I'm applying for academic jobs or postdocs
Understand the market honestly, prepare your documents early, and ask referees before you need them.
In short
Start here, today. Find four or five real adverts in your field from the past year, including one you'd love and one that feels like a stretch. List every document they ask for and every criterion they mention. That's your preparation checklist. This takes about 30 minutes.
After that, work through these steps. Choose one to jump to it.
Step by step
Tick each step as you finish it. Open a step for the how.
0 of 7 steps done
Learn the timing in your field
Hiring in many fields runs on a yearly cycle, and some fellowships close a year or more before they start. Ask your supervisor and recent hires in your department when people in your area apply. Put the main deadlines in your Milestone Map now, next to your thesis submission date.
Decide which kind of post fits
A lab postdoc usually means joining someone else's funded project, often with a quicker start. A postdoctoral fellowship funds your own project and normally needs a proposal and a supportive host. A faculty post adds teaching and service from day one. Choose by what you need next: publications, independence, teaching experience or stability.
Build your core documents
Prepare an academic CV, a cover letter you can adapt, a research statement that shows where your work goes after the PhD, and a teaching statement with concrete examples from your own classes. Tailor each application to the department and the advert, because a generic letter is easy to spot.
Ask referees early
Approach your referees two or three months before your first deadline. Give them your CV, a draft cover letter, a list of positions and deadlines, and a few points you'd like them to address. Track each request in the Waiting-For list and keep them updated as the list changes.
Prepare the job talk and interviews
A job talk should make your research clear to people outside your subfield and show where it's heading. Practise it in front of your group and ask for honest comments. Add likely interview questions to your Q&A Practice Bank, including teaching, future funding and why this department.
Protect the thesis
Applications can swallow weeks. Set a limit on how many you'll send each month and reuse your materials. Many posts require the PhD to be finished by the start date, so the thesis still comes first.
Decide your own limits
Settle with yourself how many cycles you'll try and what would make you change course. People move between academic and other roles over a career, in both directions.
Words you can use
Is this you? Signs to look for
- You're watching job boards and every advert seems to want someone more senior.
- You've never written a teaching statement or a research statement.
- You're unsure whether to aim for a lab postdoc, a fellowship or a faculty post.
- You're finishing the thesis and applying at the same time, and both are suffering.
Why this happens
In most fields and countries, there are more qualified candidates than permanent academic posts. That isn't a reason to give up if this is the path you want. It is a reason to apply strategically, to have a second plan you'd genuinely be glad of, and to avoid reading each rejection as a judgement of your worth.
Academic applications also follow conventions nobody teaches explicitly. A cover letter for a faculty post differs from one for a lab postdoc, and expectations vary between countries: North American searches, UK lectureships and posts in continental Europe ask for different documents on different timelines. Search committees read many applications quickly, so clarity and fit count for a lot.
Worth a look (4)
- The Professor Is In, by Karen KelskyA frank, detailed guide to the academic job market, written mainly for the North American system.
- Versatile PhDHelps PhD students and graduates explore careers beyond academia, with real career stories, job search guides and forums. Access is usually through your university's subscription.
- THEunijobsUniversity jobs around the world from Times Higher Education, including academic, research and professional roles, which you can filter by country and field.
- UN Young Professionals ProgrammeAn entrance exam that can lead to a first professional job at the UN, for young graduates from countries on that year's participating list. Exam subjects and countries change every year.
More on careers in and beyond academia in the resource library
When to bring someone in
Your supervisor and committee members can tell you how hiring works in your field, and recent hires in your department often have the most current picture. Graduate schools and career centres at many universities run sessions on academic applications, and a teaching and learning centre can help with a teaching statement or portfolio.
Find the right person, or talk to Ify