Academic job market

Even if you are not in academia, you can still benefit from this post.

I was on the academic job market between September 2021 and March 2022. I applied to 50+ business schools and received 10+ flyout invitations and 5+ offers, just for the record.

Here is the list of things that I am glad I did:

• Ask for advice from people who were on the job market recently and who are willing to share their experiences.

• Apply to as many positions as possible.

• Make sure that the application documents are ready before September (in our field, positions start to pop up around late August, and you need to complete the application process before our main conference, the INFORMS Annual Meeting, in October).

• Make sure that the INFORMS presentation (a short version of the job talk) is completely ready before October.

• Make sure that the job talk is ready before INFORMS (because it is possible to get a flyout invitation immediately after INFORMS).

• Practice my presentation with a high-quality presentation skill coach (this is expensive, but you can ask your supervisor or your department for a budget).

• Practice the initial interview with my supervisor and a few professors I trust.

• Practice my job talk in a few schools (I did it at UCL, LBS, and METU).  

• Stay in touch with a few trustworthy friends who are also on the market (I didn’t expect to build new friendships during such a hard time, but it happened).

• Read self-help books to maintain confidence (my favorite is “The Courage to be Disliked”).

• Go hiking on weekends (which kept me sane).

  

Here is the list of things that I wish I did:

• Do not think that School X would ever hire me.

• Be more prepared for the initial interviews with each school.

• Be more prepared for the potential questions about the job talk (especially in the first few flyouts).

• Practice the job talk with different audiences to be more creative about the potential questions.

• Practice the job talk with my supervisor multiple times to make sure that everything is clear.

• Have therapy sessions more frequently.

• Find a therapist who has some experience in the academic job market.

• Talk about the job market regularly with my friends and do not only share good and bad news.

• Do not stop exercising.  

• Read fiction books to relax.

If you had been on the academic job market before, would you like to add anything to these lists?

Cheers,

Sidika

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