How can we help you? (September 2018)

Now that the academic year and job market are in full swing, I thought now might be a good time for another monthly 'how can we help you?' post.

For those of you unfamiliar with this series, this is a chance for you to post openly or anonymously in the comments section below on anything you could use help with related to the profession. After you post your query in the comments section, I will then post new threads for readers to discuss your query.

Please feel free to ask questions on anything (within the Cocoon's mission) that you could use help with, including but not limited to:

• The job-market (applying for jobs, etc.)
• Graduate school
• Transitioning into a new job
• Publishing
• Teaching
• The profession
• Work-life balance
• Personal struggles
• Etc.

Fire away - we're here to help!

Comments

[Jeremy]

Something I've been wondering about: Do you think there is any benefit to taking videos of, e.g., lectures, talks/presentations, etc. and sharing them in one's portfolio in the relevant place? The advantage, I would think, is that it serves as further evidence of the kinds of claims one is making about teaching/research skills.

My guess is that 99% of committees will ignore them, but that it couldn't hurt to put them out there. I'm reasonably confident about the former, but less so about the latter.

[To Jeremy]

Jeremy
the catch is you have no right to video record your students. You would need them to sign release forms, and to be given the option to leave the lecture that day. Certainly this is the case in America.

[Number Three]

At what point should I stop asking dissertation committee members for letters of recommendation? Two years post-PhD? Four? More?

[Alepersichetti]

a) Work-life balance during the PhD, and b) relationships and two-body problem while being in the academic job market would be warmly welcome topics.

[Amanda]

If you have a TT job and are thinking of applying to fellowships and such (things were you get extra money to do research but are not looking to move jobs), is it typical to have letters of recommendation from your colleagues? In general, do LORs change, as far as who writes them, once you are in a TT position?

[postdoc]

I like the idea of publishing my research in open access venues, since I find the for profit journal industry contrary to the academic ideal. My solution is to try to at least aim first for publishing at open access journals. If my papers get rejected from these, then I will submit them to the standard “respectable” journals. In this way I give open access journals first dibs. But, since I am currently a postdoc and I need to make sure I get published in journals that others (hiring committees) consider “respectable.” My question is what are considered leading open access journals. The only one I can think of in philosophy is Philosophers’ Imprint. It would be very helpful for my aim to compile a list of other OA journals that are considered respectable.

[1st time on market]

Does anybody have examples of folks who teach philosophy full-time at a community college and still manage to publish decent work? I plan to receive a PhD this spring from an unranked program and have wondered whether I would be able to continue publishing (I've got one published paper right now) if I had to "settle" for a cc job.

[Amanda]

Don't we have a new Cocoon poster like this?

[Danny]

What do people think about how long one should wait between submitting something to a journal and submitting something else to that same journal? Does the time you wait depend on what response you got to the last submission (desk rejection, rejections with reviewer comments, R&R, acceptance, etc.)? Does it depend on how long the journal took to get back to you?

I've been trying to wait as long as possible before submitting something new to a journal that I previously submitted to, because I don't want to make an outsized contribution to the glut of submissions they face, but of course on the other hand if the journal is a good journal that I would like to publish in and I have another piece that I think is suitable, I would like to submit it ASAP. Any thoughts? Is there anything even approaching a norm on this topic?

[Amanda]

Danny I wouldn't think twice about submitting another paper the same day. Indeed, I and others I know submit two papers at once to the same journal. In any case, I would be very surprised if submitting papers one after another has any impact on how those papers are treated.

[This isn't high school]

How do people handle disrespectful students? I have in mind primarily the sleepers, the constant chatters, and those who refuse to engage even when called upon. I've experimented with different responses, some subtle and some quite strict. But I'm curious how others have handled these sorts of situations.

[Inside hire]

The department in which I am currently a postdoc is conducting a job search in one of my areas of specialization. While I have heard of all sorts of “inside hires” for which the job search was merely a formality, nothing about this job search is in any way tailored to me. I simply more or less fit the bill reasonably well. I am not a perfect fit for the job ad, and so am far certain I can expect to get the job.
Since learning about this job, I have a few questions for the readers of this blog:
First, I wonder how I should conduct myself in the coming months. Should I consider myself from now until then as being in interview mode? This could go on for several months.
Second, since the odds are that I will not get a job offer, I should expect either not to get an interview, not to get a “flyout”, or not to get the offer. But what should I expect from people around the department? I know I would appreciate a genuine face to face ‘sorry, you just aren’t what we are looking for’ from my experience on the job market that might never come. Would me applying end up sour my relationship with my colleagues for the remainder of the postdoc?
Lastly, despite not being a case of an intentional inside higher, I do enjoy familiarity with everyone on the search committee. What can and should I do to best take advantage of this fact, if at all?

