What Colleges and Universities Want in New Faculty
by Kathrynn A. Adams

4. Job Search
Many new Ph.D.s are unprepared for the academic job search process (Heiberger and Vick 1996). In their recent survey of Ph.D.s ten to thirteen years after gaining the degree, Cerney and Nerad (Pollak 1999) found large numbers of them criticized the information they received from faculty members about career planning or the job search. While new doctorate recipients are knowledgeable and confident about their discipline and highly skilled as researchers, great anxiety is associated with the job search.

Because a single position announcement can elicit hundreds of applications, it is critical that graduate students become savvy about how best to match their skills and interests to potential jobs and thus make wise decisions about where to apply. They must also learn how best to present their credentials in order to stand out among a large number of qualified applicants. Too often the files of qualified applicants are not considered because their cover letter is too general or is better suited to a different type of institution. During interviews, applicants must be prepared to evaluate an institution and potential colleagues as well as to be evaluated themselves. Applicants should assess the fit between their skills, interests, and goals, the institution's mission, and the department's focus. In addition, new faculty too often realize after they are hired that they should have negotiated more effectively for such things as salary and resources including travel money, research support, computer equipment, and office and lab space. These resources can be critical to success in their first academic position.

Too many graduate faculty belittle academic positions that are not at major research institutions, even though research universities have provided employment to a very small percentage (for example, 5 to 10 percent from one highly ranked university) of new Ph.D.s over the last decade. At the same time, graduate faculty often have little knowledge of, or interest in the faculty responsibilities at institutions where most jobs are found.

Recommendations to Graduate Faculty
Faculty in graduate programs have a responsibility to assess the employment patterns of their graduates and to evaluate their program's success at preparing their students for the search process. They should annually survey students who have recently completed job searches with the goal of identifying deficits in their knowledge about and preparation for searches. Such information could guide departments in designing revisions or additions to their curriculum. For example, departments may decide to assist students in preparing to teach a sample class in addition to making a research presentation as part of the campus interview process.

On an individual basis, graduate faculty should be aware of the importance of writing letters of recommendation geared to the specific position and the nature of the hiring institution.

Faculty should advise students that their application cover letters be similarly relevant to the position and institution.

Graduate programs may need assistance in preparing their doctoral students for successful job searches since their own faculty's experience typically has been at large research universities.

Junior and senior faculty from various types of institutions could develop a program that presents information about the search process from a variety of perspectives and thus better prepares new doctorate recipients for the rigors of their first job search.