Academic Job Hunting Resources

Topics include:

• Department Guidelines for Letters of Reference (.pdf)
• Summary of Notes from Fall 2006 Professional Development Workshop
• Overview of Academic Job Process
• Cover Sheet, Cover Letter & Curriculum Vitae
• Teaching Statement & Teaching Portfolio
• Editing your Job Packet
• Interview and Job Negotiation Links
• Interview Questions we've been asked
• After you get the job...
• Finding Open Positions
• Fellowships and Other Funding Opportunities
• Academic Resources
• Finding Information about University Programs

Department Guidelines for Letters of Reference (.pdf)

Summary of Notes from Fall 2006 Professional Development Workshop.

• Professor Tom Sallee: A summary of thoughts on teaching statements (.pdf).
• Professor Monica Vazirani: Teaching Statements and the Broad Overview of Applying for Jobs (.pdf).
• Professor Bruno Nachtergaele: Introduction to what a research statement is - the highlights of what they are looking for in your statement. (.pdf)
• Professor Joseph Biello: Additional highlights for Research Statements and Research Sound Bytes. (.pdf).
• Professor Alex Mogilner: Summary of Job Application Packet and Job Application Process. (.pdf)

Overview of Academic Job Process

• A Longtime Math Grad Student's Job Search Experience by Phil Gizzard (2007).
• AMS article: Tips for the Job Search: Applying for Academic and Postdoctoral Positions (.pdf) by Heather A. Lewis and John S. Caughman
• The Academic Job Search in Mathematics by Thomas W. Rishel, Mathematical Association of America.
• Getting a Math Education Job in a Mathematics Department
• "Hints on Getting an Academic Job" by Megumi Harada, UC Berkeley, 2003.
• Is the Tenure Path the Best Route for You? By Richard M. Reis
• Professional Development Information for Harvard Math Grads
• From UCD ICC Workshop, Applying and Interviewing for Faculty Positions (.pdf) by Kathi Shull.
• From UCD PFTF Workshop, Preparing for a Career in Academia (.pdf) by Michael Getz, UCD Computer Science.
• From UCD ICC Workshop, Where To Look \& How to Apply (.pdf) by David Madden, CSU
• From UCD ICC Workshop, Careers in Research Institutions and Professional Schools (.pdf) by Dr. David Thomas, Universit of the Pacific School of Pharmacy and Health Science.

Cover Sheet, Cover Letter & Curriculum Vitae

• AMS Cover Sheet
• The Young Mathematician's Network "Developing Your Curriculum Vitae" By kevin charlwood
• Sample CV's
• Tips for Your Curriculum Vitae and Cover Letter from AMSTAT News(.pdf)
• The Chronicle of Higher Education, "The Basics of Cover Letter Writing" BY. Richard M. Reis
• NOTE: UCD takes several weeks to get transcripts, so order them in August in time to be able to copy and throw into your packets.

Teaching Statement & Teaching Portfolio

• Speaking of Teaching, "Promoting a Culture of Teaching: The Teaching Portfolio" (.pdf)
• Speaking of Teaching, "Responding to Student Writing" (.pdf)
• Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" (.pdf) AW Chickering, ZF Gamson, SJ Poulsen - 1987
• From UC Davis Seminar on College Teaching
  • Developing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement (.pdf) by Nancy Van Note Chism.
  • Elements of a Teaching Philosophy (.pdf)
  • Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy (.pdf) by Brian P. Coppola
  • Building Your Teaching Portfolio (.pdf)
  • Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement by Helen G. Grundman
  • Teaching Objectives, Active Verbs (.pdf)
• Tomorrow's Professor: "Uses and Abuses of Student Ratings"
• The Young Mathematician's Network, "Student Evaluations - what's the research say?"
• Personal Statement Dos and Donts
• Tomorrow's Professors: Birthright

Editing your Job Packet

• Writing Groups
• Checklist for a Final Edit
• From UCD ICC Workshop, Academic Job Application Checklist (.pdf) by Mary Corbin Sies
• All About Recommendation LettersFrom Tara Kuther, Ph.D.

Interview and Job Negotiation

• The Chronicle of Higher Education, "The Academic Job Interview Revisited" By Mary Dillon Johnson
• Academic Job Interview Advice By Mary Corbin Sies.
• From UCD ICC Workshop, Applying and Interviewing for Faculty Positions (.pdf)
• Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#749, Campus Interview - The Research Presentation
• My First Job Talk By ROBIN WARNER.
• job-interview.net
• 2003 AAEE Job Search Handbook, Guidelines for Pre-Employment Interview Questions (.pdf)
• How To Handle Difficult Interview Questions.
• What You'll be Asked During an Academic Job Interview
• From UCD PFTF Workshop, A personal experience of the interview process" by Valeria La Saponara, UC Davis.
• From UCD ICC Workshop, Questions the applicant should be prepared to Answer and Ask(.pdf)
• What to Ask During an Academic Job Interview
• Phone Interview Etiquette
• Here We Have Idaho, "When Manner's Matter" Meal Interview Etiquette (.pdf)
• AAEE Guide for Prospective Faculty Members. "Negotiating the Job Offer"(.pdf) by Kevin Harrington, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Interview Questions we've been asked

(Almost) Always Asked = "***"
Frequently Asked = "**"