[Amanda]

So what are everyone's thoughts on writing a book as a Junior (non-tenured) scholar, particularly when you are not from somewhere fancy? So here are some things I have either seen or heard:

-If you do write a book, even if it is very good and published with a very good press, or even the top press, it is likely to be ignored.
-If you are searching for research jobs, then *maybe* a book with Oxford, Cambridge, or Routledge might help, but other presses likely not. And even with the aforementioned presses great articles are probably better.
-For tenure at a research place, books with the above presses can help but you better have had great article publications as well.
-For teaching schools books are more competitive with articles? Maybe? I am really less sure on this.

Curious what everyone thinks. Thanks.

[Syed Musab]

Hi. I recently graduated with a MA and applied to very few PhD programs during fall of 2017. I didn't get in any of them. I didn't expect to because I kind of had a feeling that my writing sample was weak. Very weak. However, I'm trying again this time around, but with a better sample (hopefully). So, i was wondering whether anybody on here knew of good resources for someone like me to get better at writing. Groups people who can help etc. Or, if there are workshops anywhere in the country that help with writing for PhD admission. Any resource, guide or advice will be very helpful. I'm more or less on my own since I'm no longer in school and my professors from my previous school have their hands full with their current students. So, anything will be helpful. Thanks

[S]

Would it be possible to have a post about how to write diversity statements.

One recent ad says: "A diversity statement discussing your experience in working with students from many different backgrounds."

Another says to include "a Statement of Diversity and Inclusion describing past experience and contributions to diversity and inclusion efforts, and a description of how you will demonstrate a commitment in these areas in teaching, research, and/or service"

Thanks!

[Amanda]

I need to vent about something: I just got a journal rejection. The journal had 3 referees. All 3 recommended a revise and resubmit. Yet the editor straight out rejected it with no reasons.(at least they didn't hide the reviews from me, which has happened before.)I can't stand this stuff. I mean it is so hard to get 3 referees to recommend revision, and when that happens I still don't get a chance. Days like this make me really wonder why I write all day. Anyway, can we please hurry up and get the new journal system in place, because this one seems to get worse everyday. (And I know, I know, this happens to everyone...even famous people. But that seems part of the problem.)

[junior faculty]

I am curious about strategies for illustrating 'research promise' (either in a cover letter or research statement). How do people try to communicate their future research ability?

Here are some thoughts I have so far:
1) Mentioning existing publications indicates an ability to publish - so past success is some evidence of the potential for future success.
2) Mentioning works in progress indicates very near future publications (or, ideally, should, but obviously if it gets rejected a lot maybe it will be awhile). The issue here is that, hypothetically, if a paper is under review when you submit your application for a job, it would be accepted for publication prior to starting the job. And so does not seem to clearly indicate anything about what you will do once in the position. Except insofar as it is evidence that you work (much like 1)
3) Mentioning areas of research. Here the area is reasonably large (big question or some particular subfield) and you of course place your previous work and current work within it, but the hope is that by indicating the more general area you are (implicitly) indicating you can and will do future research, although you are not clearly indicating what that will be.
4) Mentioning future plans. This seems like the most directly relevant, but the issue seems to be that this will often be quite vague or 'promissory'. "In the future, I intend to explore the such and so question" or something like that. Maybe this is less problematic if it fits with previous and current work.

So I see various methods of indicating research promise, but all seem to have issues. But I am just wondering what other people do and what search committees respond to with regard to this issue.

[Lauren]

I've been asked to give a colloquium talk at a different university for the first time (well, the first time in a department that isn't my own and where I am not a job candidate). If it matters, though I am in the same very large metro area as the university where I will give this talk, I don't know anyone in the department or university. I'm very excited, but not entirely sure about the norms for things like: how soon before the event do I need to have the topic nailed down? Is it appropriate or expected to ask what they want to hear or suggest a few different talks and see what they're interested in? Since the department where I'll be giving the talk is undergrad-only, what should I be thinking about in terms of pitching the talk? Should I be thinking of this as an extended classroom-style lecture, or is that the wrong way to think about it?