How Long Academic Job Search Takes

When is the Best Time for Open Positions in Higher Ed?. Timing is everything in your job search. Higher education professionals conducting a search often ask, “When is the best time of year for open positions?” Before seeking the answer, you must first understand that your job search is unique and it only takes one offer — and that one job offer can come along at any time. There are too many variables to solely rely on data from HigherEdJobs to determine the best month of the year. Jobs are steadily posted throughout the year, with anywhere from 8,000 to 12,000 posted each month. However, each year the month with the most jobs is almost always October with September and November frequently the second-best months. Human resources experts at institutions aren’t surprised. “Our average hires per month are relatively even throughout the year,” said Sam Connally, vice president of human resources at the University of Louisville. “If people are moving, that’s where I think higher education does see a pronounced pattern. In the academic labor market, we recruit our faculty, vice presidents, and deans all nationally.

Why Searches Take So Long

It’s entirely normal for a tenure-track faculty search to take the better part of a year. The same holds for upper-level administrative searches. Within higher ed, it’s easy to take that for granted. It’s the way things have been for a long time, and some of us have never seen it any other way. But in most industries, a timeline like that would — rightly — be considered insane. So why do our searches take so long?


Video advice: Strategies for Success in the Academic Job Search


Oddly, in mainstream higher education — outside the elite research institutions — it’s unusual to hire faculty above entry level. “Raiding” is surprisingly rare. That’s both good and bad, but it certainly stands in contrast to most other professions. Raiding relies on speed, so the relative absence of raiding allows us to focus less on speed.

The “input” assumption has a lot going for it. Nobody is a subject matter expert in everything, so it makes sense to include people on searches who have specific knowledge of the discipline being sought. (Alternately, if looking for a dean, it makes sense to have input from current deans, since they understand the daily reality of the role. ) It also safeguards against cronyism and individual blind spots. We all have our personal tastes; putting multiple people on the committee makes it less likely that any one’s persons quirks will be dispositive.

Launch Your Non-Academic Job Search: 20 Things PhDs Can Do RIGHT NOW

Hey PhDs and grad students! Launch your non-academic job search now with 20 actionable tips. The greatest journeys begin with a single step.

1. Make a LinkedIn Profile Are you on LinkedIn? If not, make a LinkedIn profile now. You don’t have to fill it with information just yet—we’ll get to that part. Just make sure you have your LinkedIn profile ready to go. There are a ton of job sites out there, but LinkedIn is the one everyone uses. Check out this post for more on the importance of LinkedIn for PhDs.

Write Your Executive Summary

So … you’re stuck at home. You’ve binge-watched The Queen’s Gambit, reorganized your wardrobe for the fifth time, and finally scrubbed that salsa-and-cheez-whiz stain out of the couch. Now what?“This is it! I’m gonna read Infinite Jest! It’s been on my bedside table for two years … today’s the day!” Yeah, uh, no. Not gonna happen. Sorry 🙂Instead, why not get a head start on your non-academic job search? This article presents 20 specific, concrete, actionable steps PhDs can take RIGHT NOW to begin looking for non-academic job opportunities. These are all things you can do at home, during quarantine, without so much as putting on pants. Even if you have NO IDEA what kind of non-academic job you want, these steps will help you assess your current situation and begin the long, arduous process of changing careers during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Ready? Let’s get started.

A PhD Job Search—What’s Normal And What’s Not

If you’re like many PhDs, it’s been a while since you spent time looking for much more than a summer job. Here’s what you need to know about what to expect!

When I finally got an interview, I had no idea what to do. I relied on hazy memories of things I read growing up like “dress for success” and have a “firm handshake. ” But I had no idea how to really dress for the interview or what to say or how long the interview would last. And what if I got the job? What do I do then? Do I just sign whatever deal they give me? I was confused at every turn.

Getting an industry job will take a long time

The majority of PhDs are just winging it when it comes to searching for an industry job. There so busy in the lab that instead of taking their job search seriously and getting help, they just try to learn through trial and error. They execute little pieces of a job search here and there, feeling good about doing something without ever really doing anything. As a result, they spend months and months getting rejected while other less qualified candidates get hired and get paid.

