A reminder, and a "job-market boot camp"

I'd like to once again encourage our readers on the job-market this year to fill out the job-market survey I'm conducting, and to spread the word to others on the market who might be interested in filling it out, as well. The more data we get, the better statistical picture we'll have of precisely which things help and do not help job-candidates on the market, and to what extent. In the future, I will probably deploy the survey through other means--Google docs or Qualtrics perhaps--but in the meantime I would like to thank everyone that has taken part.

As soon as I run the data analysis, I will present the results here. What I hope to do then is begin a new Cocoon feature: a Job Market Boot-Camp of sorts offering information and advice, and soliciting advice and discussion from readers, on all things job-market related. My hope is to run a rather long series of posts on everything ranging from dossier materials, to networking, to obtaining new recommendation letters, to interviewing, and beyond. Although I don't pretend to have all the answers, I did spend something like 8 years on the market--struggling mightily for several years before making some changes that led to much better results the past few years--and I would like to share some of the experiences and lessons I think I've learned, and invite readers to do the same. Hopefully we can have some good discussions that present and future job-marketeers will find helpful.

Here is an initial working outline of the series:

• Part 1: Building a better CV
• Part 2: Recommendation letters
• Part 3: Networking and online presence
• Part 4: Should you hire a job-market consultant?
• Part 5: The cover-letter
• Part 6: The research statement
• Part 7: The teaching statement
• Part 8: The teaching dossier
• Part 9: The writing sample
• Part 10: The Skype interview
• Part 11:  The APA interview
• Part 12: The on-campus interview

Are there any topics not listed that you would like to see covered in the series? If so, please do leave a comment letting me know!

Comments

[Helen]

What a wonderful idea, Marcus! I was wondering if "building a coherent research project post PhD" would fall under either of these (perhaps part 1)? Or whether it is, as i think it is, something distinct that merits its own discussion. Building a CV is about tangible things like publications, talks and teaching experience, whereas building a research project is something that helps to guide one's research, that informs the cover letter and gives direction during the postdoc/tenure track period.
Given that many of us are for several years on the market before we land a tenure-line position, it's very important to get a second project started, one distinct from one's PhD but still connected to it to show a sort of overarching framework. We get little advice on how to do this. I think advice on this would be profitable also for people who have freshly defended.

[Anon]

I want to second Helen's suggestion - that's a really important topic and I'd like to hear from people who have had some success on the job market about it.

I'd also like to hear some advice on building a good teaching portfolio for the US market. My degree is from outside the US, and the standards for what qualifies as evidence of teaching excellence are quite different there (I guess - but that's the point of asking for help!).

[Marcus Arvan]

Helen and Anon: Thanks for your comments. I think that sounds like a great idea. I will definitely include a discussion of it as a separate post within the series!

[Joe]

I think the only significant thing it's missing is a post or two about managing the stress of it all.

[anon]

Marcus, this series is such a great idea! I'm looking forward to discussing all of these topics in depth.

And I want to second Joe's suggestion about a bit on stress management. Since it now typically takes years to get a first TT job, a long-term approach to maintaining emotional health while on the market is incredibly important.