention some your other work/put your paper in the context of your research program (i.e. pipeline)

• Focus on preparing to answer questions (how thoughtfully you answer questions may be the most important thing)

• Consider practicing it in a suit/heels!

FLY-OUTS (NOV-FEB)

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Events during a typical fly-out

• Dinner(s)

– Night before your talk and/or of your talk

– 1 to 3 faculty will take you, normally somewhere nice

– Dress code: business casual or suit

FLY-OUTS (NOV-FEB)

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Events during a typical fly-out

• Your Talk

– Could happen at any point during the day

– Bring water, tissues, clicker, laptop, slides on memory disk (PPT & PDF)

– There may be a jerk at your talk – don’t let him/her highjack it!

– Dress code: suit

FLY-OUTS (NOV-FEB)

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Events during a typical fly-out

• Interviews

– Back-to-back 30 to 60 minute mtgs with 6-10 faculty members

– Make cheat sheet so you know 1-2 things about each person, ideally read 1-2 recent abstracts (more for people w/very similar interests)

– Have questions for them

– Dress code: suit

FLY-OUTS (NOV-FEB)

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After the fly-out

• Be sure to write everyone you met

• Personalize your emails!

• Just a few sentences

• Do it within a couple of days

JOB OFFERS(NOV-MAR)

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Offers

• They will come, just be patient!

• Accepting offers:

– Consider if you can/want to negotiate certain terms

– Once you have accepted, send emails to your key advocates at the school notifying them of your decision

• Rejecting offers:

– Do this via phone with your key contact

JOB OFFERS(NOV-MAR)

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Alternatives

• Keep on looking for late job postings

• Consider postdocs—applications typically due in the early spring, after the faculty job market

• Talk to your advisor about the possibility of staying a year longer in the program

MORERESOURCES

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Henning Piezunka’s “Job market advice” –

http://henningpiezunka.com/s/job-market-advice_26April2015.pdf

Woody Beck’s “The job interview: a study in terror” –

https://oowsection.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2004-spring.pdf

Trina Sego and Jef I. Richards’ “Ph.D. interview preparation guide for positions in academia” –

http://cet.usc.edu/resources/academic_resources/docs/sego_interview_tips.pdf

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Good

luck!

Oliver Schilkeoschilke@arizona.eduwww.oliverschilke.com