Thread by @chrmosimann

Remarks on faculty job searches (as 'tis the season):
Chances are, as a faculty candidate you apply to several job ads.

Dozens. More.

You wait. You hope.

(quick thread)
1/n
#PILife #PDLife #AcademicJobs

Some places will respond with a rejection pretty quickly. Form letter.

Sometimes hilariously addressed to Dear [Applicant Name3].

Are you just a number? At this stage, likely.

Others never get back to you. Or years (!) later.

2/n

This is normal and as in any higher-level job with lots of competition.

The waiting, the rejections, and the no-responses are depressing. Discouraging. At times unhealthy.

"Does nobody care about my ideas? My science? Me?"

3/n

And then, you get the email that a place wants to interview you!

Zoom for 30min as prescreening? Great!

Fly-out with multi-day parading around the prospective environment? Amazing! (special during a pandemic).

Rejections after interviews feel even worse.

4/n

Years later, landed on your feet with a faculty position, industry gig, etc. and you reminisce about your job search, wondering.

Why did place X not hire me? Perfect interview!

Why did place Y not even invite me? I talked to the search's chair and they were enthusiastic!

5/n

...and then, suddenly, a Twitter announcement, a newsletter, a chat with a friend enters your day with the info that place X hired person Z.

Not you.

And you realize you are nothing like person Z.

6/n

Person Z has a totally different research direction.

Is a different demographic.

Has a different track record (if "better", ouch, but there's always someone better).

...and...seems...like...a...better...fit...for place X anyway!

7/n

I've done two job searches, assistant & associate level.

Interviewed and toured three continents in search of a home for my research and my family.

The emotional rollercoaster can take its toll.

Looking back, details & outcomes make more sense than during the process.

8/n

Some places *you* have to turn down. Family wouldn't fit. Something seems off at the interview.

You overcome the excitement of a place being interested in you and think.

It's an experience in itself. And not short.

Fit is everything.

9/n

Early in my assoc. level search, a good friend told me "you cannot take what happens in a job search personally".

Rejections don't (usually) happen because a place doesn't value you, or hates your science.

But there is another applicant with better fit. That's life.

10/n

"Timing is everything" is often mentioned for job searches.

That means when you go on the market, when your CV is strong(est) with upward trajectory.

But maybe that's when your dream place has no openings. Cue pandemic, etc.

11/n

"Job searches are brutal!" and similar, blood-thirsty phrases are regularly thrown around.

I am yet to see a death match or other actual violence.

The brutal part is in your head. The process affects people differently. Be compassionate with others. But also realistic.

12/n

I had the pleasure/honor to support several senior postdocs and a few faculty colleagues with job searches throughout the past two years.

Some felt they will *never* get a job.

All landed on their feet. In these dire times.

That should give everyone hope.

13/n

So, if you are out there, looking for a faculty job: all your feels are totally normal.

And this is not unique to academia - some of it is, i.e. the long wait at times.

But you are looking for an executive-level job to lead your own little startup. That's complex.

14/n

Everyone has stories of their job search. Survivor bias, sure.

But: there is no one recipe to land a PI job.

There are some hallmarks, but overall no checklist/must-do's/recipe.

Pay attention. All stories are highly individual. Fit is a common denominator.

15/n

So if you're out there, applying, waiting, hoping, (sometimes) interviewing:
try to not take each rejection personal. Easier said than done, yes.

No recipe. All individual stories, timing, circumstances. Fit.

You'll land on your feet.

/fin