Linguistics job application workshop

1. Linguistics job application workshop November 12, 2013

2. Approximate job cycle • July- apply to LSA, other major conferences • August/September- have materials ready, contact letter writers, clean up professional website • October 1st- application deadlines start • December- phone interviews start • January- campus visits start • February- job offers start • Use with caution to see if you are still in the running: Academic Jobs Wikihttp://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Academic_Jobs_Wiki

3. Time & stats (Karen) • 214 hours of work = 5+ 40-hour workweeks • 26 applications sent > 5 phone interviews + 1 campus visit • http://www.grad.illinois.edu/careerservices/academic/jobsearch/Template_for_tracking_job_search.xls

4. Stats for Darren • Two years on the job cycle: final year of Ph.D. and first year of postdoc • Ph.D. Year: 1 faculty job application > 1 campus visit (no offer), 3 postdoc applications > 2 campus visits (2 offers, took 1) • Postdoc year: 8 faculty applications > 1 phone interview (no offer) and 1 direct invite to campus visit (offer)

5. Finding jobs • Linguist List (subscribe to digest) • HigherEd Jobs (can subscribe for headings such as Linguistics, Spanish) • Postdocs available but not common • Think of allied fields (e.g. foreign languages, psychology) • Go geographically wide if at all possible

6. Components of a job application • Cover letter • Curriculum Vitae • Research statement • Teaching statement • Teaching evaluations • Writing sample • Reference letters

7. Free blog: • http://theprofessorisin.com/pearlsofwisdom/ • Cover letter • http://theprofessorisin.com/2013/05/17/why-your-job-cover-letter-sucks/ • CV • http://theprofessorisin.com/2012/01/12/dr-karens-rules-of-the-academic-cv/

8. Research Statement • http://theprofessorisin.com/2012/08/30/dr-karens-rules-of-the-research-statement/ • Teaching statement • http://theprofessorisin.com/2011/09/16/thedreadedteachingstatement/ • Teaching evaluations • http://theprofessorisin.com/2011/09/23/1610/

9. Solicit feedback! • Ask your advisor and other faculty to read over your CV and statements, and give you feedback!

10. Cover letter • Sample outline: • Brief introduction to yourself: what you study, when you will graduate, basic thesis topic and 2 sentences on the implications • A little more about your research interests • A little bit about what courses you’ve taught and what you might like to teach • Highlight what funding you’ve gotten and that you are going to be actively seeking more • Why you’re an excellent fit for the department and advertised job • Keep it brief! Under 2 pages! 1.5 is a good number

11. Do your research on the school • One sentence “fit statement” • I am interested in helping the department develop course offerings in linguistics to complement its strengths in literature. • I share interests with several faculty members including XX, XX, and XX, so I see the potential for collaboration on both teaching and research. • I am particularly interested in XXX because of the department’s expertise in both child language acquisition and second language acquisition, which would work well with my research interests.

12. CV • Heading • Education • Employment • Publications • Conference Papers • Invited Talks • Teaching Experience • Research Experience • Awards & Honors / Grants & Fellowships • Service (to profession, to department) • Languages, other skills, memberships • References

13. Research statement • Current research (especially dissertation research) • Draw attention to any journal or book chapter publications, as well as presentations at prestigious conferences • Plans for research in the near future • ‘Five-year plan’ for future research

14. Teaching statement • Teaching experience • Teaching philosophy • Plans for what you will teach in the future • Experience (if any) with supervision of undergraduate students

15. Teaching evaluations • Send numerical summaries rather than individual student comments • Obtain summary of all your evaluations from ICES • Draw attention to any evaluations that placed you on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent

16. Writing samples • Send exactly as many writing samples as are requested • Possible writing samples: • An article that has been published or submitted for publication • If you need help turning a course project/qual into a journal article, consider Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks (I got it from the library). http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Journal-Article-Twelve-Weeks/dp/141295701X • A dissertation chapter • A proceedings or working papers paper

17. Other materials • “Teaching Dossier”: • 1-page teaching philosophy statement • 1 page summarizing numerical teaching evaluations • 1 page of sample student comments • “Teaching Portfolio”: the above plus • a syllabus that I had created • lecture slides that I had vastly improved • discussion exercises I had created

18. Reference letters • Always get a letter from your dissertation director • Other letters should come from other faculty who know you well and are familiar with your research • At least one letter should talk about your teaching (e.g., from your TA supervisor) • Should you use ?

19. Preliminary interview • Interview at the LSA or MLA • Phone / Skype interview • Arrange to do a mock-interview with your faculty • http://theprofessorisin.com/2011/10/31/thephoneorskypeinterview/

20. Make a cheat sheet about the department • Bullet points about yourself you want to make sure to hit • What your dissertation/researach is about • What you would like to teach there, specifics, book you would use for the intro course • Their faculty (the ones on the committee/closest to you) and their research interests

21. Campus visit • Get the interview schedule ~2 weeks in advance from department secretary • Interviews • Job talk • Interview meals • More research on the department (next slide) • http://theprofessorisin.com/2011/11/22/dr-karens-rules-of-the-campus-visit/ • http://theprofessorisin.com/2011/11/15/1947/ (packing & dressing– consider wearing grown-up clothes more often your last year of grad school)

22. Stalk your interview committee • Katharina Barbe(German), Associate Professor • Studied in Texas, PhD in Linguistics from Rice • German linguistics: Pragmatics, Translation, SLA, business German • dinner, interview, and exit interview • John Bentley (Japanese), Professor, Assistant Chair • PhD from Hawaii • Japanese Historical Linguistics and old literature • tour of DeKalb and lunch Tuesday and interview

23. Sample 1-day visit itinerary • Night before: arrive, dinner w/faculty, hotel • Breakfast w/faculty • Meet Dean • Tour campus, town • Lunch w/faculty • Job talk • Search committee interview • Exit interview with chair

24. Questions to ask them (OK to repeat questions with different people) • Tell me about your student population. • What are teaching and research expectations and support for new colleagues? • What kind of support is there available on campus for conference travel/research? • What kind of technology is available in the classroom? • How are graduate students supported? • What is your timeline for making a decision?

25. The outcome? • If you get the job • http://theprofessorisin.com/2011/12/06/how-to-negotiate-your-tenure-track-offer/ • “Oh, thank you. That is good news. I’m so pleased. I’d like to know more about the offer. When can we discuss the details and when can I expect a written contract?” (e.g. DON’T say yes right away!) • If you don’t get the job • This really says nothing about you in this job market • Continue applying!