iMechanica - academic job search - Comments

Academic Openings Web Sites

Daniel S. Balint — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:19:14 -0500

Further advice to job-seekers:

Although word-of-mouth is perhaps the best way to find out about very good openings, the following web sites are also extremely valuable resources:

http://www.academickeys.com/

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/

Tell the most influential people you know in the field that you are looking for a position. Many of the best jobs are first announced to the elite members of the community (verbally or via email). If you know one of these people, they may forward the announcement to you, or better yet, notify the search committee that they know of a very good candidate (you).

I believe all academic openings in the UK must be posted on jobs.ac.uk by law as an equal opportunity measure. Almost all US openings are posted on academickeys.

But by all means, make use of influential contacts.

Handbook for New and Prospective Academics

MichelleLOyen — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 16:24:04 -0500

A very useful document is, "Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty" available on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute website. It focuses on biomedical topics but is full of general advice.

Good tips, Thank you!

DK — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 07:33:07 -0500

Good tips,

Thank you!

Some tips on giving a good presentation

Teng Li — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:47:35 -0400

I agree with Zhigang's observation on the role of seminar presentation in job interviews. Giving an excellent job presentation cannot guarantee you a job offer but certainly is a huge plus, while a bad presentation will just kill your chance to win for sure. Job presentation is a way to show both the depth and the breadth of your knowledge. The search committee can also tell your teaching capability.

I've benefited a lot from the above list of suggestions on improving presentation skills. The following are some more suggestions I found helpful:

Make eye contact with your audience. This is a tip I learned from a communication professional: let your eyes flow around your audience at least once or twice during your presentation. Try to make eye contact with each person in the room (unless you're talking to hundreds of people). Let each individual audience feel the communication between you and her. This way, you have the attention of all your audience. Of course, you should stop your eyes at more interested audience for longer time.
Practice, practice, practice. An excellent presentation takes time to prepare. Your first time presentation on a topic can hardly be perfect. Practice your talk to people who are not familiar with the topic, and ask for their feedback. Whenever I prepare a new talk, I always first present it to my wife (her major is totally different from mechanics). If she has no idea I'm talking about, it's hardly a good presentation.
If possible, videotape your presentation at least once then watch it. This is a tip I learned from former Harvard President Larry Summers, who once served in Bill Clinton's administration. He said, every month, Clinton spent one hour watching videotapes of his own speeches to further improve his skills. Watching yourself giving a presentation is a unique way to find the weakness in your presentation, and help improve your presentation skills. Try once, you'll see how effective it is. Plus, if you're not as busy as Clinton was, "that's just waste of time" is not a good excuse.

How to give a good seminar

Zhigang Suo — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 09:32:39 -0400

Teng:

You are an exceptional speaker. So far as I can recall, the seminar given by a candidate is the highlight of every interview.

You may remember that a few years ago Howard Stone and I compiled a list of suggestions for the speakers of our Friday Study Group of Applied Mechanics and Mathematics. I looked at the list today, and found it relevant to your post. Of course, the list was not specifically written for a job interview presentation. Please feel free to adapt it and post a version that is specific for job interviews.

In any case, here is the list compiled by Howard and me.

Dear Speaker:

You will speak at the Study Group this coming Friday. Howard Stone and I have a list of suggestions for our speakers, which we hope will help in your preparation.

1. Print this list.

2. Try your laptop with the projector in Pierce 307 before Friday. There is a class in that room right up to 2 PM on Friday. You will have no time to experiment just before your talk.

3. Make an appointment with your advisor or friend now. It's a good idea to go through your slides with someone before the talk.

4. Prepare your talk for less than 30 minutes. For Zhigang that translates to 30 slides, each with no more than one difficult idea. For Howard that translates to more like 20 slides!

5. Select your material with care - just enough to tell a good story. No more. You don't need to include everything you have done lately. Just try to get a clear message across - you can always speak another time about the topic but we have to understand the basic ideas first.

6. Our audience has a heterogeneous background. Assume as little background knowledge as possible, preferably no more than that of an undergraduate senior. Remember, few people have a graduate degree in your field. If something takes you a year to learn, it's unrealistic to expect others to learn in five minutes.

7. If a piece of background knowledge is essential to your talk, and you don't have time to build it up from scratch, apologize in a good spirit.

8. If an idea is inexplicable in the time available and is not essential, neglect it completely. For Zhigang, an idea is inexplicable if it cannot be put on one slide.

9. Enlighten the audience. Avoid trying to impress the audience with weighty, meaningless words.

10. Use the pointer. The audience cannot see the imaginary pointer in your mind unless you physically point to the EXACT location on the screen.

11. Look at the audience.

12. Our audience likes to ask a lot of questions in the middle of your talk. If you have a quick and clear answer to a question, then answer it. If the answer is lengthy or not so illuminating, say so and don't waste time. Save the pain after your talk. You are in control, not the audience.

13. Smile. At least laugh at your own jokes. If people see you enjoy your topic, they may enjoy it, too.

14. Give an interesting talk. Learning is hard, particularly from a boring teacher.

15. Make your audience excited about your work. In return you will get useful suggestions.

Good luck. We look forward to your presentation.

Howard and Zhigang

Recommendation letters

Zhigang Suo — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 18:19:29 -0400

Thank you, Teng, for this very helpful post. Here is something a friend observed a while ago. A key part of an academic appointment is recommendation letters. You want to make sure that good people can write good letters for you. To do that, you have to do good work, and let good people know about your work. This has to be done way before you need letters. So one more reason to start early.

A list of books on finding an academic job

Teng Li — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 18:05:48 -0400

Following are some books I read and found helpful on search for an academic job:

Cracking the Academia Nut: A Guide to Preparing for Your Academic Career by Margaret L. Newhouse, Ph.D. © 1997, paperback, 173 pages Office of Career Services, Harvard University

Written by former director of Harvard University Office of Career Office, this nice little book provides guidance from the early stage as a graduate student to the first years as a junior professor. It also includes sample CVs and cover letters. Not exactly targeted for students in engineering field, but the general advice is still valuable. It seems out-of-print on Amazon, but you can purchase from Harvard University Office of Career Office for $15.00 ($5.00 for Harvard College/GSAS students and alumni) (617) 495-2595.

Tomorrow's Professor: Preparing for Academic Careers in Science and Engineering by Richard M. Reis, Stanford University New York : IEEE Press, c1997. (Thanks Ting Zhu to bring this book to my attention)
- Well-targeted for applicants in science and engineering. Concise structure and writing make reading pleasant. Case examples of real applicants are another shining point of this book. $11.53 on Amazon.com.

The Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career: A Portable Mentor for Scholars From Graduate School Through Tenure, by John Goldsmith, John Komlos, and Penny Schine Gold (University of Chicago Press, 2001)
- A panel conversation style book by three professors somewhat associated with the University of Chicago. The book is not well-organized but includes some helpful hints. If you're very short in time, you may skip this one.

This list is by no means complete, and you should use it with caution (for example, see here for a critics on the Chicago book).

Comments on the above books and/or recommendation of more references are welcome.