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Ashley Wiersma is a doctoral candidate in the department of history at Michigan State University. You can follow her on twitter at @throughthe_veil.
Many of us are preparing to enter the academic job market this fall and are wondering where to start and how to navigate this unfamiliar and intimidating terrain. In a recent professional development talk at Michigan State University, Dr. Sowande’ Mustakeem offered the following suggestions from her own successful experience on the job market:
Begin early:
- How do you want to market yourself? Begin to think about this question early in your graduate career and fine-tune your answer along the way.
- Start your job search early, generally the August before you plan to graduate.
- Begin drafting cover letters, CV, teaching philosophy, and leadership statements the summer before you go on the market. Take the time to differentiate yourself from other candidates.
Stay in the loop:
- Keep up to date on job descriptions that match your qualifications. Follow job postings through scholarly organizations and sites like The Chronicle of Higher Ed - Jobs search.
Set firm submission deadlines
Keep your audience in mind
- Know the school and get a sense of what they’re looking for in the job description, school motto/ mission statement, and department information
Delineate the value you offer the field and each school.
- I am applying for this job, but here’s what else I can offer the department…
Prepare for the interview: Create 1-page “cheat sheets” about each school you will interview with. These should include:
- List of people who will be involved in the interview process, keywords for each person (research interests, courses taught, etc.)
- Department assessment
- Courses you could/would like to teach, including some the department doesn’t currently offer (jot down 2-3 authors/course & how you would structure it)
- Questions: Teaching load, expectations/responsibilities of the position, research support, mentoring policy, surrounding community and its relationship with the university/college
Finish your dissertation
- This one should be obvious, but the application process is demanding, and so is writing your dissertation. Nevertheless, the dissertation needs to be completed.
- Consider forming a writing group or finding an accountability partner who will help you stay on track to complete this final step in your program
- Reduce distractions during the hours in which you need to be productive, but don’t forget to take some time to unwind.
- Write every day.
Surround yourself with a supportive community
- Share your successes and struggles with others via #phdchat and other communities of dissertators
- Find or create a support group that encourages your efforts and helps you remain positive
Resources:
- University of California - The Academic Job Search Survival Handbook
- Berkeley’s Academic Job Search Guide
- GradHacker Carleen Carey offers tips on “Dissertating in the summer”
- Kaitlin Gallagher suggests that it’s time to get down to the actual work of writing rather than just thinking about writing in her post on “Meta-dissertating”
- Ralph Keyes, The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear (2003)
- Joan Bolker, Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis (1998)
What advice to you have for hose preparing for the job market? Let us know in the comments below.
