Transcript “Is Getting A Faculty Position Hard?” Confessions of a Former Applicant Catherine M.

“Is Getting A Faculty Position Hard?”
Confessions of a Former Applicant
Catherine M. Alfano, Ph.D.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
& University of Washington
BCPT Quarterly Fellows Meeting, May 2005
A Long-winded answer…
Why am I qualified to give this talk?
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Just finished the faculty job search process:
13 months (2 cycles)
Applied to 7 institutions
Interviewed at 4 institutions
Offered 2 positions
Successfully negotiated 1 tenure-track assistant
professor position
However, N=1 (faculty members encouraged to
join in)
Aspects of the Existential Crisis…
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“What is a faculty position, really, and why do I
want one?”
“What am I looking for in a position?”
“How do I find & apply for positions?”
“What is involved in an interview & how do I
prepare for one?”
“What is involved in negotiating a position?”
“What are pitfalls to avoid?”
“What can I be doing NOW?”
“What is a faculty position, really, and why do I
want one?”
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No joke! Profound question
Faculty position- Components may include:
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Grant writing & Research, Clinical work, Mentoring,
Teaching, Supervisory role, Administrative role,
Committee work/ dept. & inst. service, community
service, service to scientific community
Choice: Academia vs. private sector
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Pros & cons for each
Understand what they mean to you
What do you want to do with your career?
“What am I looking for in a faculty position?”
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Which components, at what %?
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Grant writing & Research, Clinical work, Mentoring, Teaching,
Supervisory role, Administrative role, Committee work/ dept. &
inst. service, community service, service to scientific community
Environment & resources
Peers & collaboration
Big fish, small pond vs. Small fish, big pond
Mentoring of jr faculty
Hard vs. soft money
Tenure (does it exist & what does it mean?)
Limiting factors? (geographic, family, etc.)
“How do I find & apply for positions?”
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“Faculty search cycle:”
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Positions advertised in Fall
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Applications due in Late Fall, Winter
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Job Ads, listservs, conferences, mentors & contacts, “cold
letters”
Cover letter detailing research and teaching interests, CV, 3
references or letters, manuscripts;
Get feedback from mentor
Interview in Spring
2nd interview in Late Spring
Negotiate/Accept by Summer
Timeline does NOT always apply!
“What is involved in an interview & how do I
prepare for one?”
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Interview: 2 days
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Grueling vs. Fun
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Meet MANY people
1 hr talk with questions
30 min-1 hr meetings; lunches & dinners
Search committee meeting (a.k.a. “firing squad”)
Meet with students or teach class
Dep. on personality, preparation, & confidence
Logistics: airfare, hotel, dinner
Follow up after interview
Prepared = Confident
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Rehearse your talk
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Tailor your talk
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Make it interesting & get plenty of feedback
Know your audience (eg., SPH vs. CCC)
Know your interviewers
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Pull & read bios, key papers
Can check CRISP database for current grants
You want to get them talking about their research
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Assess collaboration; ↑rating of you
Ask to meet with specific faculty members
Tips for Interviewing
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2-way evaluation of “fit”
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Ask questions!
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Shows interest & you need to gather data
Get several opinions on important questions
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YES! YOU are also evaluating THEM
Assess for inconsistent information
Need a “sound byte” describing your research
Self-confidence
Be yourself --no dating behavior!
Relax –it puts them at ease too
“What is involved in negotiating a position?”
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Don’t “just say YES”
Consider what you really need to hit the ground
running
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Usually an iterative process
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Office space & equip, RAs, biostat help, grant
support, admin support, startup $, how much you
teach right away, moving expenses, parking (?),
salary
By phone or formal letters
At end: everyone signs a “letter of offer”
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You formally accept the offer
“What are pitfalls to avoid?”
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Allowing enough time
Answering personal questions
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They never call you for a 2nd interview
Too many limitations on job search = no job
Offering controversial opinions
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Partner? Babies?
No ref in the room to call foul
Happens if you don’t know your audience
Over-confidence = egotism & naiveté
Interdisciplinary training= can’t fit neatly into a box
(division)
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Focus on what you want to do; not labels
“What can I be doing NOW?”
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Build CV with good research collaborations
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Peer-reviewed journal pubs from existing datasets
Experience working on grant-funded research –mult.
projects
Experience writing parts of grant proposals
Job talk based on own work (own data?)
Keep CV up to date
Experience in multi-center trials
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Get feel for how they work
Meeting people
“What can I be doing NOW?”
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Network: conferences, “normal work”
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Think about developing a line of research
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Through mentor & on own
Meet people with whom you might want to work BEFORE you
need a job
“What have I done already?”
“Where am I headed?”
Get exposure to different components of faculty job
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Talk to faculty members; check job ads now
“What do I like to do?” “Dislike?”
Start piecing together what you want
Many Thanks…
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Deborah J. Bowen
Bonnie A. McGregor
Anne McTiernan
Donald Patrick
Danny Shen
Jesse R. Fann
Karen Syrjala
Janet Abrams
CARET investigators
HEAL investigators
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Carol Moinpour
Cynthia Long
Neli Ulrich
Alan Kuniyuki
Nigel Bush
Alton Hart
Brenda Diergaarde
Julie Gralow, Robert
Livingston, & Hannah
Linden