Preparing for the Job Market: Part II

Preparing for the Job Market: Part II Bill Carbonaro, DGS University of Notre Dame Department of Sociology March 2009

The Hiring Process (at most Schools)

The Hiring Process BAD NEWS – for even the most successful candidates, rejection is the NORM GOOD NEWS – you only need ONE SUCCESS ** Strong candidates simply have more offers to choose from

Planning Ahead TIMELINE

Applying for Jobs CAVEAT #1: A successful job search takes A LOT of time and energy! Jump in with both feet, but . . . Don’t forget to keep working on your dissertation so that you graduate on time!

Applying for Jobs CAVEAT #2: The search for a job can be VERY discouraging, and you will experience more rejection than success! STAY POSITIVE! • Remember – it is VERY COMPETITIVE! • Fit issues often derail even the best applicants! • It’s not about you as a person – don’t take it personally! • Being bitter and negative will NOT help you; it will only hurt you!

Applying: Who’s hiring? Main Resource: ASA Job Bank Other resources: • Job Service at ASA Annual Meetings  Should you go? It depends on the job that you are looking for. • Other advertised resources (the Chronicle, other discipline specific resources for jobs outside sociology) • Word of mouth? (Not much action there)

What’s the Outlook? SHORT TERM • Not great • Fewer Jobs (due to bad economy) • Fewer Retirements (bad 401K’s) • Lots of applicants LONG TERM • Still Good • Education is still a growth industry • Increased investment in research for the next 4-8 years

Applying: Reading the Ad Let’s look at some ads . . . Helpful Advice: Start looking at these ads LONG BEFORE you hit the job market! • Get a sense of the job market looks like • Get a sense of what kinds of things you will need to have to compete for certain jobs

Which Jobs should you Apply for? “Cast a wide net.”– Adam Gamoran What criteria should use? • FIT: • Between your record/skills and the job • Each of you will be underqualified for some positions, and overqualified for others • Between your substantive area and the job/dept. • Stretching is OK – but be realistic

Which Jobs should you Apply for? “Cast a wide net.”– Adam Gamoran What criteria should use? • PERSONAL: • Where do you want to live, work, etc.? • How much money do want to make? • (FILL IN THE BLANK) CAVEAT: You can be picky, but it comes at a price (more limited searches are less likely to be successful)

Applying for Jobs You’re not Wild about SOCIAL PROOF at work! Getting interviews and offers allow you to contact other departments and “check in” and “see where they are” in their search. Departments see your success on the market as SOCIAL PROOF that you are a strong candidate! GOAL  To set a VIRTOUS CYCLE into motion • “Offers beget offers.”

Applying: Reading the Ad • Avoid calling or e-mailing, unless it is really important! • Follow the instructions. • If you are unsure, err on the side of applying rather than not applying.

Your CV • Review your notes from Prosem! • Get advice from your advisor. • What’s on there matters more than the format; but make sure the format helps you put your best foot forward. • Don’t bother with padding – there is no point!

The Cover letter • Generally, the first thing that people will read (after your CV). • What is it for? • To tell the chair and search committee WHO you are, describe your strengths, and explain what you will do if you are hired. This is your opportunity to MAKE YOUR CASE!

The Cover letter CONTENT • SUBSTANTIVE AREA • Delineate your professional identity as a scholar (Area, theory, methods)  who are you? • RESEARCH • Talk about your research accomplishments • Talk about your future research agenda • TEACHING • Talk about your teaching accomplishments • Talk about what your future plans for teaching • FIT • Emphasize places where the fit is really good • Explain why you think you’re the best person for the job

The Cover Letter LENGTH As long as it needs to be. Two single spaced pages is not unusual. But, don’t go overboard – people won’t read it if it is too long. OVERLAP Don’t just repeat what’s in your research and teaching statements.

The Cover letter • Spend A LOT of time perfecting this! Get feedback from your advisor. • Incorporate both “boilerplate,” and “customized” sections so that each letter that you send out is unique to a given dept.

