Selling Yourself on theAcademic Job Market
Christopher M. AndersonUniversity of Rhode Island
(Ph.D. Caltech, 2001)
2005 AAEA CV Workshop
Do You have what it takes?
• Frame original research questions and address them– Attract money for the research– Excite peers through conference presentations– Publish the results
• Teach– Cover needed topics– Excite students to maintain or grow enrollments
• Collaborate and contribute to department
Demonstrate you do in school!• Innovate: Develop a new question or approach
– Replicating a study with new data won’t get you an academic job
– Need to demonstrate your potential to frame good questions and apply the tools you have to them
• Teach– Teaching evaluations are a big plus
• Get a grant (of any size)– Demonstrate your ability to sell your ideas to funders
• Publish a paper• Present, especially at smaller conferences
– Get practice, network, impress future colleagues with your clear description of your work
On the Market: Timing• Ads show up in Job Openings for Economists
– Packet deadlines will generally be 11/15-12/15• Need to have job paper, packet by late October
– Most send out many applications (I sent out 75)
• Econ interviews at ASSA meetings – plan to go– Called 12/15-12/25 for 30 min interviews (early Jan)
• Start with 5 minute “spiel” about you and your work• Explain what you are willing to teach and how
– Flyout decisions in following weeks
• Grueling 3-day on-campus interviews in February– 45-minute seminar for all faculty, grad students
• Offers March-April• Many schools have application bureaucracy (AA) that slows this down
What Happens to Your Application• Every member of committee looks at it
– CV, letters, job paper abstract– Flip through paper to see level of theory, level of econometrics,
policy recommendations– Research statement: How does this paper fit in to your vision overall
• Committee chooses top several candidates– Fill out Affirmative Action form justifying decision to/not to
interview you• Job description is written to facilitate filling out AA form
– Lacks required elements (e.g., Ph.D.)– Not as strong on other candidates are required elements (weak micro theory)– Has fewer, or not as strong, on preferred elements
• Then depends on interviews more than application
Good Applications Highlight:• Your theoretical tools
– Micro tools, game theory, dynamic models, production theory, etc.
• Your data tools– Panel, time series, spatial, discrete choice econometrics
• Your applied interests– Groundwater, crop production, manure management, tradable pollution
rights
• Things that don’t matter– Unrelated work experience – Student activities (though interests and hobbies can)– Fancy binders
Writing is Important• Economists communicate in writing (grants, journals)
– Materials show how you sell self, ideas– English must be comfortable and flawless
• Select your main points and structure statements and paragraphs to emphasize them
• Show you know how what you’re doing is innovative, interesting and relevant
• Use on-campus writing center, career center, friends, etc. to help
Good Luck!
• Don’t let yourself be adrift…ask advice– Your advisor– Young faculty in your department