Academic Job Search Timeline – The following timeline presumes that job seekers should start to plan and execute a search at least a year before their projected availability. It also presumes a start date in the fall of a given year.

Future research plans. Find out in advance how the department typically structures a job talk (chalk, PowerPoint, overheads, etc. ). State research schools often are interested in specifics of grant funding plans. At top-tier schools, this is a given. Questions may be more focused on the big picture of your research.

  • Before the Job Search:
  • August – October:
  • October – January:
  • January – April:
  • March – June:

Academic Job Search

The Career Center recognizes the complexity of the academic job search particularly in light of the changing, and sometimes, difficult nature of the academic job market. We are here to aid PhD students throughout the process via our online resources, graduate student programs, and individual appointments.

Because of the structured nature of academia and the academic job search, you may not have much flexibility in your timeline. While the timing of a search may vary by discipline, a typical hiring cycle usually begins around October and concludes by April or May. Because of the tight labor market you may be competing against candidates who have finished their degrees, and perhaps even have some teaching or research experience. Thus you may be at a competitive disadvantage if you cannot give at least reasonable assurance you will be finished by the time the job begins.

How To Apply

The Recruitment and Employment Center is available by appointment to provide computer access and assistance to anyone who needs support completing the online application. Text or call (607) 254-8372.

​The Candidate Account will allow you to view submitted applications and their status, as well as views to similar jobs. In addition, some data you already entered (contact, work experience, education, skills) will prepopulate when you apply to other jobs (as long as you are signed into your account prior to applying).

  1. Prepare
  2. Gather
  3. Apply Online

Before you start:

Phone Screen: Following the initial resume review, selected candidates may be invited to participate in a 30-60 minute phone interview. It may take 1-3 weeks before hearing back; if you are not selected to participate in an in-person interview, you will be notified by email or phone. Tip: As part of your interview preparation, we recommend you take time to research Cornell University, and in particular, the department housing the position for which you’re applying.


Video advice: Academic Job Search Panel: Advice for Applicants


Privilege of the Academic Job Search

Having recently started as a postdoc at Duke University, I had time to reflect on my job search process last year. While my final year of my Ph.D. was undoubtedly a challenge, including finishing a dissertation, teaching full-time, and leading our graduate student government, among other items, the job search was, undoubtedly, the most traumatic part of my final year. I am not alone; indeed, research has found that doctoral students’ well-being decreases during their program.

Applying to academic positions is incredibly time-consuming. In the beginning of the application process, each application took 2-3 hours. This included finding positions, collecting position information, gathering materials, and tailoring each to the position. For over 60 positions, this time requirement took no less than 100 hours.

Having recently started as a postdoc at Duke University, I had time to reflect on my job search process last year. While my final year of my Ph. D. was undoubtedly a challenge, including finishing a dissertation, teaching full-time, and leading our graduate student government, among other items, the job search was, undoubtedly, the most traumatic part of my final year. I am not alone; indeed, research has found that doctoral students’ well-being decreases during their program. Given the changes that COVID-19 has brought to higher education on the whole, and specifically the higher education job market, many individuals are in a panic about the academic job market during a recession. Even though many colleges and universities are making changes to career service centers in this time, I wanted to use this space to discuss the privileges I had participating in a job search and ask hiring committees to make changes to traditional hiring practices to move toward a more equitable model.

Fifteen to one: how many applications it can take to land a single academic job offer

Survey finds that standard metrics of success can’t completely explain why some candidates get offers and others don’t. Survey finds that standard metrics of success can’t completely explain why some candidates get offers and others don’t.

