The Academic Job Search Handbook

The Academic Job Search Handbook is the comprehensive guide to finding a faculty position in any discipline. Building on the groundbreaking success and unique offerings of earlier volumes, the fifth edition presents insightful new content on aspects of the search at all stages. Beginning with an overview of academic careers and institutional structures, it moves step by step through the application process, from establishing relationships with advisors, positioning oneself in the market, learning about job openings, preparing CVs, cover letters, and other application materials, to negotiating offers. Of great value are the sixty new sample documents from a diverse spectrum of successful applicants. The handbook includes a search timetable, appendices of career resources, and a full sample application package. This fifth edition features new or updated sections on issues of current interest, such as job search concerns for pregnant or international candidates, the use of social media strategies to address CV gaps, and difficulties faced by dual-career couples. The chapter on alternatives to faculty jobs has been expanded and presents sample rÉsumÉs of PhDs who found nonfaculty positions. For more than twenty years, The Academic Job Search Handbook has assisted job seekers in all academic disciplines in the search for faculty positions at different kinds of institutions from research-focused universities to community colleges. Current faculty who used the book themselves recommend it to their own students and postdocs. The many new first-person narratives provide insight into issues and situations candidates may encounter such as applying for an international job, combining parenting with an academic career, going from an administrative job to a faculty position, and seeking faculty positions as a same-sex couple.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction to the Fifth Edition I. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE YOU START 1. The Structure of Academic Careers 2. Hiring from the Institution's Point of View II. PLANNING AND TIMING YOUR SEARCH 3. Becoming a Job Candidate: The Timetable for Your Search 4. Deciding Where and When to Apply 5. Building an Academic Network 6. Letters of Recommendation 7. Learning About Openings III. WRITTEN MATERIALS FOR THE JOB SEARCH: SUGGESTIONS AND SAMPLES 8. Responding to Position Announcements 9. CVs 10. Additional Application Materials 11. Online Presence 12. Job Hunting Correspondence IV. CONDUCTING THE SEARCH 13. Interviewing 14. Preliminary Interviews 15. The Campus Visit 16. Job Offers, Negotiations, Acceptances, and Rejections V. AFTER YOU TAKE THE JOB 17. Starting the Job 18. Knowing About and Getting Tenure 19. Changing Jobs VI. Additional Considerations 20. Dual-Career Couples and Pregnant on the Job Market 21. International Job Search 22. Cultural and Experiential Diversity VII. BEYOND FACULTY CAREERS 23. Exploring the Expanded Job Market Appendices 1: National Job Listing Sources and Scholarly and Professional Associations 2: Additional Resources 3: Sample Application Package Index

About the Author :
Julia Miller Vick is Senior Career Advisor and Rosanne Lurie is Senior Associate Director of Career Services at the University of Pennsylvania. Jennifer S. Furlong is Director of the Office of Career Planning and Professional Development at the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Review :
"The Academic Job Search Handbook is the first and still the best. The academic job search is special and different. Students and postdocs need help preparing compelling written materials, engaging presentations, and persuasive interviews. I recommend this book to everyone approaching the faculty job market, and use it for seminars and workshops on the academic job search process. It provides sage advice and many examples that span disciplines and different kinds of faculty positions." (Chris M. Golde, Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Stanford University) "An indispensable guide to the difficult and complex academic job market. I have recommended earlier editions of this book to generations of graduate students, and they have benefited immeasurably from its authoritative advice and generous supply of sample documents (like CVs and cover letters). This new fifth edition expands and improves a book that was already a trusted classic. This is a book on which graduate students looking for academic positions would be wise to rely." (Joseph Straus, Distinguished Professor of Music, Graduate Center, CUNY) "The academic job search is fraught with anxiety, urban legends and misinformation. The Academic Job Search Handbook pulls back the curtain, takes you through the entire process step-by-step, and provides actionable advice and examples that will help you present your candidacy (and yourself) in the strongest and most compelling manner." (Andrew Green, Career Center, University of California, Berkeley)