Preparing for the job market and transitioning into your first tenure-track position

1. Doctoral Consortium Preparing for the job market and transitioning into your first tenure-track position Alexander Serenko M.Sc., MBA, PhD, Esq., CNN, MTV, BBC Professor, MIS and Strategy Faculty of Business, Lakehead University Thunder Bay, Ontario, also the home to Harvard University and MIT

2. Agenda • Personal Story / BIO / Icebreaker • Preparation for the job market • Job search strategies • Interview or campus visit • Negotiating a job offer • Starting your academic life (things to do first and not to do at all)

3. Personal Story / BIO / Icebreaker • Third-generation academic • IT background • MBA in e-Commerce, McMaster U • Met my future supervisor (Brian Detlor) and my mentor Nick Bontis • PhD in MIS in 2 yrs 9 months, tenure in 2.5 yrs, full professor in 10 yrs • 70 journal articles, 4,000 citations… • Why Lakehead? • Family, nice people in the IS area, compensation package, environment, intuition

4. Personal Story / BIO / Icebreaker Disclaimer • This presentation reflects the personal, biased, and probably absolutely wrong views of the speaker • Regardless of what I say, I believe that academia is the third best job in the world • You are paid to do whatever research you want (just get tenure first) • Presented at the Doctoral Consortia before • Thought they would never let me speak again 

5. Personal Story / BIO / Icebreaker Importance of Doctoral Consortia • Networking • Ideas • Feedback on your dissertation

6. Job market preparation • Keep your long-term goals in mind • Where do you want to be in 20 yrs? • Personal preferences • Research • Teaching • Service • Create a profile of an ‘ideal’ school • Be realistic

7. Job market preparation Things to keep in mind • Location, location, location • “Sure it's big, but look at the location” - Shrek

8. Job market preparation Things to keep in mind • Location, location, location • “Sure it's big, but look at the location” - Shrek • #1 reason for faculty turnover at Lakehead • What is your family going to do? • Even though academia is terribly slow, change happens • Teaching universities become research institutions • In research universities, teaching-focused tracks appear

9. Job market preparation Things to keep in mind • Course load • 4 or 5 in Canada • 4 – 6 in the US (6 is the norm) • Canada:12 sessions 3 hrs, US: 15 sessions 3 hrs • Academic jobs in the US are more demanding (at least, this is what my PhD buddies say) • Course reductions

10. Job market preparation Things to keep in mind • Course load • What courses you may be teaching • Do multiple sections count? • Courses that no current faculty members want to teach • May be outside of your area of expertise • Things change quickly!! • T&P requirements • E.g., Lakehead does not count publications from a dissertation towards T&P

11. Job market preparation Things to keep in mind • Internal politics • Get inside info • Your PhD program graduates • Your advisor and faculty • Research funding – ‘we have no $$, get your own SSHRC’ • One-year appointments often become tenure-track positions

12. Job market preparation Application Package • Professional resume • Get help from HR faculty, career services and colleagues – multiple rounds • Do NOT misrepresent yourself • 10% of all resumes that were checked contained false information • Publications that never existed, wrong author order, professional journals as peer-reviewed, etc. • You may be blacklisted forever

13. Job market preparation Application Package • Teaching / Research Statement • Outline your past achievements and emphasize future potential • Customized cover letter • I am applying, I am good, I did this, I published in, etc. - Wrong • Ctrl-V Ctrl-C • If you really want the job, do your research and make sure this letter is written for them, and it is about them

14. Job market preparation Application Package • What are they looking for? • There are three criteria for hiring • Research – publications • Research – funding • Teaching – can you teach what we need? • There are three criteria for T&P • Research • Research • Research

15. Job market preparation Application Package • There are dramatic differences in research productivity of academics • Theoretical explanation: • Cumulative advantage

