What jobs should you apply for?
Photo by Nathan Sack on Unsplash
Every year, when the academic job postings start popping up online, postdocs struggle with the same question: which jobs should I apply for? Compared to other industries, there are relatively few job openings in each cycle, and if you don’t get a job in one cycle, you typically have to wait another year before trying again. Because of this scarcity, I often see postdocs making the same mistake: they apply to all of the jobs that seem even remotely related to what they do. On the surface, this makes some sense. There are a very limited number of jobs available, so if you want to increase your odds of getting one, you have to send out more applications, right? But, what that really does is drain you and your colleagues of energy and time, and it may even put you in an uncomfortable position later.
Applying to an academic job requires you to prepare your cover letter, research statement, and teaching statement in a way that is tailored to that job posting. For instance, if the job posting is looking for a new assistant professor who has expertise in the field of memory, you will make sure that your research statement speaks to the research you have done on memory. If the job posting is looking for someone who can teach a course on fMRI methods, then, in your research and teaching statements, you would outline your extensive training and teaching experience in that area, including evidence that you have successfully transferred your knowledge to others. Applying to every job means that you will be spending a considerable amount of time tailoring and tweaking your application materials to fit the specific requirements of each job posting. This is not a small task. And, if you are applying to 20-30 jobs in any one cycle, this means that you have less time to really hone that one application for the job that is actually a perfect fit for you. Quality inevitably becomes sacrificed for quantity.
Relatedly, the people who write your reference letters may also be trying to tailor their letters to each of the job postings to make sure you stand out accordingly. If you’re applying to many jobs, keep in mind the amount of work you are asking from your letter writers, and remember that you’re certainly not the only person they are writing letters for. (Personally, I sent in about 100 reference letters last cycle, not just for postdocs looking for academic positions, but also for graduate students applying for fellowship awards, and undergraduates applying for graduate or medical or law school. All of these cycles happen around the same time.) However, because of the sheer volume of letters to be written, some professors do not tailor their letters to the job posting; they write a standard letter that is then submitted to each job that the candidate applies for. This could lead to a mismatch between what your letter writers speak to with regard to your expertise and training and the stated candidate preferences in the job posting.
Finally, let’s imagine that you have applied to all of the jobs, you have interviewed successfully somewhere, and they make you a job offer. That’s fantastic, right? Not if the job is in a place where, ordinarily, you would have never even considered moving. Now you are in a bind. Do you move reluctantly? Or do you reject the job offer and hope that a better one awaits you in the future? This can also be a tricky situation reputationally. If the job is an otherwise great opportunity, but you turn it down because of location—I just don’t want to live there—and you don’t have any other offers, the search committee will eventually figure that out and realize that you just wasted everyone’s time.
So, how do you decide which jobs to apply for?
1. Evaluate the fit. Make sure that you reasonably fit the preferred candidate profile as described in the job posting. If you do research exclusively with humans, but the job posting is looking for someone to run an animal lab, that job is probably not for you. If the job is teaching-intensive and you’ve never taught a class on your own, that’s going to be an uphill battle at best. Now, that’s not to say that search committees don’t sometimes veer a little bit from their stated preferences once they see the applications and interview a few candidates, but make sure you’re at least in the ballpark of what they’re looking for. If you’re unsure about the potential fit, ask your supervisors and mentors for their thoughts.
2. Ask yourself honestly if you would want to take the job if it were offered to you. Picture yourself getting an offer with your expected salary and an excellent start-up package. Would you say ‘yes’ to the job offer? If so, then great! Apply for that job. If you’re unsure, then consider de-prioritizing working on this application in favour of other ones. If it’s a definite ‘no’, then don’t even bother applying. Save yourself, your letter writers, and the search committee some time, and keep your reputation intact.
And one final tip: ask your letter writers about their style. Make sure you know whether your references tend to write one standard letter, or if they mindfully tailor their letters for each of your applications. If they do tailor their letters, give them the talking points that you would like them to highlight for each application (i.e., please speak to my expertise with data analysis; please highlight my conceptual contributions; here is evidence of my teaching effectiveness.).
Academic job season is stressful, and there are only so many jobs to go around. But entering a job cycle with a scarcity mindset that says you have to apply to everything in the hopes of getting something may actually work against you. If you need help thinking through your strategy for this job season, book a call with me here. And if you need coaching to help you prepare your application materials, you can find more details and fill out an application here.
Next week: Tips for writing your research statement
