Applying for an Academic Job:
Nuts and Bolts
Jeff Foster
Where to Apply?
• Three kinds of institutions
– Universities
– Colleges
– Research Labs
Research and Teaching
Teaching
Research
• Teaching/research distinction not clear cut
– Split up to you and department
• Same application process
– Research labs more flexible on timing
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Who's Hiring?
• Best resource: http://www.cra.org
– Also: ACM, IEEE, Chronicle of Higher Ed
• Ask around
– Talk to your advisor
– Network at conferences
– Talk to other job-seekers
• When in doubt, apply!
– Maybe they missed the ad deadline
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What do They Want?
• Standard application package
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Cover letter
Statement of Research
Statement of Teaching
Curriculum Vitae
Letters of Reference
• Sent by letter writers
– Selected papers
• Often optional; send unless forbidden
• Also update your web page
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Cover Letter
• Be brief and to the point (1/2 page)
– Contact information
– Research interests
– Names of references
• Make sure to get name of department,
recipient, and address correct
– Use a template
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Statements
• Don't look at other people's statements
– Not helpful
• Relative importance of statements depends:
– Universities and labs -- research
– Colleges -- teaching
• Need to explain why you're moving from research
• Do a good job on these statements
– Prove you know how to communicate
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Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• An academic resume
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Contact info
Research interests
Education (incl. thesis title + brief description)
Honors and awards
Teaching experience
Work experience
Talks
Publications
References (contact information)
Citizenship (or on cover letter)
• Find one you like and copy format
– But put in your information!
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Letters of Reference
• Typically need 3-4 references
– So in practice you need 4
– At least one should talk about teaching
• Choose people who know you well...
– ...and are well-known
• Give mailing addresses to references!
– Print out set of mailing labels
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Time Line
Application deadline
Oct
Nov
Ask for
references
Dec
Jan
Mail
(or e-mail)
packets
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Interviews
• Don't plan on doing anything but interview in the spring
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Wait and Worry: Part 1
• Everyone should send acknowledgment
– Keep a checklist; follow up on non-responses
• Make sure your letters get sent
– Application may be ignored until a majority recv'd
• Phone calls and e-mails for interviews
– Most people prefer to call
– Typically faculty member in area
– No contact from uninterested places
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Interviews: Scheduling
• Typically scheduled when you receive call
– May get calls/e-mails when you're already on the road
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Give up on optimal scheduling
Schedule top choices 1/3-1/2 through
Choose flights for your convenience
Schedule flights on same airline (frequent flyer)
Group geographically if possible
Take at least 1 day break between interviews
Prepare to lay out money and get reimbursed
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Interviews: Process
• 1 or 2 day interviews
• Format of typical day:
– Breakfast with host
– Interviews with
• Faculty (incl. chair)
• Dean
• Graduate students
– Research talk
– Lunch at faculty club with faculty and/or students
– Dinner with faculty and/or students
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Interviews: Research Talk
• Aim talk at general audience
– Explain both the problem your solution
– Technical material must interest in-area experts
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
– Get feedback from people outside field
– Try to anticipate questions
• Try to keep talk fresh
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Interviews: One-on-one meetings
• Talk with people inside and out of field
– Mix of specialties depends on department
– Typically 30-45 minutes
• Always behind schedule
– Major goals:
• Does this person do good work?
• Can I work with this person for 30 years?
• Prepare with mock interviews
• Ask questions
– Be prepared to run the interview
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Interviews: Popular Questions
• "I missed your talk. Tell me about your
research."
• "What will you do next?"
• "What's the most important problem in your
field?"
– "Why aren't you working on it?"
• "How will you fit into the department?"
– "What classes can/will you teach?"
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Interviews: Tips
• Interviews most interesting aspect of trip
– Great opportunity to learn about other research
• Be enthusiastic
• Don't make negative comments
• Interview lasts all day
– Breakfast through end of dinner
• Dress appropriately
– More important on east coast
• Don't worry about expenses
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Wait and Worry: Part 2
• Offers come after interviews are over
– May need to wait in line
• Waiting for offers is very stressful
– Keep yourself busy
– Rely on friends and family for support
• Long wait for nos
– Until entire interview process finished
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Offers
• Salary, start-up package, start date, and
deadline
– Salaries and start-up packages competitive
• Collude with fellow job-seekers
• Ask if you need more resources
– Start date usually flexible
– Deadline flexible, within reason
• Some schools have no deadline
• Be courteous to other job-seekers
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Features to Consider
• Quality of department
• Reputation
– Affects graduate students
• Intellectual property (esp. for labs)
• Teaching load (esp. for smaller schools)
• Location
– Cost of living
• Benefits
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Resources
http://www.cra.org
Job announcements, link to NRC rankings,
Taulbee survey
http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~margo/slides/jobs.ps.gz
Talk by Margo Seltzer
(this talk heavily cribbed from her talk!)
http://pag.lcs.mit.edu/~mernst/advice/academic-job.html
Advice from Michael Ernst
http://www.cs.cornell.edu/sweirich/jobsearch/resources.htm
Page of useful links/experiences
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