Obtaining An Academic Position Job Hunting Strategy And Resources

Even in this age of seemingly endless information available on the internet, job postings for academic positions can be difficult to find and even more difficult to evaluate. Contrary to the industrial job hunt, potential employers do not generally come looking for entrylevel faculty members. Academic positions are not handled at career fairs, and headhunters are seldom employed to find an entry-level academician. Thus, the burden of effort falls to the job seeker. In this paper the author lists helpful locations to check for information, both high-tech and low-tech, regarding entry academic job openings as well as institutional data which might be of use in evaluating job opportunities. To add to the fun, the schools which need new faculty members are widely varied not only in geographic location but also in focus. Schools value different experience and abilities based on their departmental needs and school academic or research mission statements. Determining and finding the right mix for the candidate is imperative for a good pairing, so the author discusses some considerations which aid in determining whether openings match a candidate’s preferences. With the proper approach and information, the academic job hunt can be a manageable process with a favorable outcome. A logical set of steps to follow when seeking an entry-level academic position, with resources for each step as needed, form the framework of this paper. Overview Job hunting information will be presented as a 16-step process. Figure 1 gives an overview of the whole process, showing decision blocks. The rest of the paper elaborates on this breakdown.