Strengthen your credentials.

• Find that seminar paper that your professor really liked, spend a week revising it, and send it off. Then you can say it's under review, and maybe soon you can send an update to places you're applying, saying it's been accepted.
• It's not a bad idea to do a couple of book reviews. Review editors are hard up for reviewers, and it's a good way to get a free book and a relatively quick publication (though not a "real" one--most of your energy should be focused on publishing articles). Look in the back of journals in your field for a list of publications available for review. The LINGUIST List also sends out lists of books available for online review, and Language maintains an online list of books available for review.
• Have a very clear idea of when your dissertation will be done and practice saying the date without hedging. You're allowed to be a bit optimistic.
• Be visible during your job year (and ideally well before): present at one or two well-chosen conferences.
• Ask for letters of recommendation from the people who know and like you best, not the famous people who don't know you at all or don't like your work. You may want to include a short letter from a famous person as an additional letter: it's okay to send more than the minimum they ask for, but don't overwhelm the committee with letters, and only send them if you know they'll be both positive and informative (don't ask the famous scholar you had tea with once to send a letter on your behalf).

Use your research skills.

• Be proactive about finding job announcements (check Linguist and professional organization newsletters as well as job service announcements). Read the many good books on the academic job search to get ideas of how the process works. Especially recommended:

• Goldsmith, John A., John Komlos, and Penny Schine Gold (2001). The Chicago guide to your academic career. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Heiberger, Mary Morris, and Julia Miller Vick (2001). The academic job search handbook. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Toth, Emily (1997). Ms. Mentor's impeccable advice for women in academia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

• Research each department you're interested in applying to (especially via the web), in order to know how to frame your application. Find out who's there, what courses are offered, what their strengths are. Use any contacts you may have to inquire about the nature of the position. (This can help you figure out what kinds of writing samples to send and what parts of your background to emphasize.)
• Don't hesitate to call or email the department: secretaries are full of useful information.
• If you can find out who's on the committee, you can frame your application accordingly. This information usually isn't a secret.
• Distinguish clearly between research and teaching jobs.

Use your imagination.

• Be creative about what kinds of jobs you can apply for: don't apply when you're clearly unqualified (i.e., jobs that specify a Ph.D. in a field remote from yours, jobs for associate professors or endowed chairs), but some departments may appreciate getting an unexpected but excellent application from another (closely related) field.
• Work hard to make connections between what you do and what the department's priorities are. Emphasize these connections in your cover letter, in how you highlight information on your CV, and in the interview.

Take advantage of your resources.

• Your faculty mentors want you to be well placed, and most don't mind reading letters of application, CVs, and other materials. But give them advance notice.
• Ask faculty what they know about departments you're applying in. Academia is very small, so don't assume people in different fields won't know each other.
• Faculty may be willing to make phone calls or send e-mail on your behalf, but use this in exceptional circumstances. Don't let your faculty mentors overshadow you.

Be prepared.

• Know everything about everyone in the department: you never know who might show up at the interview.
• Ideally read something recent by everyone in the department whose work is related to yours. At least know what they've written. Think about how your interests connect with theirs.
• Keep your job materials by the phone so that when you get call-backs you can pull the file easily and refer to it during your conversation. Some routine calls are really interviews. If you get an unexpected call, don't feel you have to continue when you feel unprepared; you can always arrange to call back later (even a few minutes later so you can get yourself in the right frame of mind).
• Practice interviewing. Practice answers to all the questions you might be asked, especially those you dread. Practice summarizing your dissertation in one-minute and five-minute versions. Don't forget most interviewers won't know much about your area of specialization. Mock interviews with one or two willing faculty members are highly recommended.
• Practice your job talk in front of a critical audience, especially one with little knowledge of your area of specialization. Know the conventions for talks in your field and in the department. Most linguistics talks are not read verbatim, but in some more humanistic departments (and adjacent disciplines) this is expected. Find out from the department what kind of format they expect. And don't forget to tell them well in advance if you need special equipment.
• Have a question or two for the interviewers: a good one is to ask "Where do you think the department is heading in the next five to ten years?" They never expect this one.

Be friendly.

• Academics are like snakes (in one way, anyway): In the job interview, they're more afraid of you than you are of them. Put them at ease; take charge of the interview.
• Don't always talk shop, especially during your on-campus visit. Show you're a real person. Faculty want to hire a good colleague as well as a good teacher/scholar.
• Don't be dull, especially during your job talk. Be the most interesting version of yourself that you can be.
• Ask questions. Show an interest in the department at all levels--ask about the details of undergraduate teaching, graduate training (if relevant), department life, the campus, the community.

Be professional.

• At least during your job year, don't gossip and don't talk badly about people in your field--ever. You never know who may overhear. During interviews and campus visits, don't express your opinions in an overbearing way: be cautious.
• Part of being professional is showing you know your value: When you get an offer, negotiate for better terms, even if you're pretty happy with what's offered. Negotiating sends the signal that you know you're worth a lot, which the department wants to think too. If you don't get to the point where the department refuses one of your requests, you probably aren't asking for enough.

Make quality of life a priority.

• The market is bad, but not so bad that you should take a job you really can't bear. But always give a job a chance: you may find that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. But unless you have extremely compelling reasons, don't be a snob about the kinds of jobs you'll consider. Many positions in less-than-cosmopolitan places, for example, offer excellent advantages for faculty just starting their careers.
• You can negotiate for a position for an academic partner. It's advisable bringing this up only after you have an offer in hand, but do the groundwork in advance so you can immediately send your partner's dossier to the relevant department. If you have a partner who isn't an academic, you
• Negotiate for things that will make it possible for you to do your job effectively, particularly time and money (but especially time). If the department can't accommodate your request, think creatively about possible solutions (e.g., offer to teach in the summer so you can have a semester off during the academic year).

Don't take it personally.

• If you don't get an offer, or you don't get the offer you want, don't feel bad. You should feel good to make it to the interview stage; beyond that, it's not about merit but about department politics and priorities.
• Expect one or two utter fiascos. These build character.

Have fun, but not too much fun.

• Try not to get so distracted by the job market that you neglect your dissertation. You don't want to be in a position of getting an offer and not having the dissertation complete.
• Rarely will people ever show this much interest in your work: enjoy the spotlight.
• Even if you don't get the job, you'll make valuable contacts and get to see how a variety of departments work. Use this as an opportunity to learn.

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Last modified on: November 27, 2006.