Going on the Job Market Paul Staniland May 2015.
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Transcript of Going on the Job Market Paul Staniland May 2015.
Going on the Job Market
Paul Staniland
May 2015
“And the study finds that some institutions that may not have been historically at the very top in Ph.D. placement have been doing much better lately.For example, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Cornell University are 12th and 13th, respectively, on the list in terms of number of Ph.D. alumni in political science working as tenured or tenure-track faculty members at research universities. But they have more placements of assistant professors than does the University of Chicago (ranked 5th).”- Inside Higher Ed, September 3, 2013
“We code efficiency asthe number of candidates placed per faculty member of the institution” – Oprisko et al. 2013
Outline Timeline
Your Application
The Other Side
Dealing with job talks (and a lack thereof)
[Apologies for Powerpoint-iness; Kathy will distribute files to those who can’t make the talk]
Getting Ready Now: go to others’ job talks and practices Spring: meet with your committee
Get enthusiastic support Agree on a plan of attack; what is target?
Early summer: get full set of materials to letter-writers Writing samples Drafts of cover letter, research statement,
teaching statement Overview of your market strategy and how you
are framing yourself
Market Season August: job ads begin getting posted on
APSA e-jobs (continue through winter) Start practicing your talk now (in mirror, to friends,
to captive audiences, etc) APSA Meeting: interviews for some schools
Can lead to on-campus interviews, good practice September-December: core season
Keep committee up to date January-March: late fly-outs, postdocs,
VAPs/adjunct
Applying: Logistics Generic application requires:
Transcript 3 letters of recommendation* Cover letter* CV* Writing sample (varying lengths)* Research statement Teaching statement
* = really really important.
Your Letters Keys to the kingdom
Strong letters can make up for thin file; weak letters can doom seemingly strong candidate
This is why you need your chair’s buy-in and a committee that knows you and your work very well Long, detailed, substantive letters help cut
through incredibly noisiness of market But also networking and clubbiness effects Controversial but hugely important
Your Cover Letter 2 pages maximum Your chance to make a first impression:
Your research “elevator pitch” delivered as concisely and tightly as possible
Framed broadly for non-specialists on committee Link to department/university fit and teaching
approach Write numerous drafts, have friends and
advisers read carefully; get past copies Particularly important for ABDs
Your CV Look at CVs of others: what do they include?
What do they exclude? Get something professional-looking
Useful short-hand for whether this person knows how the business works Publications, conference presentations, fieldwork,
languages, methods skills, etc Also shows rough “quality” metrics like your
committee, fellowships
Your Writing Sample Usually dissertation chapter or two,
sometimes in article-ish format Length varies dramatically Have something that is relatively succinct – no
one wants to read 140 pages of ABD musings. Core argument and evidence needs to be
clearly and systematically presented Should be in good shape stylistically, but doesn’t
need to be perfectly polished Spend the summer getting this ready
The Other Side Committee, usually from within department
Sometimes inter-disciplinary lines have cross-department committees
Staggeringly opaque and contingent Committee haggles to arrive at a short-list of
people to invite Usually subfield-specific search, but committees
often cross-subfield: have to speak beyond narrow sub-specialty
Politics of coalitions
What Gets Attention
Clarity Should go without saying, but: convey crisply and
cleanly what your dissertation is about, why it matters, why your research is of high quality, and where you are going next
Distinctiveness
Portfolio
Distinctiveness Departments have limited resources and
opportunities You are asking them to burn a huge amount of
money and time on you What do you bring to the place, other than being
reasonably smart? Lots of reasonably smart people, exceedingly few jobs
Could be the question, evidence/interpretation/data, methods, framing – and has to be conveyed in accessible terms
Portfolio General sense of your trajectory and skill set
Methods Language Regional/field expertise Publications Fellowships Conference talks Teaching
Trying to suss out where you are going over next 5 years: do you have the skills and drive necessary to pull off a tenurable file? Some depts hire primarily based on skills
Job Talks & their Absence Practice your talk starting August
Regular presentation to self Several talks to small groups of friends Formal dept practice talk/s Prep Q&A: standard expected Q’s and your answers
Logistics Keep close watch on APSA e-Jobs website: make
sure not to miss anything Maintain detailed spreadsheet of ads and your
status with them Don’t want to miss deadlines, not include materials, etc
Waiting Very easy to lose entire fall, much of winter
Avoid blogs, 5th-hand gossip, etc. Assume failure in 1st time out and try to have
success be above baseline expectations Focus on writing and publishing above all
else That said, I spent much of fall 2009 playing Age of
Empires III alone. . . .
If you do get a fly-out Your talk!
Most important, especially Q&A Endless advice available about what a good talk
involves: seek it out and get feedback on yours 1-on-1s with faculty Meetings with chair and dean/administrators Meetings with students Teaching demonstration (sometimes) Dinners and lunches with faculty
Going into a Visit Memorized talk and prepped Q&A Research on university, department, and
faculty you will be meeting with Elevator pitch on your dissertation Teaching plans Talking points to address your weaknesses
Why no publications/teaching experience/etc? Strategy for signaling interest or providing
info on other talks
Dealing with no Talks/Offers Peer networks essential for surviving Not getting on job on 1st try is common, even
for people who end up with great job But still have candid talk with your advisers: better
to know the reality than be deluded As appropriate, think (and talk) through exit
strategy if academia unappealing Need to get over “stigma” of non-academic jobs Getting tenure-track academic job not the ultimate
measure of your human worth
Final Thoughts
Market shouldn’t drive major intellectual decisions
Ask, ask, ask – very few truly stupid questions
Preparation essential – cannot overemphasize this point
Questions?