LANDING AN ACADEMIC JOB
The process and the pitfalls
By Jonathan A. Dantzig
INTRODUCTION
Over the last several years, the University of Illinois’s Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering has been actively recruiting and hiring new faculty members. During the same period, a variety of factors have combined to make competition for faculty positions very stiff, so that even relatively small mistakes on the application or during the interviewing process can eliminate a candidate. Other institutions nationwide report similar experiences in their hiring processes. As chairperson of the department’s Faculty Recruiting Committee, I observed that potentially able candidates damage their chances through a lack of understanding of the recruitment and hiring process. I have written this document to help you — the new PhD or postdoc without faculty experience — to understand that process so that you will have a fair chance of success.
I am not trying to tell you how to prepare for an academic job, just how to apply and interview so that you may improve your chance of getting the job. I want to help you avoid making the simple mistakes that obscure your professional qualifications.
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