16. Resources and Advantages: - Access to Resources - Time (e.g., teaching release) - Financial support (e.g., grants) - Graduate students - Research colleagues - Facilities (e.g., labs) - Teaching and Administrative Leeway - Familiarity with Top Journal Publication Requirements - Bias of Editors - Bias of Reviewers Multiplicative (i.e., interactive, synergetic) Direct Effect Extraordinary Research Productivity Multiplicative (i.e., interactive, synergetic) Direct Effect Recursive Effect Rewards: - Institution’s Prestige - Researcher’s Prestige - Name Recognition - Encouragement of Colleagues - Research Self-Efficacy - Researcher’s Value for an Institution (i.e., expert power) Direct Effect Initial Research Success Job market preparation Application Package – Cumulative advantage

17. Job Search Strategies • CAUT (paper and online) • Each school’s website • Create a list and visit all of them weekly • Personal contacts or talk to the school directly • Conferences! • E.g., AMCIS for IS, interview booths on site • Professional association websites • E.g., IS World for IS • Talk to the recent grads, your advisor, etc.

18. Job Search Strategies • Submit • Resume • Cover letter • Research/Teaching statement, teaching evaluations • Names of referees • Reference letters (only if required) • Try to identify a friendly faculty member in your area and talk to him/her • It is OK to cold-call a person in some cases • Hiring committee members may not directly talk to you not to breach the protocol

19. Campus Visit • 33% chance of getting an offer • You will be sent a schedule • Learn about faculty members in advance • Names, research areas, major publications, etc. • Identify a decision maker • Formal – the Dean and Area Chair • Informal? • The interview starts when you discuss your visit over the phone/email • Communicate in a professional tone!

20. Campus Visit • You will have meals with hiring committee members, Area Chair, Dean, faculty members • This is part of the interview • You will meet as many faculty/area members as possible • Put yourself in their place (have a break between the classes, let’s go for a coffee for 10 mins) • Dinner • You will need energy • I got up earlier and had an extra breakfast before • You can talk, not eat

21. Campus Visit • Formal presentation • The best way to ruin your career • Research presentation • Your dissertation or another COMPLETED project • People expect to see the results – where are you in your PhD? • Not a brief discussion of several research papers you wrote for your PhD courses, or future research • Not only a lit review and research questions • You may mention future research directions/projects after you are done with your actual presentation • 1 ppt slide “Future Research”

22. Campus Visit • Formal presentation • Teaching presentation (if asked) • Pick a neutral topic • Something you are familiar with, but not the audience • You need to demonstrate that you may communicate the material to the audience which is unfamiliar with this area

23. Campus Visit • Do NOT (based on the personal experience): • Read the slides • Comment on sensitive issues (e.g., superiority of qualitative / quantitative research) • Use coarse language (sh..t, my PPT doesn’t work) • Use font size 5 for PPT slides • Miss the ‘agenda’ slide • Talk to the wall • Talk to the computer • Avoid eye contact

24. Campus Visit • Do NOT: • Put long sentences in small font • Don’t explain the model by using your finger on the computer monitor (people on the other side of the computer can’t see it) • Talk to yourself

25. Campus Visit • Formal presentation • This should be the best presentation you will ever do in your life • You MUST spend several days rehearsing your presentation • Memorize all slides and the entire speech • Make a few jokes, don’t be boring • Handle questions well • “I did not expect somebody here to know this…” • Predict all questions in advance

26. Campus Visit • Formal presentation • You may be asked to teach a class • Inquire about the topic in advance • You may meet grad students

27. Campus Visit • Interview preparation • Attend hiring interviews in your faculty, even in other areas • Make significant progress on your dissertation • ABD is a must • Interview at conferences to get experience • Make your presentation simple. You are the subject matter expert, not your audience • Give this presentation at your school

28. Campus Visit • Questions to expect during an interview • Illegal questions (“what’s your wife going to do here?”) • Why us? • When do you expect to complete your PhD? • Be realistic, do NOT mislead them • Publication plans? Conferences to attend? • Are you OK with re-allocation? • What classes did you take? • How would you teach this course? • Preferred research method? (Qual vs. quant)

29. Campus Visit • Questions to ask • Courses and course load. Does it change over time? • Office presence / office hours (but beware) • Is this position fully funded / approved? • T&P requirements • Success of previous T&P applicants • Service expectations • TAs/GAs/Markers • Class size

30. Campus Visit • Questions to ask • Travel support (faculty and university) • Internal funding • Future plans of the faculty • Teaching release in the 1st year • Teaching release for research • Where would your office be? • How do the faculty spend their summers? Summer courses? Vacation? Research? • When do I start? May I delay the appointment?

