If you receive a job offer (or offers) congratulations! I was on cloud nine when I got the offer that I eventually accepted. After you receive an offer, there are several things that may happen. First, the school will likely invite you back for a second visit.
After your interviews are complete, there will be another waiting period. Right after you get home from each interview, you should send follow-up thank you emails.
Academic job interviews are actually pretty fun, but really tiring as most days are very long. The following is a typical schedule to expect for an interview:
Day 1
Morning:
Travel to interview location
Afternoon:
Meetings with Faculty Members
6 – 9 p.m.:
Dinner with faculty members, probably the head of the search committee
I was super excited when I got invited for my first in-person interview. If you have gotten invited for an interview, congratulations! Getting selected for an interview is a huge accomplishment and the first step towards securing an academic position. Your odds of getting the job at this point are also much higher as departments typically interview three to eight people for each position. Take a day or two to celebrate, and then you should really start to prepare for the interview. Before you go on any interview there are three important things that you need to do in advance to prepare.
Waiting to hear back from places that you submit job applications to is always a very stressful experience! There really is no general rule of thumb in terms of the timeline for when you can hope to hear back. For one school, I was invited for an interview one week after the application was submitted, but for other places it was a little over two months. I know a friend who submitted an application in September and did not get invited for an interview until February, but in the end was offered the job!
Academic job applications typically include a cover letter, CV, research statement, summary of previous research, and a teaching statement. My number one recommendation on how to prepare your packet is to get several examples from your colleagues, such as a previous postdoc from your lab who recently started his or her own lab, or a new assistant professor/investigator in your current department...
One big question that I think people have when applying for jobs is, “How many applications should I submit?” I know people who have submitted anywhere from five to 100 applications! I submitted about 20 applications.
If you are planning on going on the academic job market, there are several things you need to prepare before putting together your application packet. First, you need to make sure you are ready. This is a discussion that you need to have with your PI and not just the month before you start submitting applications!
This page was last updated on Thursday, January 20, 2022
