The Academic Job Search Handbook

3. Becoming a Job Candidate: The Timetable for Your Search

Chapter 3 Becoming a Job Candidate: The Timetable for Your Search It is important to begin to prepare for your job search well before you expect to finish your dissertation or your postdoctoral research. In many fields it is also important to time the search to coincide with the completion of your dissertation. Many scientists are competitive on the tenuretrack market only after a few years of postdoctoral research. Think about your job search, your participation in scholarly organizations, and the completion of your dissertation or postdoctoral research as a unified whole. Most faculty members will advise you not to take a tenure-track position before your dissertation is completed. Similarly, postdocs should fulfill all their obligations to their current lab before leaving. A strong logic informs that view. In a tight job market, candidates who have completed their degrees are likely to be chosen over those who have not. A postdoc will want to start his or her own research program and not have to worry about finishing research done for someone else. Once you have accepted a position , you will gain tenure as a result of research done as a junior faculty member. If you are late beginning your new research agenda, you will already be late by the tenure clock, and in the position of a student with several incompletes, who can never catch up with current work. Funding considerations may force you to look for paid employment before beginning your new position. If this is the case, choose the employment most conducive to finishing your research. Use the timetable below to plan your job search while completing your dissertation or postdoctoral research and participating in scholarly activities . Each suggested step is discussed in detail elsewhere in this book. If, by chance, you read it thinking, ‘‘I wish I had done some of these things last year,’’ don’t despair! Fill in the gaps as best you can. Certainly many people obtain positions without having conducted the ‘‘perfect’’ job search. However , if you see gaps in your preparation and do not do as well as you hope in the job market this year, you may find much more success if you go on the market again next year after better preparation. 20 Planning and Timing Your Search Timetable for Applying for Jobs That Begin in September Two Years Before the Position Would Begin • Make sure all members of your dissertation committee are selected. Consider getting a December degree, which enables you to apply with ‘‘degree in hand.’’ (International scholars, however, should consider the visa implications of this timing.) • Learn about conference dates and locations. Plan to attend and, if feasible , to give a presentation. Learn deadlines for submitting papers. • Learn about all the important sources of job listings in your field. In some disciplines the job listings of one scholarly association cover almost everything. In other fields there may be multiple sources. • Explore Internet resources and bookmark useful sites. There are many excellent resources, such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, Tomorrow’s Professor, and Preparing Future Faculty. • Give thought to your long-range goals and consider the kinds of jobs you will wish to apply for. If your plans will have an impact on a spouse or partner, begin to talk with that person about geographic locations you will both consider acceptable. • If you have the opportunity to do so, start to sit in on the talks of job candidates in your department. Think about what they do that does and doesn’t work well. If your department allows students to review candidates ’ application materials, take advantage of this opportunity to see a large collection of them. • If you think a Web site would enhance a candidacy in your field, start to develop one. • Consider submitting an article or articles to reputable journals in your field. • Identify any relevant postdocs for which you may want to apply and learn their deadlines. • If you are already in a postdoctoral position, you will want to seek a tenure -track position when you feel your research record is strong enough. Once you’ve decided you’re ready to put yourself on the market, see ‘‘Fall, Twelve Months Before’’ below. • Think about developing a backup plan. If it includes seeking nonacademic positions, start to educate yourself about the options. Two excellent resources are So What Are You Going to Do with That?: Finding Careers Outside Academia by Susan Basalla May and Maggie Debelius and Nontraditional Careers in Science...