Academic Job Applications: How
to do them and Keep Going!
Dr. Tracy Bussoli
Adam Sandelson
Today’s Topics
• Do you have the experience and skills for the
job? Assessing a job advertisement.
• Basic principles for a good application
• How to keep going. Some job seeking psychology
• You can complete a ‘good’ academic
application if you have developed the
appropriate experience/skills/connections
during your PhD. Then you have something
to write about.
• In small groups, compile a list of skills and
experiences that would be essential for
your first academic role after your PhD
e.g. a postdoc or a teaching fellowship.
What makes you suitable for an
academic job?
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Existing or planned publications
Teaching experience
Teaching qualification
Potential as a developing researcher
Sense of where you/your expertise are situated
within your subject
• Transferable experience/knowledge of academic
world
• Experience of conference/journal management
Assessing a job advert
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Why does the job appeal to me?
What do I offer that they are asking for?
What do I not have that they want?
What potential is there for me in this job to
enhance and develop my career?
• What hidden demands and requirements
might there be once I am doing the job?
Ask yourself…
Teaching:
• What can I teach on their syllabus?
• What new courses for UGs or PGs can I offer?
• How do I fit with their culture of teaching my
subject?
• What are other people teaching in the department,
and how will that affect me?
• Am I comfortable teaching things I know nothing
about?
Ask yourself…
Research – open agenda:
• How do I fit with their research culture?
• What opportunities for collaboration or
support are there for me as a new researcher?
• Can I add to research groups/create new
ones?
• How can I contribute to conferences and/or
publications or establish new ones?
Basic principles of a good application
• Always tailor your application materials to each
individual job – CV, letter, statements etc.
• Always provide evidence of relevant achievements
• Look objectively at your application materials
– How will they look to someone who doesn’t know you?
– What is the first thing the reader will see/learn about you?
• Discuss with supervisor, careers adviser, or other
person with academic perspective
Job Application package
Will include some or all of:
• CV and/or application form
• Cover letter/personal statement
• Abstract of PhD thesis
• Statement of current and future research,
including proposed publications
• Statement of teaching philosophy, experience
and proposed courses
Building a Job Application…
The right CV for the job
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No ‘correct’ way to structure it
‘To abstract’, or not ‘to abstract’…?
Education or work experience first?
Group work experience by ‘relevant’ and
‘other’
• For publications, use ‘forthcoming’ or
‘submitted for peer review’ or ‘in preparation’
• Awards, honours, professional bodies
But always:
• Include title of your thesis, supervisor(s),
proposed submission date (and viva date)
• Include publications, conferences/seminars,
awards
• Keep layout of dates and information clear
• Don’t give too much info with each entry
• Consider the reader’s perspective
Examples of Academic CVs…
• Have a look at the academic CVs provided
(all available on-line).
• What do you notice about them?
• Comment positives and negatives of each.
Principles of a good covering letter
• Introductory paragraph – refer to job title, where it
was advertised
• ‘My shoes’ – establish my credentials: who am I (a
PhD at LSE!), why does this job appeal to me, how
does it fit with who I am now?
• ‘Their shoes’ – seeing myself through the recruiter’s
eyes, emphasising key strengths they are looking for
• Concluding paragraph - include any unavailable
interview dates if appropriate
Practicals of a good covering letter
Make sure you include:
– Evidence of teaching experience
– Mention courses from their syllabus you could teach at
UG1, UG2/3 and PG
– Suggest new courses at UG and PG level you could offer
– Summary of past and future research plans, especially
proposed publications
– Demonstrate understanding of key research issues in your
area and research dissemination activities
– Mention relevant conference or journal activities
For application statements (e.g. LSE), make sure you
respond to the person spec. headings in full
Covering letters
with additional statements
• In this case, letter is a shorter introduction to
your teaching and research statements
• So use the letter to summarise key points
from your statements
• Summarise and string together to show
breadth and depth
• Don’t repeat phraseology – boring to read
How much should you write?
• CV – 2+ pages (models on the CS website)
• Letter 1-2 pages – shorter if you have
statements
• Statements – 2-4 pages
• Less can be more!
