The Job Search ProcessGrad Cohort 2011

Mary Fernandez (AT&T Labs - Research)

Nancy Amato (Texas A&M)

Margaret Martonosi (Princeton)

With thanks to Kathleen Fisher, Anne Condon, Amanda Stent

Why Now?

• Work back from your goal– To get a job you need:

• Publications, experience, connections….

– To get them you need:

• Research, internships, conferences, service, teaching experience, networking….

• It starts now

Remember

• You are intelligent

• You are capable

• You can do it

Finding Your Job

Your application

Preparing your job talk

Preparing for an interview

The big day!

After the interview...

Managing offers

But that’s a long way off!

September May

What Do You Want?

• What kind(s) of position are you looking for?– Research university? Research lab? Teaching

college? Post Doc? Development?

• Where are you (and any significant other) willing to live?– West coast? East coast? South? Midwest?

International? Urban? Rural? ...?

• Internships are a good way to find out what you like.

September-October

Materials

• You need:– A way to keep track of your information

• Application status• Your materials (about you)• Your research (about them)

– A way to reduce stress– A schedule for what to do next

* Thanks to Ellen Spertus, Robert Boice

September-October

Your Big Picture

What’s Available?

• Who would you like to work with?

• Information sources:

– Your network

– CRA http://www.cra.org/ads/

– ACM http://jobs.acm.org/

– Systers http://www.cra-w.org/PhdjobhuntHers

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

– Disciplinary listservs (IEEE, AAAI, etc.)

September-October

Tips

• Add each posting to your spreadsheet– Note due dates– Create a schedule for adapting materials to

postings (one thing per day)

• Goal is inclusivity– Don’t apply somewhere you are 100% sure you

won’t go

– But, keep an open mind! You might be surprised what you end up liking the best

Your Application

• Cover Letter• Curriculum Vitae (CV)

– Research and teaching experience, jobs held, talks given, papers published, refereeing, other service...

• Research Statement– What is your vision for your research?

• Teaching Statement (except for labs)– What is your vision for teaching?

• Letters of recommendation (3-5)• Transcript (sometimes)

October

Your Materials

Tips

• Start drafting early!

• Look at materials from friends

• Show result to advisor and other mentors, and your peer network; revise until done

• It is worth investing a lot of time– You will create different versions of these materials

for different jobs (their website is your friend)

Identifying Letter Writers

• With advisor, develop a list of candidates:– Familiar with your research

– Respected in the academic community

• Possible sources (in addition to advisor):– Your thesis committee

– Internship advisors

– People you TA’d for

Early November

Tips

• Ask letter-writers way in advance of deadlines. It takes a lot of work to write a good letter!

• If they say ‘no’, don’t press; find someone else

• Get the correct contact info for each writer

• Give them a list of the institutions/deadlines, and a copy of your application materials

• Keep track of which schools have which letters; send gentle reminders if necessary

• Thank them & tell them where you end up!

After you applied (and even before)...

• Even before you apply, contact & discuss your application with champions at the institution– E.g., at conferences, invite yourself to visit, ….– (These are also potential letter writers)

• Getting your application noticed from the hundreds that have been received……– Contact champions at the institution to let them know you

applied so they can alert the search committee• Work with your advisor to identify people

• Ask your advisor to contact them (you can do it too)

• Check with an administrative contact to be sure your letters have been received– Advisor’s letter is CRUCIAL

The Goal of the Interview...

• Main objective: TO GET AN OFFER– You are being evaluated – the institution is the buyer

and you are the seller– You can decide later if you will accept it, but you won’t

have that choice if you don’t have an offer

• Secondary objectives: – Learn about the department (post-offer visits for this

purpose are common)– Expand your network by meeting new colleagues

Interview Components

• Telephone interview (first filter)– Very common for teaching schools, increasingly

common elsewhere

• Job Talk (research)

• Classroom teaching example (at teaching institution, often)

• One-on-One meetings with colleagues, supervisors, department head, deans, etc.– Including people outside your department

• Meals with all of the above – Yes, this is part of the interview!

Preparing a Job Talk

The goal of a job talk is to convince a broad audience that you have identified an important and difficult problem, that you have come up with an innovative and effective solution, that you have concrete ideas for a future research agenda, and that you will be a strong contributor to their scholarly community.

- Edward D. Lazowska

(and, ideally, to convince all the attendees that you would be a great collaborator for them and for their institution….)

December/January

Tips for Job Talk

• Go to job talks (start now), ask faculty how they were received, note what works and doesn’t

• Give practice talk(s) and incorporate feedback– Practice answering questions– Video your talk and (gulp!) watch it

• Adapt your talk to your audience– If the expert on X is at that institution, don’t forget to

cite them in the related work (if appropriate)– At a teaching school, undergrads will likely attend

and their opinion will matter

• Logistics– Bring a back up copy!– Ask for timing guidelines and respect them

Preparing for an Interview

• Do your homework!– The web, your advisor, research colleagues, ...

