Mikki's Advice on Getting an Academic Position By Mikki, Ph.D., Dartmouth College Mikki is a native of Wisconsin. She received her B.A. from Smith College in 1991, her M.S. in psychology from Texas A&M University in 1993, and her Ph.D. in psychology from Dartmouth College in 1997. During the 1997-1998 year, she remained at Dartmouth College as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department. Over a three-month period, Mikki applied to over 100 academic jobs in the U.S. and in European countries. These jobs ranged from small colleges to big universities, and from small psychology departments to sociology departments to business schools. She received job offers at both her #1 choice and her #2 choice and turned down interviews and offers at other places. She eventually chose to accept the job at her second choice and will begin this fall as a professor in their Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program. Mikki offers firsthand advice on getting the academic job you always dreamed of. Apply Widely ------------ You will need to submit four documents for any faculty position: Cover Letter Curriculum Vitae Statement of your teaching philosophy Description of your research interests Most openings in academics received on the order of 100-400 applications. You are trying to be that one individual out of 100+. The more applications you send out, the better your chances are of being that one, at least at some school. Don't Be Overly Discriminatory ------------------------------ Don't be overly discriminatory in where you are applying, particularly if this discrimination is based on the name game only or some half-baked notion that you probably wouldn't like the school since you haven't heard too much about it or don't really like the state or region in which it is located. That is, don't turn up your nose at schools because they are not Ivy League schools or maybe Big-Ten schools, because they are in Wisconsin and "who would want to live in the Midwest?", or because they are not on your top 25 lists of places to which you would like to go. Apply to the jobs that are being advertised. Go on the interviews at as many places as you can. You may find that the perfect job is awaiting you at a place you never considered before. And, even if the job is not perfect, you at least got interview practice, know better what to expect at places you do want, and can always turn down the offer should you get it. Take a Chance If the Job Description Isn't Exactly You ------------------------------------------------------ If you read a job description and it doesn't quite fit what you do but you love the department, the school, or the area, apply anyway. Often times, there is a good 5-8 months that go by between the time that the school offers the position and the time that the school makes a hire. During this period, sometimes needs change. In addition, if your candidacy is impressive enough and the department has some leeway, they may alter the position to accommodate you. This doesn't always happen but it can. And it happened to me. Market Yourself --------------- Be creative in marketing yourself for jobs that are not necessarily 100% what you do. For instance, I received my training in social psychology. I applied to business schools, organizational behavioral departments, social psychology positions, industrial/organizational positions, social cognitive positions, and general psychology positions. Again, you can always reject them if you decide in the end that the job does not suit you. But stretch yourself and cast yourself in new ways. This does not mean that you should lie about your experiences or stretch them in inaccurate ways; rather, it means that you should not be bound to viewing and selling yourself narrowly. Be open to seeing yourself in all the possible positions that you possibly can. Non-Academic Routes ------------------- Apply for non-academic jobs too. This is sometimes the harder course because it requires lots of initiative — you need to go out and market yourself even more rather than sitting and reading a list of potential academic listings. But do it. Just get out there and do it. See what's out there and what might interest you. Keep in mind that there are way too many good people trying to get way too few academic jobs. Consider the other possibilities by sending out job applications to a variety of settings. Pure Numbers ------------ Finally, pure numbers helps your case. The more you apply to, the better your chances are for hearing from at least one place. I applied to 114 academic jobs. Most academicians I talked to thought that this was taking the job market quite seriously. But I wanted a job badly and I don't regret the time I spent applying to all those schools. Once you apply to a huge number and get your CV in order, get a few different versions of personal statements, get your reprints ready, etc., you will find that the cost and work of sending out an additional 20-30 applications is really not a major ordeal. The first 25 applications are the ordeal! Use Your Contacts ----------------- In academics, as in other careers and as in life in general, contacts can be extremely important and helpful. I realize this piece of advice sounds very obvious but I really believe that too few people actually use their contacts to the fullest. This does not mean bugging people unnecessarily or acting obnoxiously rather, it means inquiring and being an information seeker. Helping yourself out by getting in touch with those folks who can in turn, help you. Your Advisor and Committee Members ---------------------------------- Find out where your advisor's closest mentors, friends, and students are...ask your committee members where their closest contacts are. Do they know of any positions that will be advertised in the near future? Do they have an "in" anywhere? Where did they get their degrees? Who thinks very positively of them and where are those folks situated? Conferences ----------- This is one of the very important reasons for going to conferences as a graduate student. Meet the people in your area. Talk to those people who have openings at their schools. Make yourself known. Obviously, this requires great tact — those folks are at conferences to learn, present research, and see their academic friends. So they do not want to be weighed down by graduate students trying to find jobs; however, they do not mind being asked questions (particularly ones that show knowledge about the research program, school, etc.) so make the contact. Write or Call ------------- During the process, if you learn that someone you know well or vaguely know is at the school to which you are applying, contact them. Get the lowdown or an insight that you can. Tell them, "you might not remember me but we met once at a conference," or "yes, we know each other through...so and so." I e-mailed a person after he did not show up at a conference and told him "I looked for you and could