Intangible assets – It takes at least 15 job applications to land a single offer, finds a survey of 317 early-career researchers who applied for faculty positions in a range of nations1. The results have shed light on a hiring process that is often opaque, frustrating and hard to predict. Contrary to common belief, the authors found that a publication in a high-profile journal isn’t an absolute prerequisite for a successful application. The survey was conducted by members of the Future PI Slack community, a postdoctoral support group. They collected responses from researchers who had applied for faculty positions between May 2018 and May 2019. Respondents hailed from 13 countries, although 72% were from the United States; 85% were in the life sciences. Overall, 58% received job offers, significantly above the average from other studies, suggesting that successful applicants were especially willing to take the survey. Only 26% had an authorship credit in Cell, Nature or Science. The survey tracked conventional metrics of success such as fellowships, citations and publications, and found that these measures were only modestly effective at predicting which applicants would get job offers.

A Guide to the Academic Job Search : Department of History : UMass Amherst

Including a job search checklist and a short annotated bibliography.

Much preparation for the job search is best done in the spring and summer before going on the market. That will prevent the job search from consuming all your time in the fall and allow you to continue writing your dissertation during the search. But keep in mind that letters of recommendation may need to be updated in the fall to reflect your progress.

  • General resources
  • Some Statistics
  • Teaching issues
  • Online Resources
  • Job listings

Annotated bibliography

The academic job search is a daunting process, especially the first time through. The material below is the result of my own experience on the job market, as a candidate and a search committee member. Please feel free to copy it, distribute it, or otherwise use them as you see fit. (I’d appreciate getting credit!) These notes were originally written while I was a graduate student at the U. of Chicago; I have recently revised them to add some more information and remove specific references to Chicago’s quirky institutions.


Video advice: Academic Job Search


[FAQ]

How long do academic job searches take?

They want someone to come in, grab the job by the throat, and make their decision easy if not automatic. The on-campus visit typically lasts one-two days. The days begin early, usually with a breakfast meeting, and then a series of appointments with members of the department and faculty in related fields.

How long does it take to get a job offer from a university?

IT MAY TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS TO GET AN OFFER The average amount of time from interview to offer for new college grads is 24.5 days.

How long does it take to hear back from an academic job application UK?

Depending on the customs and practices in a particular University, it can take from one to several days before the decision is made, approved, and the first candidate is contacted. "Several days" is typically below a week, but in rare cases can be longer.

How long does it usually take to hear back about a job offer?

The average time it takes to receive a job offer after your interview is somewhere between 20 days to 40 days. This comes from a few sources, Jobvites 2018 Recruiting Benchmark report as well as Glassdoor's time to hire report.

References:

For example, one study comparing phone and email interviews found that email interviews took an average of 27 days to complete, whereas phone interviews took approximately 60 minutes (Hershberger & Kavanaugh, 2017).

“Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses: Appraisal and Application of Research” by Nola A. Schmidt, Janet M. Brown
from Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses: Appraisal and Application of Research
by Nola A. Schmidt, Janet M. Brown
Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2021

In our case study, the first three phases of contextual design—interviewing, interpreting, and consolidating—were all completed within two weeks’ time, by people who were working at other jobs and/or enrolled in other classes.

“Online and Distance Learning: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications” by Tomei, Lawrence A.
from Online and Distance Learning: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
by Tomei, Lawrence A.
Information Science Reference, 2007

Interviewing may take as long as six months in studies with a large sample or with respondents who are not geographically centralized.

“Methods of Social Research, 4th Edition” by Kenneth Bailey
from Methods of Social Research, 4th Edition
by Kenneth Bailey
Free Press, 2008

A typical doctoral degree in the sciences takes four to six years in the United States, to which one has to add four years of college, and increasingly a number of years as a postdoctoral associate.

“Nonsense on Stilts” by Massimo Pigliucci
from Nonsense on Stilts
by Massimo Pigliucci
University of Chicago Press, 2018

Serious candidates are generally willing to spend the required time to apply for jobs they are interested in, but that time should be reasonable, perhaps no more than fifteen minutes according to various usability research.

“Talent Management Systems: Best Practices in Technology Solutions for Recruitment, Retention and Workforce Planning” by Allan Schweyer
from Talent Management Systems: Best Practices in Technology Solutions for Recruitment, Retention and Workforce Planning
by Allan Schweyer
Wiley, 2010
[/NOSYN]

Add comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Random post