We are reaching into the archives to update the August 2013 blog post, “Getting a Faculty Job.” Starting in August, a large share of faculty jobs will begin accepting applications to fill positions that begin in the fall of the following year. Here are some key elements of the academic job search to consider before you apply:
- What type of educational institution is appealing to you? Do you want to be at a large research university (like Columbia University in NYC), a state school that terminates in a master’s program (like Eastern Michigan University), or a four-year liberal arts environment, (like Swarthmore College) or community college. Each of these types of institutions has different expectations regarding the amount of teaching and research expected from faculty. Different institutions/schools have different expectations for grant funding, teaching, and service and obtaining tenure. Be sure to consider the type of position you are looking for so you can prepare the strongest possible package. Another question to consider: does the location and setting (urban/suburban) matter to you? To research schools, look at the Carnegie Classifications.
- Find positions that interest you. Many schools post their domestic and international academic openings on-line at sites including: Science Careers, New Scientist Jobs, Academic 360, Nature, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Cell Careers, Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Identify universities that have strong research programs in your field who may have positions open. Utilize your professional network with faculty at professional meetings, conferences, and visit their websites to learn about future position openings.
- Start to prepare your job application package that will include several elements. a. Curriculum Vitae (CV )– a record of your academic career. Your CV, as described in the OITE Resume and CV Guide, will be tailored differently if it is a research-intensive position or if it is a teaching-intensive position.
- b. Cover Letter – This is a document that is tailored to the job for which you are applying. The OITE also publishes a Cover Letter guide document that shows several examples to explain why you are interested in establishing your career at that university, and how you see your research goals fitting into their overall department.
- c. Research Statement/Plan – The goal here is to get your future colleagues to be excited about you and your science. This document typically includes some discussion of prior research accomplishments, but you should specifically highlight the work most relevant to your proposed work. You need to lay out a do-able research plan for the next 5+ years that is similar in format to what you would use for a grant submission with a focus on explaining how the work you are currently proposing fits into your broader long-term goals. Depending on the position, you may want to explain how you will tailor your research for students at the institution; this is especially important if the expectation is that you will engage large numbers of undergrads in your research.
- d. Teaching Philosophy/Plan – If you will have a teaching component of your job, this part of your application tells them about your personal beliefs on teaching and gives a hiring committee a visual of your approach (philosophy, learning outcomes, methods, skills, texts etc.) to teaching students in that subject matter. Include specific examples and reflect that you understand the student population at that specific institution.
- Diversity Statement – In recent years, several universities request a written statement that addresses such questions your past and future contributions to diversity through research, teaching, and service. You may be asked to link this to the mission of the college and university as well. Go ahead and consult the diversity statement blog from 2016.
- Letters of recommendation – You should start to line your letters up early. They need to be very strong.
- Practice Academic Interviews - It is important to practice answering questions for academic interviews. Most often these interviews will be on campus, however, in some instances they may be conference interviews. The key to this is to research the university/college before you interview to avoid any interview gaffes. This also involves preparing and rehearsing for your job talk presentation and addressing any challenging questions. We recommend practicing with scientists in your field who can provide helpful suggestions and pose questions that you may encounter during your interview.
Creating strong application documents and active preparation are keys to success in the academic job search market. We encourage you to attend academic job search workshops and programs offered by the OITE. In addition, the counselors can help you with preparation and encourage you watch our OITE video casts online including the Academic Job Search Overview prior to scheduling appointments. For those of you beyond NIH, consider setting up a practice interviews with your home institution’s academic department or career center.
