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