Procrastination

5 Tips For Keeping Your Academic Job Search Organized

November 3, 2010 |

Author Hillary

On bravely through the sunshine and the showers! Time hath his work to do and we have ours - Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s that time of year again. Perusing the application deadlines, scanning Inside Higher Ed, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the specialty journals in your field, looking for job openings and deciding which ones you are going to apply for, and then getting all those packages together. Whether you are about to graduate and look for your first tenure-track job, or you are seeking to move laterally for greater responsibility and pay, here are 5 tips for keeping your academic job search organized:

1. Start by thinking it through. Prior to your job search, I recommend you take some time to assess your current progress toward degree completion, long-term career goals, and requirements for personal and career satisfaction. Thinking about these issues not only helps you plan for the future, but also will make you a stronger job candidate by allowing you to more persuasively express your interests and convictions in your cover letter, CV, and interview. Take some time to weigh these ideas:

What kinds of positions are you considering? Are you willing to consider non-teaching, research jobs or post doc?
What specializations are you comfortable teaching?
What are your preferences for a specific type or size of institution?
What types of positions are you reasonably qualified for? Are you going to apply for the “outliers” or are you going to stay with what you know well?
What are your geographic preferences?
Are there personal issues and lifestyle requirements that may influence your search? Spousal hires, children school age, etc.?
When will you realistically be prepared to begin a full-time position? Are you really going to be ready to start a new job fall semester 2011?
Do you need to be more assertive about setting up interim completion dates for finishing and defending? Is your advisor helping or hindering in this process?
What happens if you accept a position prior to completion of the dissertation? Will you realistically be able to write if teaching four courses? (This may be a moot point now, as most institutions do not need to hire an ABD candidate with so many already finished PhDs on the market, but it still bears consideration.)

2. Stay organized. If you are applying for multiple positions, you will quickly find that it is easy to lose track of the status of each application. It is very important to organize your materials from the beginning of your search, as it will help you be sharp and prepared in the event that you are unexpectedly (and happily) contacted for an interview via telephone.

3. Keep a notebook. Maintain organized files of position announcements, materials submitted, and information about respective institutions in a notebook. Make sure you have pockets to put materials in, so you don’t have to three-hole punch everything you want to keep. If you get an on site interview, you can take just the folder portion that applies to a particular job and go. Things to keep in the notebook:

Position announcement. (It’s also good to keep this if you get hired for your tenure file.)
A copy of all application materials submitted.
Acknowledgment letters received.
Notes about any conversations with members of the search committee.
Notes from interviews and relevant telephone conversations.
Additional information gathered about that institution from the web, particularly about specialty areas for other members of the department, to enhance collegiality.
A copy of letters of acceptance or rejection.
- A note about notes: These are for you to help you remember; since you are not in the hiring position, it’s ok to write next to a name, “Bald guy interested in ancient Celts of the Steppes.”

4. Keep a log. In addition, you should probably also maintain a centralized record or logbook of dates associated with each position at the front of the notebook. This can help you prioritize applications, meet crucial deadlines, and better manage the entire process.

5. Keep materials electronically. It’s easy to maintain an electronic file of your own materials (cover letter, CV, etc.), and where possible, you may want to include electronic files from your correspondents. However, you will likely need to retain hard copies of the materials you receive back from the institution.
Remembering to organize your job search from the outset by following these simple recommendations can greatly reduce the stress of the job search and enhance your ability to enjoy the holiday season as the season for hiring next year’s faculty moves forward into the spring.

Posted in Academic Transitions, Communication, Dreams, career, planning, procrastination |

Tags: academia, academic, academic departments, academic job search, career, dream, goals, life purpose |

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Establishing S.M.A.R.T. and S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals

August 5, 2010 |

Author Coach Hillary

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Carl Bard

August, when most colleges and universities are about to resume classes, is a great time to think about goals, before the classes and institutional goals that must be met in the fall semester ramp up. This is the time to think clearly about what you really want to get accomplished next, because goal setting is an iterative process. As soon as you’ve met one, you are likely moving on to something bigger and better.

Successful schools and individuals rely on goals to stay focused on what they want to accomplish, and help motivate the process of moving forward. A clear vision of what you want to achieve is a major determinant in achieving success in any area of your life. Great goals combined with S.M.A.R.T and S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals will inspire you to do your best, not beat yourself up for a failure to achieve them. Shoot for the stars and you may land on the moon.

Great goals must contain certain elements to be effective: They are outcome focused, in line with your personal values, stated in a positive manner, and are self-directed. If you know why you want to do something, you are 90% of the way there. When a goal aligns with your values, the easier it will be for you to do the work to accomplish it. (People do accomplish goals that are not aligned with their personal values, but it is harder, and frequently leaves them with a bad aftertaste.) Stating goals positively, such as “I will have one article written by the end of this year” is better than “I want to stop procrastinating on writing an article.” And finally, the goal must be within your own control to accomplish. Saying you “want a promotion” puts the onus on someone else. Instead, you can say, “I want more responsibility” and take on some committee work so the outcome may result in supporting your case for tenure.

Next, an accomplishable goal must be S.M.A.R.T. or even S.M.A.R.T.E.R. The first known use of the term S.M.A.R.T. occurred in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran. The most commonly accepted terms in the mnemonic are:

Specific-The more specific a goal is, the better. It answers the question “Who and what is involved?” “I want to be more productive,” is too vague to provide a clear picture of success. “I will work on my writing projects regularly,” is better.

Measurable-In order to track your progress, and know when the goal has been attained, it must be quantifiable. An example of a goal that is specific and measurable is, “I will write 20 pages.”

Attainable-It is important to establish a goal that will stretch you but which can be reasonably met. If your goal is to write 20 pages by the end of the first month of classes, it is probably not realistic, and you will be doomed to fail. Failure to achieve goals is demotivating and deflating. You want to identify both the requirements and constraints around your goal.

Relevant-Your goals should be important to you. This answers the question, “Why do I want this?” If your Chair is nagging you to write an article, you are less likely to achieve this than if you want to write it because you feel you have something important to share with the world.

Time-bound-Deadlines are useful. They provide a sense of urgency and help keep you focused, with the added advantage of letting you know how close you are to achieving your goal. “I will write 20 pages,” becomes “I will write 20 pages by the end of this year.” If you have written 10 pages by October 31st, you know are halfway there.

Two other letters are sometimes added to S.M.A.R.T., to make the mnemonic S.M.A.R.T.E.R. They are: Evaluate and Reassess. These are necessary steps for reviewing any project to determine if the goals are moving toward the desired outcome, or need to be changed in light of new information. This is where the question, “What’s next?” can be answered. Have you gotten significant new data that needs to be incorporated? Think about how much of what you have written already may have change.

Setting great goals is one of the most effective tools individuals and higher education institutions can use to achieve success. Making goals S.M.A.R.T.E.R. helps close the gap between vision and reality.

Posted in Academic Transitions, career, planning, procrastination |

Tags: goal setting, goals, planning, procrastination, S.M.A.R.T., S.M.A.R.T.E.R., solutions for procrastination |

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