1 che 594 lecture 28 hints for a prospective faculty candidate
TRANSCRIPT
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CHE 594 Lecture 28Hints For a Prospective Faculty Candidate
Objective For Today
Review the assistant professor application process
Discuss how a job proposal is different than a research proposal to a funding agency
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The Assistant Professor Application Process
Universities solicit applications Must be advertised for legal reasons
Applications come in 200-400 applications per faculty position At UIUC – probably 10 are good enough to be a
faculty member here Triage process
Eliminate all but 30 or so Solicit outside letters Decision who to invite based on letters,
package, grades, intangibles Need ~100 applications to get 5 interviews
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What Do People Look For In The Triage Process?
Personal connections – do they know your research advisor and like his/her work?
Do they like previous graduates from your school? Research area; is it exciting; does it fit into where the
department sees itself going? Publication count Prestige of journals where your papers are published Grades Teaching: are you serious about being a faculty
member? Does the university have the resources to do the
work? Demographics
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Triage Process is Based On Relationships
Usually you need an advocate at the prospective university to be considered
Advocates can be Your research advisor’s friends,
collaborators Former students from UIUC or your
previous university Someone who is really excited by your
research area or your research proposal Someone who is interested in hiring
someone with your demographics
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Things You Can Do To Increase Your Chances
Try to make the personal connections before your cover letter
Meet the dept head or others at technical Increase the personal chances by putting a
personal touch into your cover letter It was nice meeting you at .... Professor X, Y, Z recommended that I write to you Praise the people at the University and tell how you fit in
Make sure that all of the senior faculty in your division at UIUC knows your work and mentions you when people ask who are the hot faculty candidates this year
Ask your research advisor to send a personal email
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There Are Many Qualified Candidates: More Than One Can
Invite In Many qualified people will not get an
invitation The only solution is to blanket the
nation with applications Pick and choose after you get
interviews
If You Make it Past the Triage, The Next Stage Is To Solicit Letters
Key Issues Who is writing the letters
Your research advisors prestige Strong letters from senior people in your
department other than your research advisor Schools will solicit recommendations from
people other than those on your reference list It is really important how well the letters are
crafted The skill of the letter writer in selling your
strengths is the difference between your being invited or not
Once Letters Come In, Decision Needs To Be Made Who To
Invite Key issues in decision:
Relationships Quality of the Letters Publication count Prestige of journals where your papers
are published Your research & teaching proposal Demographics Grades
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Notice That Your Research Proposal Is A Small Part Up To
Now People want to judge how good you are, not how
well you write applications Did you do an outstanding job in grad school?
Publication count Papers in prestigious journals
Do you have a good enough understanding of critical material to teach?
Grades Do people they trust think they will do well at their
institution? Letters
Are you well educated? Previous experience with people from your
university/research group
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What Goes In A Research Proposal For A Faculty Job
Big picture What is the area that you want to work in? What are the key questions in that area? What special expertise do you bring to the
table? How will you be a leader in that area?
The first big question that you wish to address Why is this question important Overview of how will you address it
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What Goes In A Research Proposal For A Faculty Job
(Cont) Specific examples
Smaller problems that you will attack These are like the specific objectives in a
research proposal What will your first graduate student do? How will the initial plans affect your
research goals Why are you uniquely suited to the
problem? How you expect to fund your work?3-5 pages total is enough
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Typical Outline Of Research Statement
Strong leading paragraph I want to be a world leader in … This
is a growing area. There already are outstanding workers in the field … but I want to do something unique …
Case statement, specific objectives and experimental design for your first project
Possibly include your second project
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Remember The Heilmeier Criteria
What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon. If you cannot explain it simply you are not
going to get a job Who cares? If you're successful, what
difference will it make? What's new in your approach and why
do you think it will be successful? What special skills do you bring to the
question? How much will it cost, how long will it
take
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How Is This Different Than A Research Proposal
You need a career plan not a research proposal People are judging whether they should hire you as
a colleague Is your area exciting enough to sustain a career? Do you have plans for the different stages of your
career Just getting started Building to a full professor Becoming a star
Indicate that you want to become a leader in an area and here is how I will do it rather than saying here is a piece of work that I want to do
What Do Universities Look For When They Evaluate The
Proposal If you do what you propose will you get
tenure? Usually people assume that you will only do
half of what you propose Can you do it?
In your existing work, have you demonstrated the brains and drive you need for success?
How well will the work fit into the department Remember to cite specific people in your
cover letter or research proposal
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Again the Research Proposal Is Only A Small Part of The Decision To
Invite The most important thing is the
quality of your PhD/Postdoc Publication count Publications in good journals Letters
Next: The Interview
Everything changes in the interview If you get to the interview, your previous
work has been judged as being good enough
Interviews are focused on the future not the past The quality of your research ideas Whether you can communicate/teach Whether you demonstrate drive and
enthusiasm you need to succeed Whether you can fund your work
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Components Of The Research Quality Judgment
If your research succeeds, who is going to care and why? How is this advance going to change the way
that the community thinks about some issue. Can you really do the work
Do you know the techniques and their limitations
How prepared are you to overcome the inevitable difficulties that arise in your research Can you find work arounds/alternate methods
Preparation For The Interview
You need A 5, 15, and 45 minute description of what you have done A 5, 15 and 30 minute description of what you are
planning to do in research A 5 minute spiel on alternate techniques you could try if
your initial experiments do not work A 2-5 minute spiel on every technique you are planning to
use A 5 and 15 minute description of your teaching plan –
what courses and why A 5 minute description of what you need to get started
Equipment, students, space A 5 minute description of how you will fund your work
You also need to know who you are likely to collaborate with at the university
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The 5 Minute Research Description
Define the problem What is the area (One sentence)
Mention why it is important What is the first key question you plan to
address – this should be one specific aim from your proposal
Explain how that fits into the big problem What has been done before (1-2 sentences) What are you going to do that is new?
How is it different than things that were done before
Preliminary results
The 15 Minute Research Description
Define the problem What is the area (One sentence)
Mention why it is important Define the sub area
Explain how it fits with the big issue Describe three specific aims
Explain how they fits into the big problem Go through each specific aim
What has been done before (1-2 sentences) What are you going to do that is new?
How is it different than things that were done before
Preliminary results
The 30 Minute Research Description
Describe the research area (2-5 mins) Why is it important What are the key issues in the field Who are the leaders
What have you done already (5 mins) Why was it important
What is the next major question you are going to address
Explain how it fits with the big issue Describe three specific aims
Explain how they fits into the big problem Go through each specific aim
What has been done before (1-2 sentences) What are you going to do that is new?
How is it different than things that were done before
Preliminary results
Many Other Items Needed
You need A 5, 15, and 45 minute description of what you have done A 5, 15 and 30 minute description of what you are
planning to do in research A 5 minute spiel on alternate techniques you could try if
your initial experiments do not work A 2-5 minute spiel on every technique you are planning to
use A 5 and 15 minute description of your teaching plan –
what courses and why A 5 minute description of what you need to get started
Equipment, students, space A 5 minute description of how you will fund your work
You also need to know who you are likely to collaborate with at the university
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Questions?