Dr. Karen is on vacation in Italy July 2012. During that time she is re-posting older blog posts on her regular Tuesday and Thursday posting days. She'll recommence new postings some time in … [Read more...] about How Women Can Speak Better in Public: Stop Apologizing and Get a Career
How to Interview
What American Idol Tells Us About The Job Market
We watch a lot of American Idol here at The Professor's house. We have strong opinions. Personally, I'm a fan of Joshua. I know that Jessica has the best voice. But she just doesn't "connect" with the audience, as Randy Jackson constantly … [Read more...] about What American Idol Tells Us About The Job Market
What the Heck is “Assessment”? (A Guest Post)
Today's post is a Guest Post from a faithful reader and client on the tenure track, and also on the job market, who discovered some interesting points about "assessment" while she was at some interviews this year. More and more often, candidates … [Read more...] about What the Heck is “Assessment”? (A Guest Post)
How To Talk To A Dean
Over the course of the 2011-2012 job market cycle, several clients wrote to me inquiring about how they should talk to the Dean they were scheduled to meet during their campus visit. Indeed, many, if not most, campus visits still include a visit with … [Read more...] about How To Talk To A Dean
How To Make Small Talk on Your Campus Visit
Today's post is a Special Request post for several clients who are fretting about what to “chat” with faculty about during the informal parts of a campus visit. “What in the world do I talk about??” they inquire. It's always hard to know how to make … [Read more...] about How To Make Small Talk on Your Campus Visit
The “Be Yourself” Myth: Performing the Academic Self on the Job Market
Today's post is a reprint of my recent column in Inside Higher Ed, called "The 'Be Yourself' Myth." As some of you know, I write an occasional column for IHE under the theme "Academic Mythbusters." I take a prevailing delusion that afflicts … [Read more...] about The “Be Yourself” Myth: Performing the Academic Self on the Job Market
Many Joys of the Videoconference Interview (A Guest Post)
This guest post is by a client who is a 2012 Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literature. She wrote last week to tell me of her success in scoring a top-ranked multi-year fellowship. In the email she alluded to a catastrophic skype interview. … [Read more...] about Many Joys of the Videoconference Interview (A Guest Post)
What Should Graduate Students Ask Candidates? A Special Request Post
Continuing on my theme of speaking directly to current graduate students, today's post is a Special Request post for a graduate student reader who contacted me to ask what kinds of questions she and her peers should be asking the job candidates … [Read more...] about What Should Graduate Students Ask Candidates? A Special Request Post
Dr. Karen’s (Partial) Rules of the Job Talk
I've been asked by many readers to write about the Job Talk. I've resisted doing this because I believe that by the time you are writing your job talk, any meaningful advice has to be completely personalized. In other words, general rules about job … [Read more...] about Dr. Karen’s (Partial) Rules of the Job Talk
Be Professorial
If you had asked me, prior to my opening of The Professor Is In, what I imagined would be the biggest communicative challenge of young job candidates, I would have said, “being excessively pompous and pretentious.” And I would have been … [Read more...] about Be Professorial