The Cover Letter Special Considerations: Is there something unique about your profile, which needs further elaboration/explanation? The cover letter is the place to address these issues. • Eight years to finish grad school  Serious illness that caused me to take a year off from graduate school • One bad semester?  Went through a messy divorce CAVEAT: Don’t get carried away here; stick to major issues w/ LEGITIMATE explanations!

The Cover Letter OTHER TIPS • AVOID talking about why you went into sociology or how influential your first reading the Sociological Imagination was! This is a not your “personal statement” to grad school. • Always be professional in tone.

Research Statement Only provide if they ask for one; otherwise this goes in your coverletter. What are you “about” as a researcher? • Connect the dots! What’s the big picture? • Describe how your research (so far) fits together THEMATICALLY. • Map out your research agenda for the future, and show how it connects to your prior/current research. • Talk about theory and methods, not just findings.

Teaching Statement What are you “about” as a teacher? • What is your overriding philosophy about teaching? • What do you hope to accomplish in the classroom? • How have you (or how do you plan to) done this? • Use examples from your teaching to drive your points home. • What courses might you teach in the future? What courses COULD you teach?

Letters of Recommendation • What are they for? • Decreasing Uncertainty in an Inherently Uncertain Market • Do they actually matter? • Really good ones help • Really bad one hurt • Most lie somewhere in between • May make a difference, but only at the margins

Letters of Recommendation Who should you choose? • Your advisor (a must) • Professors who know your work • Who know your research, know your teaching, etc. • “Big Names” in the field • People with credibility, who are active in the fields, whose judgment is credible to others • Ideally, pick faculty who fall into more than one of the above categories!

Letters of Recommendation How do you know who will write you a good letter? • Give your letters writers an opportunity to say no • If they say “no,” their letter would probably not have helped you much (too busy, not motivated) • If they still say “yes,” then they will be more committed to writing a good letter for • Ask your advisor for input about who you should pick  they should do some “behind the scenes” work for you

Letters of Recommendation • How do you get someone to write you a rally good letter? • Explain to each letter writer the reason WHY you picked him/her • What do you hope that person’s letter will accomplish? • Talk with them about your goals for the job search • This ensures a good fit between the letter and what the committee wants to know • Talk with them about how you are going to “market” yourself as a candidate • Think reinforcement, not redundancy • Make sure that the letter writer has all of the necessary information • CV, publications, papers, etc.

The Interview

The Interview You’ve been invited for an interview – hurray! Should you go?  NOW is the time to get more information from the chair about the expectations regarding the position. CALL him/her and get more information.

The Interview PRE-INTERVIEW Conversation ** Make sure that the fit meets your expectations BEFORE you agree to go! Figure if the job is a “non-starter” – if so, don’t go! Ex -- If the job has a 4-4 teaching load, and you don’t want that, don’t go! ** Remember – your goal is gather information at this point, not to negotiate terms of an offer (that comes later).

The Interview • Remember – you are ALWAYS “on” during the interview. • Be mindful of “presentation of self issues.” • Be yourself – but always be HIGHLY professional.

The Interview Dress Code Look professional  Err on the side of too dressy rather than too casual Make sure that you are comfortable ** Just look normal, and you will be OK

The Interview DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFOREHAND! • Learn about the department (from both sources inside the institution and outside): • Who are the faculty? What do they do? • What are the substantive areas in the department? • What do people in your department think about the department? • Learn about how the hiring process works (from the chair): • Does the faculty as a whole vote to make an offer? A sub-committee? • What happens outside the department?

One on One Meetings Faculty are trying to get a feel for: Your “off-stage” persona. • What you will be like as a colleague. • Whether you can think on your feet. • Blink – thin slicing. Be relaxed, but remain professional!

