Oh wise professors...

[Carita]

Can you give me the inside scoop on job hunting at your institution? I know it won't apply to all, but I'm hoping if I hear from several people, then I can paint a picture of what to expect.

I am doing my PhD at a R1. I have been on a search committee here with one dept (my program is affliated with 2 departments - Math and Biology). That one department, the candidates blew me out of the water - publication records galore first of all, and the determination for the short list was really about what field they were looking for. And the interview list was about the best of that short list. I admit that the committee was googley-eyed about the candidates with postdoc experience with the best and the candidate who did his PhD at Harvard, regardless of their output (though of course, their output was great). Anyway, the job went to the most put together candidate, the Harvard one, with research methods were similar to the head of the committee.

That experience has me sort of freaked out. I am on the hunt for a job opening anywhere in my new state (just moved, ABD and am finishing from away - 2-body problem), and there are no R1 research institutions here. So things will be different, right? How can I compare against the candidate that went to Cambridge and Harvard? How can I compare with the guy who worked with Felsenstein and has the next greatest null-model in phylogenetic reconstructions? I have only 1 peer-reviewed publication from my MA, 1 publication in a Springer encyclopedia series, and I am working on 2 submissions right now... I am looking to a math dept because I feel expectations for research are generally lower than in most other dept, def biology. 1 of the submissions is an education article for an undergrad mathematics journal - I am thinking of making this my secondary research concentration because its less stressful than publishing in my current discipline.

Okay - so that general anxiety is my first mini-panic - can anyone share their search committee experiences?

Second - in order to try to find a job, I started looking at institutions that are known of being interdisciplinary or biological sciences focused, and I've kept an eye out on their postings and sent a few e-mails out. I've also kept in touch with my BA/MA alma mater.

I have managed to cultivate a relationship with a professor in the Math dept at one small selective liberal arts college. She works in the area that I did my BA/MA in, and she is very interested in other issues that complement mine. They are running a search this year, and the announcement went out last week. Before the search was approved, she was already lining me up to give a colloquium talk - it is quickly approaching and is 3 weeks away. I feel like if I can nail the talk and really take advantage of this, then I might make it into a short list or an interview list, just based on that. I am really excited about this opportunity. It is a low teaching load, but with a good amount of research expectation - which makes me a bit nervous - but the location is TDF, and from what I can see as an outsider looking in so far, it looks like a wonderful place to work. The professor with whom I have been corresponding said this to me back when we were setting up the date for the colloqium:

"It's possible that there may be a complication *if* we really do have an opening, and *if* you really do apply, and *if* it goes well so that we ask you for interview... Then you might not want to come and give 2 talks in a row. *If* all that happens, no problem: we can (for example) cancel the non-interview talk with no bad kharma "

Goodness - I hope my mentor at this school isn't on this board!! LOL. That would be a bit embarrassing! Anyway, this exchange was before the position announcement - review of applications start 2 weeks after my talk, so now the talk will not be canceled.

Okay - so where do I start? Do you think this is a good sign? Am I getting my hopes up? What can I do during this visit to get my foot in the door? What kind of things should I look for or talk to people about? It's not a formal interview yet, but I have a feeling that it will be on people's minds. How do I stand out, and how do I totally not screw it up?

Thank you for your extreme patience!

[kerc]

I only have a few minutes ....

I'm a PhD in the sciences and attended a preparing future faculty workshop a few years ago in my field. I currently hold a 1 year position and am :that it morphs into a tenure track line as several profs have suggested it will .

I haven't yet successfully fielded that lifetime job yet. But one story came to mind.

A friend of mine is about 10 yrs older than I, she is a faculty at a small college in the next biggest city to me. About 5 years ago her dept. (very small) was doing a search to expand from a 2 person dept to a 3 person dept. They did some preliminary interviewing at the major meeting in her field and also took applications from people not attending that meeting. She said it was really hard to consider the people she only saw "on paper". They had some good applicants, but they had enough good applicants that they had met in person. She struggled a lot with that issue. Face time can be really good -- so I say go for the on campus seminar. If nothing else someone will probably recognize your name from the pool of applicants.

[Carita]

Oh - that is good thought, I wasn't even going to attend the "major meeting" that all the interviews happen at because I am only interested in local positions, but you are right, they will certainly be seeing people face to face there as well! So I guess I can in some sense think of this as the substitute for that chance. Thank you!

[Geofizz]

If you don't have the prestige of a top 5 university to bring with you, think of what you *do* have to bring to the table, be it teaching skills, engagement in outreach, the ability to make eye contact , etc.

To echo kerc's comment:

Give the seminar. Give a good one where they can clearly see your teaching ability. Keep it simple and clear, and keep your audience in mind. (Like, your math audience may not understand all the bio -- give them a primer).

Even if you were to give an interview talk later, you can assume that not everyone could make it to the first, and generally giving more or less the same talk isn't a problem. You might choose to emphasize a slightly different part the second go 'round but it need not be too different.

Remember that departments, particularly small ones, are risk adverse. It's hard to get a position approved, so they are motivated to have it succeed with a candidate that will accept the position and be in a solid position for tenure. They will have a sense of your geographic constraints, which would eliminate the first desire.

I made the comment about making eye contact somewhat flippantly, but it's a real issue. When you haven't met the person in the flesh, it's sometimes hard to know if that person is someone you can work with for the next 30 years.

