“Is Getting A Faculty Position Hard?” Confessions of a Former Applicant

1. “Is Getting A Faculty Position Hard?”Confessions of a Former Applicant Catherine M. Alfano, Ph.D. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center & University of Washington BCPT Quarterly Fellows Meeting, May 2005

2. A Long-winded answer…

3. Why am I qualified to give this talk? • Just finished the faculty job search process: • 13 months (2 cycles) • Applied to 7 institutions • Interviewed at 4 institutions • Offered 2 positions • Successfully negotiated 1 tenure-track assistant professor position • However, N=1 (faculty members encouraged to join in)

4. Aspects of the Existential Crisis… • “What is a faculty position, really, and why do I want one?” • “What am I looking for in a position?” • “How do I find & apply for positions?” • “What is involved in an interview & how do I prepare for one?” • “What is involved in negotiating a position?” • “What are pitfalls to avoid?” • “What can I be doing NOW?”

5. “What is a faculty position, really, and why do I want one?” • No joke! Profound question • Faculty position- Components may include: • Grant writing & Research, Clinical work, Mentoring, Teaching, Supervisory role, Administrative role, Committee work/ dept. & inst. service, community service, service to scientific community • Choice: Academia vs. private sector • Pros & cons for each • Understand what they mean to you • What do you want to do with your career?

6. “What am I looking for in a faculty position?” • Which components, at what %? • Grant writing & Research, Clinical work, Mentoring, Teaching, Supervisory role, Administrative role, Committee work/ dept. & inst. service, community service, service to scientific community • Environment & resources • Peers & collaboration • Big fish, small pond vs. Small fish, big pond • Mentoring of jr faculty • Hard vs. soft money • Tenure (does it exist & what does it mean?) • Limiting factors? (geographic, family, etc.)

7. “How do I find & apply for positions?” • “Faculty search cycle:” • Positions advertised in Fall • Job Ads, listservs, conferences, mentors & contacts, “cold letters” • Applications due in Late Fall, Winter • Cover letter detailing research and teaching interests, CV, 3 references or letters, manuscripts; • Get feedback from mentor • Interview in Spring • 2nd interview in Late Spring • Negotiate/Accept by Summer • Timeline does NOT always apply!

8. “What is involved in an interview & how do I prepare for one?” • Interview: 2 days • Meet MANY people • 1 hr talk with questions • 30 min-1 hr meetings; lunches & dinners • Search committee meeting (a.k.a. “firing squad”) • Meet with students or teach class • Grueling vs. Fun • Dep. on personality, preparation, & confidence • Logistics: airfare, hotel, dinner • Follow up after interview

9. Prepared = Confident • Rehearse your talk • Make it interesting & get plenty of feedback • Tailor your talk • Know your audience (eg., SPH vs. CCC) • Know your interviewers • Pull & read bios, key papers • Can check CRISP database for current grants • You want to get them talking about their research • Assess collaboration; ↑rating of you • Ask to meet with specific faculty members

10. Tips for Interviewing • 2-way evaluation of “fit” • YES! YOU are also evaluating THEM • Ask questions! • Shows interest & you need to gather data • Get several opinions on important questions • Assess for inconsistent information • Need a “sound byte” describing your research • Self-confidence • Be yourself --no dating behavior! • Relax –it puts them at ease too

11. “What is involved in negotiating a position?” • Don’t “just say YES” • Consider what you really need to hit the ground running • Office space & equip, RAs, biostat help, grant support, admin support, startup $, how much you teach right away, moving expenses, parking (?), salary • Usually an iterative process • By phone or formal letters • At end: everyone signs a “letter of offer” • You formally accept the offer

12. “What are pitfalls to avoid?” • Allowing enough time • Answering personal questions • Partner? Babies? • No ref in the room to call foul • They never call you for a 2nd interview • Too many limitations on job search = no job • Offering controversial opinions • Happens if you don’t know your audience • Over-confidence = egotism & naiveté • Interdisciplinary training= can’t fit neatly into a box (division) • Focus on what you want to do; not labels

13. “What can I be doing NOW?” • Build CV with good research collaborations • Peer-reviewed journal pubs from existing datasets • Experience working on grant-funded research –mult. projects • Experience writing parts of grant proposals • Job talk based on own work (own data?) • Keep CV up to date • Experience in multi-center trials • Get feel for how they work • Meeting people

14. “What can I be doing NOW?” • Network: conferences, “normal work” • Through mentor & on own • Meet people with whom you might want to work BEFORE you need a job • Think about developing a line of research • “What have I done already?” • “Where am I headed?” • Get exposure to different components of faculty job • Talk to faculty members; check job ads now • “What do I like to do?” “Dislike?” • Start piecing together what you want

15. Deborah J. Bowen Bonnie A. McGregor Anne McTiernan Donald Patrick Danny Shen Jesse R. Fann Karen Syrjala Janet Abrams CARET investigators HEAL investigators Carol Moinpour Cynthia Long Neli Ulrich Alan Kuniyuki Nigel Bush Alton Hart Brenda Diergaarde Julie Gralow, Robert Livingston, & Hannah Linden Many Thanks…