• Leave something for interview
How to stand out - Teaching
• Describe your existing experience
– Courses, class sizes, teaching modes
– Training, mentoring
– Dissertation supervision
• Philosophy – general, subject
• Proposed role in their department
– Existing courses to teach
– New UG/Masters courses
– Show you understand their teaching of the subject
How to stand out - Research
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Get published in good refereed journals
Use conferences to raise your profile
Get experience of funding process
Understand issues in HE research culture
Understand quality assessment process
Know the field beyond your own topic
Know where your research will go next
Develop a second research interest
Try to get publishers interested in your book idea
Remember……
• Recent research shows that for PhDs currently
working in academia, 3 or 4 years after
graduating, the most common way they found
out about their job was through their
professional, work or educational contacts
• Looking at employer’s websites or job adverts
came third or fourth (depending on whether they
were in research or teaching roles).
Networking….
• Conferences:
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Go!
Volunteer to help with organisation
Offer to help edit proceedings
Research speakers, know the personalities, say hello!
• Research:
– Get your own out there
– Offer to collaborate
– Offer to help with editing of compiled books
• Look out for non-academic forums for speaking, listening or
writing
• Teaching:
– Go beyond your dept: other depts, summer schools, other univs
Barriers to Networking
• Adam to do something on this?
Job seeking psychology
Issues
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Transition
Pressure – internal and external
Envy and Competition
Self esteem
Family pressure
Historic patterns of thinking and relating
Dynamics of work, life ...
Past
relationships
Current
relationships
Getting a job/
relationship
with LSE/ course…
Underlying dynamics
• Trying to please others
• Wanting to be the best
• Setting yourself
impossible targets
• The family/ historic
context for your success
Practical approaches
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Time management skills
Set realistic and achievable goals
Short term targets, longer term strategies
Recognise achievements
Talk to others, ask for help and support
Getting things done
Concentrate on
the task,
not the
outcome
Focussing on the task
• Break down activities into small
manageable tasks
• Remember past successes
• Recognise you are likely to get a
job and have a career!
• Be methodical and allow
– time for breaks and
– space to breathe and think
Stress Management Skills
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Regularly switch off - physical activity
Self care – sleep, diet, caffeine, alcohol
Allow yourself time out without guilt
Acknowledge anxiety, don’t deny it!
Check if negative thoughts are realistic
Thinking errors
• Discounting the positive
• Over-generalizing
– because I couldn’t get a good job in
the past it will certainly happen
again
• All or nothing thinking
– Either I’ll get a great job or it will be
rubbish and I’ll be a failure!
• Emotional Reasoning
– If I feel it then it must be true
Challenging negative thoughts
• Apply ‘Socratic reasoning’ or imagine this
being tested in a Court of Law
– Identify the negative thought
• Eg, I won’t get a job or it will be a rubbish one
– Ascertain the evidence For and Against
– Ask if you are making a ‘thinking error’
– Propose a more reasonable alternative
thought
Things to Do
Don’t Panic
• 62% of Social Science PhDs work in HE 3 years
after graduating (Vitae, 2010).
• Successful applications are about a good
match, not statistics.
Do your research
• Network and find out as much as possible
about relevant academic departments
- How did they do in the RAE/REF?
- Do they have an internal candidate in mind?
- What is behind the job advert?
Be flexible and consider
alternatives!
• Conduct rigorous research into different academic institutions
to broaden your chances of success
• Consider a ‘less prestigious’ university to develop your
teaching and/or research skills
• Be willing to relocate
• Portfolio career e.g. consultancy work in your chosen field,
part-time teaching post, part-time editor for academic
publication.
Get advice and help
• Use the Careers Service staff and information
resources
• Developing a strategy is essential, as is
flexibility and adaptability
• Get advice to help you think laterally and
broaden your options
• If you are struggling to manage the
experience, contact the Counselling Service
Where to get help
LSE Careers Service, 3rd floor, Tower 3
• www.lse.ac.uk/careers, Information Room
• Careers Guidance, CV checking, interview coaching
LSE Student Counselling Service, G507
(20 Kingsway)
• www.lse.ac.uk/collections/studentCounsellingServic
e/