Blue Lab Coats

It feels a little odd to be writing about negotiating for a faculty position while I’m right in the midst of some hair raising posts about near academic faculty position disasters. But well, I was never one for perfect timing. I just write it as it comes to me.

If you should be so fortunate as to have a department chair call you and offer you an Continue reading ‘Unsolicited Advice: Job Search (Pt. 14)updated..’

Your seminar-giving, interviewing, chalk-talking skills are going to get better and better the more interviews you go on. But you will not get better at waiting for the search committee to decide on their favorite candidates. As Physioprof pointed out in the comments to my last post about this (Pt. 12), it’s very appropriate to inquire about the status of a search, and inform the chair of other offers once you have an offer in an institution of equal or greater quality (I don’t know if that’s the right word but you get my drift). Every search committee I have been on has interviewed all 4-5 candidates they flagged for an interview before they have a discussion about/make a decision on who is the top candidate. I think that sometimes when there is a clear favorite, an offer goes out prior to this- but I haven’t personally seen a situation where that happened. Then, if you are the lucky winner, the chair of the hiring department Continue reading ‘Unsolicited Advice: Job Search (Pt. 13)’

In the last post about this I covered the basic ‘structure’ of the interview itself, and gave some hints about what to do, what not to do…. I didn’t talk much about the one-on-one interactions you will have with faculty during your interview visit… but Physioprof has previously posted on this over at the old DM site in glorious detail.. and with many excellent comments.. Also, I found this list of inappropriate questions you may encounter on an interview (from the Chronicle of Higher Education). But- one Continue reading ‘Unsolicited Advice: Job Search (Pt. 12)’

Interviewing.

Now that we have covered the preparation and practice of your interviewing ‘seminar’ and the chalk talk- we can spend a few minutes on the interview itself. Usually the inviting department will prepare a schedule for your visit- hopefully you will get a copy of this schedule a few days before you are to travel. Make sure you get a copy in advance… if necessary, ask nicely. Continue reading ‘Unsolicited Advice: Job Search (Pt. 11)’

Chalk Talks. A second type of talk you may be asked to give on your interview visit for an academic position is a more informal presentation called a ‘chalk talk’. Some places will ask you to give these, some will not- and the format varies between institutions. I know of departments that ask you to prepare a short PowerPoint presentation for your chalk talk, others that ask you to use the board and go sans slides- and use actual chalk, and some that don’t give you an idea of the format up front. If the place that you are visiting falls into this last category- feel free to politely ask the search committee chair prior to your visit if the search committee prefers a particular format. Who will be the audience for this? Continue reading ‘Unsolicited Advice: Job Search (Pt. 10)’

There are three rules about choosing great investments in real estate (Location, 3x)… Similarly, there are three rules about prepping for giving a great talk….

PRACTICE.

PRACTICE.

PRACTICE.

You must practice public speaking in order to be good at it. A few people (and I mean VERY few), are gifted with public speaking and require less practice than the rest of us… but don’t go on a job interview assuming you are one of them. Continue reading ‘Unsolicited Advice: Job Search (Pt. 9)’

Job Talks – This is a huge subject so be patient…and feel free (as usual) to add in the comments anything I forgot! PhysioProf has also previously posted on this subject… so compare and contrast …

I have a list of things I think about when I think about giving a great seminar- Continue reading ‘Unsolicited Advice: Job Search (Pt. 8)’

Here are a few things to think about while waiting for that phone call inviting you to interview for a faculty position. First, you may have been thinking about/comparing all the places you applied to, since you have been reading a bit about each place and probably talking to your significant other (if you have one) about what life would be like in some of these places. DO NOT turn any invitations for interviews down on the basis of these thoughts and discussions (really the only reason to turn down an interview is if you have already accepted a position elsewhere). I have witnessed postdocs declining a request to interview for reasons of geography or spousal happiness.

