The Academic Job Search: An Overview

1. The Academic Job Search:An Overview Michelle M. Buehl University of Memphis Helenrose Fives Texas Tech University It’s not as easy as it looks.

2. Session Overview • Finding a Job: When to Start, Where to Look, and How to Be Prepared for the Process (Fives, 2004) • How to prepare your academic vita so people hire you: Or at least so they don’t wince! (Schallert, 2004) • The Job Interview: What to Expect and How to Prepare for the Job Talk and Interview(Sinatra, 2004) • Negotiating the Best Contract: Hard and Soft Dollars (Reynolds, 2004)

3. Finding a Job: When to Start, Where to Look, and How to Be Prepared for the Process Helenrose Fives Texas Tech University

5. When to Start • When you are ready. • After your proposal defense. • In the late fall through early spring.

6. When to Start Can you answer the following? • Who are you? • Area of Specialization • Strengths and Weaknesses • What do you want? • Type of position • Type of institution • Geographic location • When will you graduate?

7. Type of InstitutionCarnegie Rankings • Doctorate-granting Institutions • Doctoral/Research Universities—Extensive • Doctoral/Research Universities—Intensive • Master's Colleges and Universities • Master's Colleges and Universities I • Master's Colleges and Universities II • Baccalaureate Colleges • Baccalaureate Colleges—Liberal Arts • Baccalaureate Colleges—General • Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges • Associate's Colleges • Specialized Institutions http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/Classification/index.htm

8. Where to Look • Generally: • Everywhere and Anywhere, OR • Where you want to be… • Specifically: • Position Listings • Networks • University Web Sites

9. Where to Look • Chronicle of Higher Education • http://chronicle.com/ • Right Corner: “New Jobs” • Sort by State, Instituation, or Date • Daily Review • Teaching and Education Jobs • http://www.csuchico.edu/plc/teachjobs.html • Higher Education Jobs • http://higheredjobs.com/ • Association of Jesuit College and Universities (AJCU) • http://www.ajcunet.edu/jobbank/list2.asp?Limit=Faculty

10. How to be Prepared for the Process What you need: • Organization • Filing System • Spreadsheet • Receipts

11. How to be Prepared for the Process What you need: • Organization • Time • Check Daily Listings: 10 - 60 min • Decisions: 10 min to 1 – 2 hrs • Cover Letter and Vita Prep: • Initial: 1 – 2 days • Modifications: 15 – 20 min each • Search Maintenance: 15 – 60 min/day

13. How to be Prepared for the Process What you need: • Organization • Time • Money • Vita Paper ($20) • Mailing/Copies ($3 - $5 each) • Interview Wardrobe ($$?) • Phone Calls • Out of Pocket • Incidentals ($20) • Room on Credit Card

14. How to be Prepared for the Process What you need: • Organization • Time • Money • Flexibility • Support and Guidance • Vita Paper ($20) • Mailing/Copies ($3 - $5 each) • Interview Wardrobe ($$?) • Phone Calls • Out of Pocket • Incidentals ($20) • Room on Credit Card

15. How to be Prepared for the Process What you send: • Cover Letter • 2 – 3 Pages • Explain why you are perfect for the position. • They read it! • Vita • Reprints/Writing Samples • 2 – 3 published works or conference papers. • No Pubs? Use a recent submission, class paper, or work in progress.

16. How to be Prepared for the Process What you send: • Educational Philosophy • Teaching Evaluations • Create a compilation of the evaluations and comments. • Use a table or graph to demonstrate improvement. • Sample Syllabi • Demonstrates you teaching abilities and expectations • Even if you haven’t taught you can still create a syllabi for a course you will likely teach.

17. How to be Prepared for the Process What you do: • References • Ask • Inform • Thank • Know the Position • Description • Program • Know the Institution • Who are the faculty? • What is the mission? Professionally

18. How to be Prepared for the Process What you do: • Share • Peers • Recent Graduates • New Faculty • Explore • Possibilities • Locations • Roles Psychologically

19. How to be Prepared for the Process What you do: • Nourishment • Snack bars • Water • Advil? • Sleep • Get some Physically

20. Oh, and Finish your Dissertation

21. How to prepare your academic vita so people hire you: Or at least so they don’t wince! Diane Schallert University of Texas

22. What is a Vita? • A record of your ACADEMIC history and accomplishments • Not a resumé • Not a Cumulative Record! • Is it “Vita” or “Vitae”?

23. CAUTION – WARNING Page Numbers Vary – This is a Rough Outline for the Vita – there are other Formatting options…This is but one… What does it look like? Page 1:The First Impression

24. DrHottie@hotmail.com What does it look like? Page 1:The First Impression • Your name, phone numbers, and regular and electronic addresses.

25. What does it look like? Page 1:The First Impression • Your name, phone numbers, and regular and electronic addresses. • Your educational history (does NOT include high school) • Your employment history (USUALLY does not include high school)

26. What does it look like? Page 2: STNTBTBINSI • Awards you’ve received (probably should not include MVP, or ERA!) • Associations you belong to (write them all out -- no alphabet soup!) • Grants or funding you’ve received • OPTION: research & teaching interests That’s “Stuff That Needs To Be There But Is Not So Important

27. What does it look like? Page 3: Scholarly Contributions • List in reverse time order all your writings: • Articles • Chapters, books, & instructional materials • Local, regional, & national presentations • Should you separate them by category? • Only if you have > 1 in > 2 categories

28. What does it look like? • Let’s deal just with the articles • Order: • In press or published in journals • Manuscripts currently under review (do name the journal) • Manuscripts in preparation (be careful!) • Authors: list all authors in proper APA style

29. What does it look like? Page 4 (or 5 or 6) • On the last page, after the scholarly contributions, you should list your letter writers • Give their full academic address • Make sure you’ve asked their permission before listing them

30. Which page is most important? • Is it Page 2? • Is it Page 3? • Is it the last page (the list of letter writers?) • Is it Page 1?

