There is a kind of line in job documents that is technically blameless, but is so generic, so very much "stating the obvious" that it also completely pointless. This kind of line fills space while doing nothing to distinguish you in any way. The … [Read more...] about Don’t State the Obvious
Tenure--How To Get It
What is the REF? A Primer on UK Academia (Guest Post)
This was generously sent in by a former client, now employed faculty member. She is Lecturer (assistant professor) at the University of London. I am always grateful for info on the UK job market, especially the REF. For more on the UK academic job … [Read more...] about What is the REF? A Primer on UK Academia (Guest Post)
The Status of the Press Matters, Still!
A debate has simmered on the comment thread to my post, Does the Status of the Press Matter, in recent weeks, on the question: is Palgrave MacMillan a press with high enough status for a US R1 tenure case? My position has always been, based on my … [Read more...] about The Status of the Press Matters, Still!
How to Plan Your Research and Writing Trajectory on the Tenure Track
This is a re-post. Various readers and clients are looking ahead to the new jobs they are starting in the fall, and I want you all to have a very firm handle on the nature of a tenure track research trajectory. This post is written from the … [Read more...] about How to Plan Your Research and Writing Trajectory on the Tenure Track
In Response to Popular Demand, More on the 5-Year Plan
This is a repost of an older post. It follows sequentially from last week's on the five-year plan. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In response to the flood of inquiries about what, exactly, a 5-Year Plan should look like, following on last week's post, … [Read more...] about In Response to Popular Demand, More on the 5-Year Plan
Why You Need a 5-Year Plan
This is a re-post of a previously published post. In the wind-down weeks of Spring, we will focus on big-picture planning for your career trajectory in the immediate and longer term. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I trained my own Ph.D. students, I … [Read more...] about Why You Need a 5-Year Plan
Job Market PTSD
RE-posted from 2011. When this went up the first time, it got very little response. That surprised me. I think this is a real thing. Readers? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today's post is another Special Request post, this time coming from Kate, who … [Read more...] about Job Market PTSD
More on Negotiating–Thoughts from an R1 Department Head
Discussion of negotiating the tenure track offer continues apace. Last week I was included in an email exchange between Rebecca Schuman and Mike Tarr, Department Head of the Psychology department at Carnegie Mellon University. Mike got in touch … [Read more...] about More on Negotiating–Thoughts from an R1 Department Head
The Shame of Ph.D. Debt
Last week, in response to a skeptical comment about levels of Ph.D. debt on an earlier post, I created The Ph.D. Debt Survey, an open-source Googledoc spreadsheet. It has now passed 1700 entries. The original spreadsheet is here. I’m still … [Read more...] about The Shame of Ph.D. Debt
The Top 5 Mistakes Women Make in Academic Settings
[Repost from the TPII archives] I frequently offer the workshop: "Yes You Can! Women and Graduate School." It's a workshop I led quite a few times in different forms, formally and informally, over the course of my years in academia. Sometimes it … [Read more...] about The Top 5 Mistakes Women Make in Academic Settings