• Questions to find answers to:– Research – What are individual strengths and what

major research projects are going on?

– Teaching - What is the curriculum like? What is the teaching load?

– Think about how you would fit into the department – research collaborations & teaching?

• Let host know special needs

Before each interview

Tips

• Request schedule a few days in advance of visit – Check up on the people you will meet– Request to meet people/groups not on the schedule

• Make sure you get to talk to a woman professor or two; watch how women are treated in the department

• Make sure you get to talk to students to “see” the department from their perspective

• Have backup of your talk on memory stick and on your webpage– You may show bits of it to faculty who missed your talk

• Keep your webpage updated with papers and research descriptions– may refer to it in individual meetings

Questions They May Ask You….Research– Tell me about your thesis and other work you have

done.– What do you want to work on next and why?

• What resources do you need to do your research? (Startup…)

– Where do you plan to obtain funding for your research?

• Have you participated in proposals before?– Why you are interested in this institution?

• Who could you see collaborating with here?

More Questions They May Ask You…

Teaching– What courses would you like to teach and why?

• Could you teach course X? – Why are you interested in teaching? – What is your teaching philosophy?

General– Do you have questions for me?– Where else are you interviewing? Do you have

offers?– Do you have a two-body problem? Do you have

children or do you plan to have children? (illegal/inappropriate)

Role Play & Audience Practicum

• Panelist Role Play with feedback– Good/Bad examples for answering

• Who could you see yourself collaborating with?

• Questions to practice at home– Practice the following questions with a partner:

• Where do you see your research going from here and why do you think you can do it at this institution?

• How would you feel about teaching course X?– Video tape these and watch them!

Questions You May Ask Them…

Institutional Culture– What is like to work here?– How are decisions made in the organization?

• What kind of role do junior people play?– Is collaboration encouraged/supported? What about

across departmental boundaries? • How does the department relate to the rest of the institution?

Students– What is the quality of the students?

• Where do the dept’s graduates get jobs?– How does admissions work?– How do students find advisors?– How are teaching assistants selected?

More Questions You May Ask Them….

Teaching– How are teaching assignments made?– How are new courses introduced into the

curriculum?– What is the teaching load?

Career Development & Evaluation– What career development programs/resources

does the organization have? • Formal or informal mentoring programs?

– How will I be evaluated?– What is the tenure process like?

Tips For the Big Day(s)!

• Enjoy and have fun (to the extent you can)– Don’t book yourself into crazy travel!

– Get plenty of sleep & eat well

– Meals are part of the interview. Drink moderately

• Try to imagine yourself in the environment: – Do you want these people as your colleagues potentially forever?

• Even if you don’t like it, do your best – Don't say negative things about other institutions or people. It can

come back to haunt you!

– People talk with colleagues, and you’ll run into them later

• Consider when or whether to mention any two-body issues

• Ask host what to expect in follow up

After the Interview• Go home after first interview, to recover and

get support.

• Schedule down time generally!

• Talk to advisor: they may be getting feedback.

• Send notes thanking people you met– Personalize them, particularly for the people you

‘connected’ with – they are future colleagues, even if you don’t go there

• Follow up with anything you said you would do, e.g., send papers, contacts.

• Make notes for yourself about your impressions right away before you forget!

Managing Offers

• Celebrate success; Don't take rejection personally

• Evaluate strengths/weaknesses of each offer

• Negotiate!

• Imagine yourself in each place, how you feel

• For places you’re serious about, ask for a post-offer visit. You can bring your significant other.

April/May

What Can You Ask For?• Salary

• Startup funds: equipment, research, curriculum development (teaching track faculty), travel, student support, summer salary

• Space for you and your students

• Teaching load

• Funds for a second visit, relocation funds

• Leave time before/after you start

• Help with job search for partner access to institutional childcare, housing, ...

• Asking now can help your department head request resources from higher ups– If you have other offers, this can help too

Role Play

• Panelist Role Play– Bad examples for first job offer conversation

• Start up salary low-ball• Lack of space• Start-up funds

• How might you have handled these situations differently?

Tips

• Don't be afraid to ask for what you need

• Be respectful of institutional constraints

• Let people know of factors that might influence their offers (e.g. better offers from elsewhere; news about a best paper award)

• Some details will be spelled out in formal offer, others can be documented in emails, yet others will be based on trust

• Use available resouces: PhdjobhuntHers email list; mentors; Taulbee salary surveys

• Don’t feel pressure to commit immediately

But That’s a Long Way From Now...

In the Mean Time...

• Publish (good) papers!

• Network at conferences so people know you (letters!)

• Do internships at various kinds of institutions

• Watch professors around you

• TA, help write a grant proposal, serve on committees

• Pay attention to how your institution does hiring

– Go to job talks!

– Meet with speakers in student session

• Be able to talk knowledgeably about many areas of CS

– Attend seminars in your department, even if not in your area

Use the Skills Now!

• PhD job search is a few years away

• But these skills apply also for:– Fellowships– Internships

Questions?