And you may say, drdrA- why should I interview in a place I think I don’t really want to go to? Continue reading ‘Unsolicited Advice: Job Search (Pt. 7)’

Well, now that you have a few ads to respond to, start sending those applications already! Once you have sent 30 or 40 applications come on back and we can wait together. And wait, and wait, and wait. As I have said previously- it takes a some time for search committees to slog through all that paperwork- so expect that from the time you send in your application there will be a pretty hefty lag – this can last several months so don’t quit your day job (or postdoc, as the case may be). Also- there is no rhyme or reason about if or when you will be notified that your application is no longer under consideration- so don’t take it personally if you don’t hear anything.

Actually, the waiting is perfect- (and you should be a pro at it by now you’re a scientist after all, and nothing in the lab happens THAT quickly)- because it gives you some time to do a little homework about potential departments, and to prepare for the next steps including attending an interview, giving a job talk, and possibly also giving a chalk talk. Ready sources of information about the departments you have applied to include the department web page and faculty listing and any insight from your colleagues. You can use CRISP for determining how many faculty are federally funded, and pubmed/medline/google scholar for getting a feeling for their publication records. Also useful to check out departments within the institution you are applying to that might have investigators whose interests overlap or intersect with your own (potential collaborators…). Don’t go hog wild on this now though, you will launch full scale into this when you are invited for an interview- but a little look around at the departments that you find most interesting won’t hurt. This preparation is very useful for getting a feeling for the institution, the department, and for having a few faculty to request to meet with when the request to interview comes…

As for preparing presentations for potential interviews- it is great to start thinking about what slides you are going to put together, gathering them up, and deciding what additional data you would really like to have if you should be invited to interview. And the chalk talk - well, that’s a whole different ballgame for which you have already laid the groundwork with your ‘research interests’ statement. Interviewing itself, the preparation, the presentations, how to dress and behave, how to follow up etc… will be the subject of several future posts.

Moving from the RESEARCH TRACK to the TENURE TRACK…

There is no delicate way to talk about moving from the research-track to the tenure-track. Many institutions have Assistant Professor for Research positions (on the non-tenure track, also sometimes called Assistant Professor(R) and may be similar to Instructor positions). These are useful positions, because typically they allow you to write and submit your own grants, but in reality they are glorified post-doc positions in many cases. These are generally soft-money positions- meaning that the institution doesn’t contribute much (if at all) to the salary of these employees. Different institutions have different requirements for giving these titles, and different policies about how the salary gets paid. I am not trying to be overly negative about these positions (I had one myself, after all)- because actually they give you something you didn’t have as a post-doc- the ability to write/submit/and hold a federal grant…. And this is enormously valuable prep and pay for if and when you seek a tenure track position.

Make no mistake though- a tenure-track position will not be handed to you as the next step up in the department where you are non-tenure track faculty. You will have to go out on a national job search, and probably get a written offer from another institution- before the institution where you are non-tenure track faculty will offer to put you on the tenure track. Why? I hear you cry. It’s pretty simple. Departments like to hire candidates that they think are competitive in the market, and that are going to be able to successfully get federal grants. They have to use their judgment in many cases on that second part- but as for the first part- how can you possibly be considered competitive in the market if you apply for only one tenure-track job…. In the department where you are currently non-tenure track? Right- you won’t be.

I have met a whole lot of two-academic-science-career couples where ½ of the party is in a non-tenure track faculty position… usually the woman. From personal experience I know that these fine and capable women will NOT be offered a tenure track role without a going on a national job search- even if the tenure-track (or tenured) part of their party is federally funded, a great colleague etc. Unfair, maybe- shortsighted, probably- and in fairness there are lots of reasons for this that would take me pages and pages to elaborate upon (note both PP and Drug Monkey’s comments). So- if you are in a non-tenure track position and have aspirations for a tenure track one (regardless of your situation) don’t WAIT for a tenure track job to fall from the sky, and don’t wait for one HOPING that somebody notices how hard you are working and how valuable you are. YOU MUST ACTIVELY GO ON A FULL FLEDGED JOB SEARCH, even if what you want is to convert your current non-tenure track position into a tenure track one…

Ok, gotta go- getting questionable sideways glances from other soccer moms… plus I have twice almost gotten hit with the soccer ball while writing this. It’s a sign.