31. What is the role of the vita in landing an academic job? • Is it essential? • Which matters most: • content or format?

32. What are the steps in writing your Vita? • Start with Page 3 • Assemble all the information you have on all your publications • Start typing, using APA format (mostly) • Go to Page 1 • Be clear, accurate, neat; use white space well • Fill out the rest

33. What else? • Absolutely critical to be scrupulously honest Careful – the one thing you exaggerate will be what they ask you about in detail!

34. What else? • Absolutely critical to be scrupulously honest • Do not be overly modest • Think of your vita as a living document: You should periodically edit it, clean it up, update it

35. The Job Interview: What to Expect and How toPrepare for the Job Talk and Interview Gale M. Sinatra University of Nevada, Las Vegas

36. Congratulations! You made the short list! Now what? • Expect a telephone interview • Don’t take these casually • May determine who gets on-site interview • Don’t take these spur of moment • Set up a quiet time • Be prepared • Expect questions about your fit to the position • Be positive, but honest • Ask questions, but do not express doubts

37. Congratulations! You have an on-site interview. Now what? • Typical Itinerary: Arrival and Day 1 Review the interview itinerary and bring a copy with you! (Sometimes your hosts have no idea what to do with you when they’re done)

38. Congratulations! You have an on-site interview. Now what? • Typical Itinerary: Arrival and Day 1 • Fly in Sunday night, reception at 7:00PM • 8:00AM Monday breakfast meeting • 9:00-10:00 Meet with search committee • 10:00-11:30 Your presentation • 11:30-1:00 Lunch with graduate students • 1:00-2:00 Open meeting with faculty • 2:00-3:00 Meet with dean • 3:00-4:00 Meet with chair • 6:00 Dinner

39. Congratulations! You have an on-site interview. Now what? • Typical Itinerary: Day 2 • 8:00AM Breakfast meeting • 9:00-10:00 Tour of campus • 10:00-11:30 Visit local school, center etc. • 11:30-1:00 Lunch with faculty • 1:00-2:00 Teach class or give a lecture • 2:00-3:00 Meet with search committee • 3:00-6:00 Tour community • 6:00 Taken to airport

40. The Job Talk • Find out expectations from search chair • One talk or two? • Research or teaching? • Time breakdown? • Find out and stick to it! • Technology availability? • Plan on backup overheads • Audience? • Assume all questions have an agenda!

41. The Job Talk • Just because you’re comfortable using technology doesn’t mean the search chair is (or even knows how to make sure that it’s set up for you). • Ask questions – if the search chair doesn’t offer needed information, ASK! • Every question has an Agenda – know the research and background of the people you’re speaking to. • Find out expectations from search chair • One talk or two? • Research or teaching? • Time breakdown? • Find out and stick to it! • Technology availability? • Plan on backup overheads • Audience? • Assume all questions have an agenda!

42. Tips for Surviving the Interview • Prepare! • Get on-line and find out something about campus, college, department and faculty Figure out why you want THIS job – if you don’t want it before you go – think hard about going on the interview and wasting a lot of time.

43. Tips for Surviving the Interview • Prepare! • Get on-line and find out something about campus, college, department and faculty • Every event is part of the interview, especiallydinners, lunches, receptions • Every person you meet is interviewing you • Dress appropriately and act professionally • Don’t act like a graduate student • Especially around other graduate students! • Ask same questions to different people

44. Questions to Ask: • Dean • Vision for College? • Expectations for Tenure? • Financial Health of University/College? • Department Chair • Vision for the Department? • Teaching Load? • Research Expectations for Merit and Tenure? • Start Up Funds? • Research Space? • Internal Grant Programs? • Travel Funds? • Grant Support?

45. Questions to Ask: • Search Committee • Expectations for Position? • Climate in Department? • Search Process and Timeline? • Faculty • View of the Chair, Dean, College, Colleagues? • Satisfaction with Climate? Social Interaction? • Areas of Research? • Amount and Type of Research Common? • Tenure Process? • Teaching Load? • View of Graduate Students? • Collaboration Common?

46. Questions to Ask: • Graduate Students • Satisfaction with Program? • Courses They Would Like Offered? • Areas of Research Interest? • Graduate Assistantships/Grants/Scholarships? • Research Collaborations? • Their Job Prospects? • Staff • Satisfaction with Department? • Climate in Department? • Ratio of Staff to Faculty? • Does Staff Provide Support for Faculty? • Technical Support?

47. Follow Up • Send Thank You E-mails • Communicate with Search Chair about Process and Timeline • Follow up on Requests for Information • If you get a Competing Offer, Call Chair

48. Negotiating the Best Contract:Hard and Soft Dollars Ralph Reynolds University of Nevada, Las Vegas

49. Hard Dollars • The differences between hard money and soft money negotiations. • You can negotiate more on soft money items than hard money items. • Salary is a hard money item. Negotiation is minimal and depends on: • Quality of your record • Whether or not you have any counter-offers • Size and orientation of institution • Feel of the table

50. Soft Dollars • Moving Expenses • Computer, Printer, and Software • Teaching Assignments and Course Reduction • Research Needs • Graduate Assistant • Start-up Funds • Travel Money • Tenure Clock • Partner Relocation & Job Search • Start date