One on One Meetings Your chance to ask questions: • Ask faculty’s research (if appropriate) – often people’s favorite topic(themselves!). • Ask about the expectations for tenure, etc. • Ask people whether they like the job, institution, area, etc. • Ask about the graduate students • Ask about the undergraduate students

One on One Meetings Don’t: • . . . ask questions related to an offer before you have it! (Don’t talk salary, benefits, research accounts, etc.) That’s what negotiations are for. • . . . ask people specific questions about their salary, teaching load, etc. • . . . ask “chair” questions of the other faculty. • . . . ask overly personal questions. • . . . BE NEGATIVE! Don’t talk about other people unless you are complimenting them!

The Job Talk The SINGLE most important thing (for research jobs)! • For most people on the faculty, this is the ONLY time they will encounter your WORK as a scholar! • IMPORTANT! Ask the chair what the expectations and norms are for his/her department! (Learn the local culture!) • What’s the format? (Length, Q&A, PowerPoint, etc.) • What are the expectations? (Heavy on theory, results, etc.) • Who is typically in the audience?

The Job Talk Think long and hard about what to present  Make sure that it is your VERY best work that you have. Don’t take chances with “hot off the presses” results/analyses  Make sure that the material for the talk is vetted by your advisor

The Job Talk KEEP IN MIND . . . • Unlike ASA, there are many people in the audience who are NOT in your subfield. • Don’t assume that the audience is knowledgeable about the literature in your subfield. • Many people in the audience may have NO familiarity with your data (if secondary sources) or even your methodology. • D0n’t dumb it down too much – but be careful that the talk does not go over people’s heads!

The Job Talk PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! • Practice your talk in an empty room (talking out loud) with your PowerPoints, overheads, etc. Time yourself. • Do a practice job talk in front of a live audience of sociologists (faculty, fellow grad students, etc.).

The Job Talk Remember: • Don’t be boring • Don’t run long • Don’t present tables of results with hundreds of numbers that people can’t read • Don’t present lengthy quotes with tiny words that people can’t read • Don’t tell bad jokes (funny ones are OK!) • Don’t stare/talk to the ground and/or screen • Don’t talk so softly that people in the back can’t hear you

The Job Talk The Q&A Minefield Rules of engagement: • Always be respectful; never confrontational or dismissive. • Try to answer the question as best you can  don’t just say “Hmm – I need to think about that more. Next!” • Be humble – don’t try to smack down every critique or suggestion. • Be appreciative of feedback from questioners. • Don’t be overly long-winded. • You can write things down as they ask their question!

The Teaching Demonstration The SINGLE most important thing (for teaching jobs)! AGAIN -- Practice, Practice, Practice! Make sure that the class CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES your approach to teaching, which you wrote about in your teaching statement.

The Teaching Demonstration Other tips: • Play to your strengths – be sure they see what you do best. • Stick to what’s “tried and true” for you. • If you are doing something really unorthodox, be sure to explain what you’re up to BEFOREHAND. • Learn what you can about the students, and adapt accordingly.

Follow-up After the interview: • Stay in touch • Write some personalized “thank you’s” to people that you spent significant time with

The Offer Key things to think about: • SALARY: what’s normative for the type of job, the area, the institution, etc.? • TRANSITION ISSUES: • Moving expenses? • Course load reduction in first few year? • SPECIAL TENURE ISSUES? • RESEARCH RESOURCES • Are they adequate for your ? Can they be replenished? • SPOUSAL ISSUES?

The Offer General Approach to Negotiating: Be firm, but don’t be adversarial REMEMBER: both sides learn something about each other in these negotiations. • Avoid creating misperceptions and bad will with the department. • The way the chair/dept/University conduct themselves during the negotiation should say something to you about how attractive this job is!

The Offer DO: • Consult with your advisor and the chair of your department about the offer DON’T: • Talk w/ other faculty in the (offering) department about the terms of your offer. (E.g., “how does my offer stack up with the one they gave you?”) • *** Don’t discuss the terms of your offer with ANYONE ELSE but the chair!

Spousal Issues • How should these be handled? • Address these issues AFTER you have been invited for an interview. Talk to the chair. • Be up front and honest about your situation.

Preparing for the Job Market: Part II