Recently on the PsychMAP Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/psychmap/)
Julia Rohrer asked for faculty to tell stories about how they got their jobs.
Because I share my story often, I figured I would write it up and post here.
I was on the job market (North America) for faculty positions
in the autumn of 2008. I only applied to a handful of “dream” schools, figuring
I would apply more broadly the following year (I had funding to stay in
school). Shortly after I submitted all of my applications, the financial crisis
hit and about half of the schools I applied to cancelled their searches. Many
of the other searches were in doubt. This was clearly a bad situation: not only
would there be few jobs available that year, but the following year would be
even worse, given that there would continue to be few jobs available yet a
surplus of job seekers. Let’s just say it was stressful.
I was very, very close to not applying to the job that I
ultimately landed (and still have). The deadline was far earlier than most of
the others, they required ridiculously short application essays (500 words
each), and the position was an open-area “multicultural” psychologist, but the
department did not have a developmental area (my primary field). Oh, and I was
most certainly dubious of living in Minnesota, being a life-long Coastal
Californian.
But, at the very last second, I decided to just send it in.
I ignored their restrictive word count and just submitted my very long
research, teaching, and diversity statements[1].
I was quite surprised when I received an invitation to interview a few weeks
later.
The visit was great. I enjoyed the people, the department,
and could see myself developing a career there. The critical aspect of the U.S.
academic interview is the job talk. That is when the most people, who represent
broad interests in the department, can evaluate your scholarship and teaching
ability. A critical aspect of the job talk is the question and answer period
immediately after. Many people can give a very nice scripted talk, but the Q&A
shows what kind of scholar you really are; how you think and reason on the fly,
and what knowledge you are able to spontaneously conjure when making your
points. I have seen candidates secure the job with an impressive Q&A, but
more often I have seen candidates lose the job with a very poor Q&A.
Anyway, I felt like my talk and Q&A went really well, and was confident
about my chances.
A few weeks later I received the call from the Chair: I was
second in line. If the person offered the job ahead of me turned it down, then I
would get the offer. I was disappointed
but hopeful.
Importantly, amidst all of this, the University of Minnesota
was in a “hiring pause” due to the economy. This meant they were not certain
they could even hire for my position, but were going through the process anyway
just in case. So, they could not formally offer the position to the person
ahead of me. This dragged on for a few weeks, and the first candidate had an
offer elsewhere and was being pressured to make a decision. Going with the sure
thing, the first candidate turned down the Minnesota “offer” and took the other
job. Shortly thereafter, the hiring pause was lifted and I was offered the job.
A few days later I had an interview at another excellent school, but I did not
like it as much as Minnesota, so I withdrew my candidacy from that position and
accepted the Minnesota job.
A few things I learned from this process: I had two campus
interviews, which were from arguably the two “best” schools I applied to. Why
did I get campus interviews at these schools but not so much as a nibble from
the others? These two positions had a common feature that the others did not
share: they both mentioned wanting a cultural psychologist. The others schools
were mostly seeking a developmental psychologist, with no mention of a
particular focus. So, apparently, I was an attractive candidate for a cultural psychologist
position, but not so much for a developmental psychologist position.
I did not expect that type of response at all, but it drove
home a point that many others have made: you never know how people will
perceive you. Because of this, it is important that as a candidate you do not
self-select out of positions, thinking that you would not be a good fit. If the
school looks attractive to you, then go ahead and apply and let them decide whether or not they think
you are a good fit. There is always a lot more to the job than what appears in
the job posting, and you may have some particular focus that the department is
quite interested in, but did not include in the posting. I was so very, very close
to not applying to the University of Minnesota. Crazy world.
[1]
Generally speaking, I do not advise doing this; it is best to provide the
materials as they are requested. However, if the difference is submitting the
wrong materials or not applying at all, go ahead and submit the wrong
materials. Now that I have been on the other side, I know that the search
committee does not care about the length of the essays, and aren’t even aware
that they are supposed to be so short.