31. Campus Visit • Questions not to ask first • Salary and compensation package • Check the website and collective agreement • Salaries over $100K in Ontario in the public sector are online • Internal politics • Financial situation of the school or university

32. General Advice • Show a genuine interest in people / place • Respect the location • Show how your expertise will contribute to their faculty • Behave as if you visualize yourself working there • Keep internal politics in mind (some faculty members may dislike each other) • Be confident but not ignorant • Be nice to everyone

33. Job Offer Negotiation • Don’t discuss it during the interview • If asked, say you are familiar with the range and average salaries in your discipline in Canada /US, but don’t state $$ • Wait for an offer to arrive • Then you will have a week or two to negotiate the offer • This is the ONLY time you have power over the administration • Negotiate ONLY if you will accept the new offer. Think about the other PhD students in your school

34. Job Offer Negotiation • You may negotiate the salary but not the benefits (which are set in the collective agreement)

35. Job Offer Negotiation • Pros of negotiation • More $$ now and in future • In one case, an assistant professor negotiated a $10,000 increase • Cons • They may say ‘no’ • Extra work for the Dean or hiring committee • View you as a troublemaker even before you arrive • Will find ways to get back at you later

36. Job Offer Negotiation • Starting salary is important but not the King • Annual increase • Travel and PDF • Teaching load – preps vs. courses, teach courses that you previously taught • Cost of living • Tuition waiver for spouse and children • Union presence, benefits, moving expenses • House hunting expenses • Start date, when do I need to finish my dissertation?

37. First Days on the Job • Take care of your family • Find a family doctor • Ask the Dean and others to help you • Are there any senior faculty with ‘unorthodox’ views on junior faculty members? • Figure out tenure and promotion (T&P) requirements in detail • Talk to the recent T&P applicants • Number of articles, do publications before joining this university count?

38. First Days on the Job • Attend a university’s orientation session for the new faculty • Good networking opportunity • Teaching preps take lots of time • Two preps in one semester took 80% of my time  • Try to keep all the materials for the next year • Find a mentor • A senior faculty member, dept chair, etc. • Secretary may be a great source of info

39. First Days on the Job • Do NOT assume that all rules are the same as they are in your previous school • “We did it this way at McMaster, how should I do it now?” • E.g., mandatory release of final exams to the library • Often, the financial office is the source of problems • Minimize distractions by students • Clear info in class, mass emails with clarifications, all info is online for those who don’t attend the class, etc. • 90% of all interruptions come from 10% of the students • If I teach well, I have more time for research…..

40. First Days on the Job • Low teaching evaluation in your first year is not a problem, but good evaluation is….???? • Show continuous (even small) improvement • Minimize the service • Avoid internal committees – source of politics • External / university level service is safer and counts more • Finish your dissertation!!

41. Things NOT to do • You are a junior untenured faculty member • Understand this and know your limits • Don’t try to overthrow the Dean • Don’t sever as a chair on any committees • Don’t try to lead the Senate • Don’t publically criticize the President • Don’t tell senior researchers how to do research • Don’t fight with your colleagues/administrators • Conflict or differences of opinions – just LET IT GO

42. Remember • Don’t allow your early enthusiasm of joining academia to disappear because: • Academic politics is intense. Pay no attention to it. Be above it. This is not your world • Many students are not excited about real learning (give me my B and a degree) • Your major challenge will be to address pathologies created by others rather than to actually improve and deliver high-quality education and research output • This is still the third best job in the world!

43. Questions? PPT is available online aserenko.com