not find you — I really wanted to talk to you about your position." He e-mailed me back and we initiated a nice series of e-mail exchanges. I eventually interviewed at his school. Once You Get One Offer, Use That Offer: -------------------------------------- Call Other Schools ------------------ Once you get an offer in your hand, you can begin to call other schools and let them know that you are really interested in their position and would like to hear since you have an offer(s). This should be done with some care...the point of doing this is that you are in some way trying to differentiate yourself from the 100+ other applicants and one way of doing this is by letting them know you are a hot commodity. Other schools want you. And yet, you have an allegiance to the school you are calling and want them to know that. In this way, you are adding information that is positive to your file. I advise talking to the head of the search committee and not the secretary. I also advice using your offers carefully as it can backfire. Obviously you don't want to approach a big research university and let them know that you have a small teaching school job offer in your hand. And although you don't have to disclose to them where your offer is, they may ask, particularly if they indeed are interested in you. Continue Interviewing at Other Places ------------------------------------- You probably will be restricted from visiting all schools to which interviews will be extended, particularly if you apply to such a wide number. However, try to go on as many interviews as you possibly can endure. To quote a cliche, you simply "do not know the book by the cover" and need to visit and try on places before ruling many of them in or out. So try to be discriminatory even after you have that first offer in hand. It is appropriate, of course, to be making mental lists of your top choices and these are the places you should call to let them know. Do Not Irk Folks ---------------- Let them know you are getting offers at other places but direct it in the context of, "I am telling you this because I am really interested in your school." Don't Take Rejection Personally ------------------------------- Try to Remain Light-hearted ------------------------------ Undoubtedly, if you apply to such a wide number of schools, you are going to get lots of rejections. Do not take it personally. I received over 75 rejection letters. Make a game of it. "Oh, today I got three rejection letters and let me decide which letter was the nicest rejection" or "Which of these schools would I like to reject back" or "Okay, my children will not be getting their education at those institutions." Take the whole thing lightly by remembering the number of talented people that are sending applicants in along with yours. Remember the Match Is Critical ------------------------------ Not only are they looking for someone in your general field (e.g., biology, psychology), but they are looking for a specialty within that field (e.g., marine biology, clinical psychology). And not only a specialty, but a specific line of research (e.g., aquatic marine life of the octopus, schizophrenia in brain-damaged populations). And not only are they looking for that, but they might also be in want of a person who brings a specific perspective, who has a very specific sort of training, who has a certain sort of personality, who will fit into the pre-existing structure, who can live in the academic community, etc... This is where luck comes into the equation. You have to believe that sooner or later, your match will come through. But don't take the mismatches to heart. There Is Not a Hierarchy of Rejections -------------------------------------- Just because a less competitive school rejected you does not mean that a very competitive school will do so too. Just because a big research university rejected you does not mean that a teaching liberal arts college will reject you. Just because one liberal arts college rejected you does not mean that another, very similar one will reject you also. There is no sense to be made of why some schools like you and some do not. Odd — very odd — things happen when search committees get together and begin to look through applications, trying to widdle 300 down to 5. And take heart, schools I have never heard of before the application process rejected me outright and yet, I received offers, interviews, and shortlist status's at places at which I never dreamed I would be competitive. If You Don't Find Anything Consider Waiting Another Year -------------------------------------------------------- This will give you the opportunity to take a shot at a whole new job market – each year, they greatly differ and the mismatches you experienced last year may be replaced with a lot of matches this year. You will have the opportunity to get more publications, spend a year thinking more clearly about what you want and how to get there, think about non-academic routes or possibilities, potentially get a little teaching experience, and spend yet another year in the college. Cover letter ------------ I really believe the cover letter makes a difference — explain WHY you are interested in their position and WHY you believe you would be a good match. Take time to write a really convincing personal statement that represents you well – but take time to adapt it to fit the program as well...find the common links between what you hold to be self-evident and what the schools are looking for. On the Interview ---------------- You are ALWAYS on. It's exhausting. Go to every interview that you can. Every one until you are exhausted or have accepted a position. Practice phone interviews. Get your friends to pick up on your annoying verbal ticks and habits and rid yourself of them. Practice questions, answers, and good eye contact. KNOW up front that you will screw up during your interview in some small or big way — do not worry about that — worry about how you bounce back. And bounce back. Teaching Portfolio ------------------ If you desire to be at a teaching institution, consider putting together a Teaching Portfolio. Ask your advisors to let you guest lecture. Get students to fill out evaluations from your guest lecture. Use your laboratory mentoring experiences to frame your teaching experiences. Consider getting experience teaching. Info on teaching portfolios available at: Anker Publishing Company, Inc. 176 Ballville Road, P.O. Box 249, Bolton, MA, 01740. You will develop your own opinions about applications, the job market, strategies for applying. It's like running a marathon--everyone has their own idea about how best to train. But get people's feedback and use it to create your own strategy. Finding a job is tough. But I believe what's even harder is knowing what you want to do. So if you know what you want to do, then the majority of your battle is already fought. Find that thing that lights you up and makes you work really hard and successfully.