A seminar talk can also help shape their search. A good talk will convince them of the value of having a bio-math person, which they might not have seriously considered previously, and they may in fact choose to focus on that.

[Penelope]

As a non-scientist, I don't have much to add, but good luck with your job hunt, and the advice you're getting sounds great.

[rcr]

I am at an R1, but in social sciences, so my experience is a little different than in math and biology. We don't do postdocs in my field - they are very rare and only people who do them are people who could not find a tenure-track job. People here get more excited about publications than they do fancy schools. The fact that you have a refereed publication and are working on more is a very good thing. Is there any way you can get one of those pubications in review before sending out your CV? I know it is not a grat strategy, but I am planning to submit two papers that I am not sure will get accepted just before I go up for tenure (soon), just so I can add them to the list (here, a publication in review is almost as good as an accepted publication IF you have a strong publishing record and IF there are not a huge amount of publications in review).

Yes, give the talk. Any face-time you can have will put you at the top of the stack of CVs (likely to be a very large stack in this economy!).

[kcparker]

I work at an R1 institution (as staff, though I have a terminal degree in my field), so I can tell you - the hiring situation here is dismal - the school lost 10% of its general education funding, they are talking about layoffs, encouraging early retirements and not replacing them; this is a cruddy year to be on the market if even the big guns don't have a lot of money for new hires. Part of their strategic plan for the new hires they DO make though is to seek out people who can be on interdisiplinary teams, who can teach in more than one dept., and/or who can marry a number of disciplines in their own research. You should also spend time thinking about how to sell yourself as somebody who is invested in service work - committees, student advising, community outreach efforts with students; that is a crucial component of your job, and they will want to have a 'team player'.

I would go to the talk - they could end up canceling the search because of budget cuts they don't know about yet, and it will be a good chance for you to practice speaking (and wow them with your brilliance), add another line to the CV, meet people at the school and scope THEM out too, and make a good impression. I'd take it as a chance to ask them lots of questions about the school, their department, talk with the students!!! This is important at a small school - I have a friend who got a great job, and she found out later that it was the way she interacted with the students that won her the position. They were part of the committee's calculus, and they overwhelmingly said my friend was the best candidate from their perspective because she really listened to them, looked at their work, and took an interest in them that was more heartfelt and genuine than any of the other candidates. Mostly, be genuine, be yourself, don't be a blow-hard or act like you are God's gift to mathematics. From observation of a number of searches, that attitude is a turn-off and deal-breaker.

My DH is in a similar situation to you - did his PhD at a very respectable R1 school, is a competent scholar and teacher, has a small publication list and some articles in review, but he is totally outgunned and outclassed when competing against the Harvard postdoc. or the person who already has a tenure-track job and has been writing and publishing for 6 years already, and there are only 11 jobs currently listed in his field. Good luck - hopefully the academic bio. sci. and math fields provide you with robust job markets than modern European history!

[Carita]

thanks - oh, I never meant to imply that I wouldn't speak. Its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity IMO - I'll never turn that down, no matter how nervous I am. Just wanted to know what things I should be conscientious of while I visit.

Oh, and I have PLENTY of outreach activities/committee work already on my CV - i think its my favorite part about academia - sick, right?

Geofizz - making 2 separate talks within months of each other will be challenging, and I had not thought of that. I guess I could spin this one much more for biology, and then if they ask me back, show them I can be a member of the math department too buy giving more mathematical details?

How open/guarded should I be about personal situation - i.e. pregnancy, DH in academia. Its not an interview so those things are not really off limits, but i can imagine it will come up (because by then, the pregnancy should be noticeable and my DH being in academia is why i am now a 'local' candidate).

Thank you for all the great advice!

[namaste_mom]

Carita - when you go do your seminar usually they line you up to speak with people. I would treat it like an interview. Know the specialities of each of the faculty and prepare some interesting question regarding their work. Find a link to what you do if possible, it is important in interviews to make a link with the people you talk to. You want them to remember you positively and they will remember you if you know about their research.

I wouldn't give away any details about your personal situation. In an interview they can not ask you details but since this is an interview, they may fish for details. I would answer questions but not too detailed. They know they are treading on thin water asking personal questions.

I've interviewed pregnant before (that is when I got my current position) and I was very straight forward. I asked about school and daycare situations but those kind of questions may not be appropriate in your seminar. I probably wouldn't tell them I was pregnant. If you went back for an interview, and it is obvious then you can bring it up. But, again in an interview situation, they are not allowed to ask about pregnancy or your family.

I've been through about 5 searches. I am most interested in the person that would make a great colleague and has interesting research.

[Carita]

thanks namaste mom - I will be 18 weeks along when I give my talk. by the time they invite their top pool to interview, it will certainly be obvious.

Thank you for reminding me to research beforehand the people with which i will be speaking. I am miserable with names, and it couldn't hurt to bring a little notebook along with notes.

[slsurface]

[Girlprof]

I'm a TT prof at a liberal arts college and we've done A LOT of searches. We didn't hire the Harvard PhD last year basically because of the eye contact problem.

You've gotten excellent advice here. I would treat the seminar like an interview because you just never know. I would be cagey about personal details except in this case I might say something about loving the area or even being committed to staying in the geographic area. Good luck!