• First-round interview for a teaching-oriented school
• --General Questions
  • Why are you interested in this position? ***
  • What do you know about our college? ***
  • You're really going to leave California? ***
  • Have you visited our (state/region) ?
  • Are you also applying for postdocs?
  • Would you rather have a postdoc or a tenure-track position?
  • Do you have any questions for us? ***
  • Tell me about (this item) on your CV.
  • How do you know this letter-writer (a friend of the interviewer)?
  • Besides work, what else would you get involved in on our campus?
• --Teaching Questions
  • Describe your teaching. **
  • What do you like about teaching?
  • Which of our courses would you want to teach? **
  • What courses would you like to teach if there were no restrictions? **
  • This (teaching activity) you've done at Davis, would you continue it on our campus?
  • What student research projects would you propose to supervise?
  • What topics would you cover in (an advanced course for undergrads in your field)?
• --Research Questions
  • Describe your research. ***
  • What are your research plans for the next 2-3 years? For the next 5-6 years?
  • How many papers will come out of your dissertation, and what are they?
  • Is there anyone near our school you could collaborate with?
  • How would you do research in this isolated setting?
  • What kinds of research resources (i.e. computing) do you require? ***
  • Are you ready to do independent research?
• --Things that make you go "huh?"
  • Is there anything that would prevent you from coming here? (huh? perhaps trying to ask if I have a 2-body problem?)

• Interview for a research-oriented postdoc
  • Many technical questions about research (during and following research talk)
  • What was your contribution to this paper you co-authored?
  • What are your research plans after your dissertation?
  • Do you think you would fit in here?
• Interview for a position at a research-oriented industry job (e.g. national lab)
• Interview for an industry job (e.g. Google)
  • Most interviews will have two parts: one very technical, the other a little less so.
    

    The less technical part of the interview serves to determine if you will be a good fit at the company; this is not a euphemism for "good enough". They want to make sure that you will be satisfied with the work environment they will provide. Since many (if not most) industry positions are not precisely defined, it is an opportunity to show your potential employer what you could do for them that they might not have considered. If they ask about an topic that you don't have any experience with, first acknowledge that fact, and go on to talk about related or similar problems that you have been able to solve. The most important things to address are:

    • You understand what their product(s) do***
    • You can meaningfully contribute to their team***
    • You understand their competition and revenue model**

  • The technical portion of the interview will be used to verify that you know what you claim to know on your resume.
    • You will be asked to write code on a whiteboard, both pseudo and syntactically correct ***
    • Know fundamentals of programming: pointers and references, data structures, algorithm run time (big O)

After you get the job...

• Dr. Evelyn M. Silvia: Collegial Advice for Assistant Professors Hints for Success and Stress Reduction as an Assistant Professor at UC Davis.
• Project Next (New Experiences in Teaching), a professional development program for new or recent Ph.D.s in the mathematical sciences.
• Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#792 Collegiality: The Tenure Track's Pandora's Box
• ASAE "Tips for First-time Faculty" by Marybeth Lima (.pdf)
• AAEE Guide for Prospective Faculty Members. Advice for First-Time Faculty Members (.pdf) by Dr. Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick, University of Pennsylvania.
• Anal Bioanal Chem, "Advice to a New Faculty Member" (.pdf) By Patricia Ann Mabrouk
• Five must-haves for new grads, on http://www.cnn.com
• Books:
  • Preparing for Academic Careers in Science and Engineering by Richard M. Reis, Stanford University.
  • A Ph.D. Is Not Enough: A Guide to Survival in Science by Peter J. Feibelman.
  • Advice for New Faculty Members by Robert Boice
  • The Academic's Handbook by Leigh Deneef, Craufurd D. Goodwin, Ellen Stern McCrate (Editor).

Finding Open Positions

• EIMS
• Mathjobs, http://www.mathjobs.org/jobs
• SIAM and the new SIAM Job Board.
• AMS Employment Center
• Academic Careers
• University Jobs
• National Postdoctoral Association, http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/
• College Central Network
• SIGMAA on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education Employment Listings and Job Web Sites
• NIH Virtual Career Center

• California Specific:
  • Northern California's Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC)
  • California Community College Registry
  • Craigslist
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
  • http://postdocs.ucdavis.edu/
• MonsterTrak, http://www.monster.com/

Fellowships and Other Funding Opportunities

• University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
• NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships and Other Programs, Due 3rd Weds in Oct.
• Research Associateship Programs Postdoctoral
• Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)

Academic Resources

• UC Davis Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Resources including:
  • Career Advising & Career and Professional Development
  • Placement File Service
  • Pathways Career Symposium
  • Web-based Resources
  • Career Opportunities Colloquium.
• Science, Math, and Engineering Career Resources
• The Chronicle of Higher Education
• Science Careers
• Inside Higher Education
• Brown Career Development Center
• Tomorrow's Professor Mailing List
• Journal of College Science Teaching
• Speaking of Teaching: Stanford University's Newsletter on Teaching
• The Young Mathematicians' Network
• Networking on the Network: A Guide to Professional Skills for PhD Students by Phil Agre, UCLA
• Preparing Future Faculty Program
• About:Graduate School
• Successful Academic

Finding Information about University Programs

• US News World Report
• The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
• The Princeton Review
• AMS Undergraduate Mathematics Majors