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Selling Yourself on the Academic Job Market

Learn how to frame research questions, secure funding, publish, and excel in teaching to land your dream academic job. Discover key tips for applications, interviews, and standing out in a competitive market.

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Selling Yourself on the Academic Job Market

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  1. Selling Yourself on theAcademic Job Market Christopher M. Anderson University of Rhode Island (Ph.D. Caltech, 2001) 2005 AAEA CV Workshop

  2. Do You have what it takes? • Frame original research questions and address them • Attract money for the research • Excite peers through conference presentations • Publish the results • Teach • Cover needed topics • Excite students to maintain or grow enrollments • Collaborate and contribute to department

  3. Demonstrate you do in school! • Innovate: Develop a new question or approach • Replicating a study with new data won’t get you an academic job • Need to demonstrate your potential to frame good questions and apply the tools you have to them • Teach • Teaching evaluations are a big plus • Get a grant (of any size) • Demonstrate your ability to sell your ideas to funders • Publish a paper • Present, especially at smaller conferences • Get practice, network, impress future colleagues with your clear description of your work

  4. On the Market: Timing • Ads show up in Job Openings for Economists • Packet deadlines will generally be 11/15-12/15 • Need to have job paper, packet by late October • Most send out many applications (I sent out 75) • Econ interviews at ASSA meetings – plan to go • Called 12/15-12/25 for 30 min interviews (early Jan) • Start with 5 minute “spiel” about you and your work • Explain what you are willing to teach and how • Flyout decisions in following weeks • Grueling 3-day on-campus interviews in February • 45-minute seminar for all faculty, grad students • Offers March-April • Many schools have application bureaucracy (AA) that slows this down

  5. What Happens to Your Application • Every member of committee looks at it • CV, letters, job paper abstract • Flip through paper to see level of theory, level of econometrics, policy recommendations • Research statement: How does this paper fit in to your vision overall • Committee chooses top several candidates • Fill out Affirmative Action form justifying decision to/not to interview you • Job description is written to facilitate filling out AA form • Lacks required elements (e.g., Ph.D.) • Not as strong on other candidates are required elements (weak micro theory) • Has fewer, or not as strong, on preferred elements • Then depends on interviews more than application

  6. Good Applications Highlight: • Your theoretical tools • Micro tools, game theory, dynamic models, production theory, etc. • Your data tools • Panel, time series, spatial, discrete choice econometrics • Your applied interests • Groundwater, crop production, manure management, tradable pollution rights • Things that don’t matter • Unrelated work experience • Student activities (though interests and hobbies can) • Fancy binders

  7. Writing is Important • Economists communicate in writing (grants, journals) • Materials show how you sell self, ideas • English must be comfortable and flawless • Select your main points and structure statements and paragraphs to emphasize them • Show you know how what you’re doing is innovative, interesting and relevant • Use on-campus writing center, career center, friends, etc. to help

  8. Good Luck! • Don’t let yourself be adrift…ask advice • Your advisor • Young faculty in your department

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