Before you apply to academic applications

Owned by Cassie Harrison
Last updated: Oct 25, 2024 by Linda Liu
8 min read

 

Preparing your application documents

When should I start applying to academic jobs?

There is no rule when you should apply. However applying to jobs within a year of defending, even if it is approximate, is a good guideline. You could also ask your supervisor or mentor for their advice on when you should apply. 

While it is true that hiring committees often give preference to candidates that have completed their PhD, getting into the practice early of preparing your CV, writing cover letters and gathering your other documents is beneficial because of the time it takes to do so. Entering the job market with documents prepared will help with ease the burden of applications. 

Where can I find academic job postings?

If you’re looking specifically within Canada, you can consult University Affairs’ job board. If looking to work internationally, you can consult the job boards of Chronicle Vitae, Women in Hire Ed, HigherEdJobs, Inside Higher Ed and AcademicKeys.

You can also sign up to listservs within your field. Listservs often post job opportunities within your field. Ask your supervisor/mentor where jobs are posted, and let colleagues know you are applying because if they see an opportunity that you’d be great for, they might share it with you. 

Can I apply to jobs that are related to but not directly connected to the field of my PhD?

Depending on your research and the job posting you are considering, you can apply to jobs that may not be in the type of department that awarded your PhD but is related to your degree. Typically, job postings will contain such phrases like “Must have a PhD in X, Y, Z, or a related field,” which indicates that the hiring committee is open to a variety of expertise. 

If you can confidently frame your research within that department’s field and strongly present your skills and abilities relevant to that department, do not hesitate to apply to jobs outside your PhD’s field. If you have what they are looking for, apply! 

Where should I be applying? 

  When considering where you should be applying, there are some factors to consider: 

  1. Consider your preferred geographical locations: It’s important to be focused on applying to your preferred geographical locations to be happy and motivated in your work search. 
  2. Consider institutions that aren’t R1 or U15: R1 or U15 institutions may be the most well-known option, but there are great opportunities at other universities and colleges that often get overlooked. 
  3. Consider what kinds of work you want to do: Are you looking for a research-focused position or a teaching position? If research-focused, how much teaching would you like? If teaching-focused, would you still like the opportunity to do research? 

Note: Before applying to a university, research the university and the department you are applying to for shared values and compatibility with your professional goals. 

What are the main application documents and where can I receive support with these? 

Each job application’s document requirements differ from one another, and there may be unique particularities amongst disciplines. Typically, the main documents requested are cover letter, CV, research statement, teaching statement and/or teaching dossier, diversity statement and requested references. We encourage you to prepare all of these documents to be ready when requested. 

Beyond application preparation, what else can I do before I apply? 

We strongly recommend that each of your documents be tailored. To tailor your documents, research the universities and their respective departments that you are applying to. Identify how you can contribute to the department in terms of research, teaching and service; how does your research/teaching align with the department goals and the university’s strategic plan; how does your research/teaching fit with the kinds of research/teaching the department’s faculty are doing; is this a research-focused or teaching-focused position, and how can you frame your experiences accordingly? 

There are many other aspects to consider when tailoring your documents, so research and close reading of the job application can help you determine how best to frame your experiences and skillsets to demonstrate why you are a fit for the department.

Additionally, connecting with faculty members from institutions you are interested in  conducting informational interviews is also a great way to learn more about the department and institution. Reach out to connections you've met at conferences, inquire about referrals from your supervisor/mentor/colleagues, or cold email a possible connection, citing some connection (research or teaching interests, for example). 

 

There are many ways that you can strengthen your teaching experience to add to your CV before you apply for jobs. Below are some options that you can consider:

Contacting your department chair and/or graduate chair for teaching opportunities

Make your department or the graduate chair aware of your desire to teach. Submit your CV to them and indicate what courses you would 1) be willing to teach and 2) be willing to develop. Some department heads like to know who is available to fill in for a course in the event of illness or an increased demand for a particular course. 

Certificates at the Centre for Teaching Excellence

You can complete the Certificate in University Teaching (CUT) or the Fundamentals of University Teaching programs provided by the Centre for Teaching Excellence. These programs will help you to:  

  • become a more effective and reflective teacher and communicator;  

  • increase your knowledge of teaching and learning;  

  • have a forum in which to discuss teaching issues with others and;  

  • develop presentation and writing skills that prepare you for today’s job market. 

Adding these certificates to your CV demonstrates that you have teaching experience and have reflected upon your teaching and pedagogy. You can also communicate the accomplishments of the certificate in your cover letter. 

Guest lecture opportunities

You can also search for opportunities to give guest lectures. This is a great way to gain teaching experience, particularly if there is little opportunity to teach a full course. 

To gain guest lecture opportunities, consider asking your supervisor, mentor or colleagues if you can give a guest lecture in one of the courses they teach. 

Be creative in your tutorials/lectures

Always seek to improve your teaching and try new teaching techniques. Experiment with different strategies, particularly those that stray away from lecture-heavy content. This allows you to showcase various teaching strategies and methods in your teaching dossier and cover letter and strengthen student-centred, experiential learning. 

 

While various disciplines have different degrees of measuring publications and how often you should be publishing, below are a couple of suggestions to help get publications and navigate the academic publishing system. 

Your supervisor/mentor should know about the process of publishing and the appropriate publishing outlets for your field. Your supervisor/mentor can give you advice on your research and the best format for publishing (e.g., book chapter, journal, monograph). Additionally, you could even ask your supervisor/mentor to co-author a publication with you. 

Know what journals to publish in, avoiding pay-to-publish and scam journals. Note the journals that you often collect articles from and identify if your research would be a fit for those journals. When researching journals, look at their mission statements, areas of your discipline that they focus on, their preferred research methodologies and submission guidelines. You want to ensure your paper adheres to their preferences and guidelines. 

It is true that hiring committees for tenure-track positions generally privilege publications in high-tier journals.  This is a highly debated topic, but open access journals (OAJ) and public scholarship, like blogs, podcasts and media outreach/criticism is something you can seriously consider in terms of your academic values and your academic discipline. You can pursue these more public forms of scholarship for a variety of legitimate reasons, including:  

  • if it is intrinsic to your research and research methodologies;  

  • if it ascribes to your academic values;  

  • and, if hiring committees are interested in or privileging public scholarship. 

How do you know if hiring committees are interested in or privilege public scholarship? Research the department and/or connect with someone within the department to find that out. For some disciplines, public scholarship is becoming more widely accepted, even encouraged, but it is good practice to research universities and departments beforehand. Also, be sure to check in with your supervisor/mentor to how and when to pursue public scholarship opportunities. 

To determine which forms of public scholarship you can pursue, here are a few suggestions to guide the direction or directions you might wish to take:  

  • research which OAJs have the best reputation so that you guarantee a wide audience for your publications;  

  • identify what kind of blogs and media outlets would benefit your career in terms of self-promotion and networking opportunities;  

  • explore creative forms of scholarship like podcasts to draw attention to published articles and/or disseminate your research more publicly. 

Why pursue public scholarship if the tenure track system values it less? These public scholarship avenues, among others, demonstrate your commitment to engaging with communities outside of the university and to publicly sharing your research, which some hiring committees value. Moreover, public outreach can increase the size of your audience, the connections within your field, and your scholarly reputation. 

However, knowing that some hiring committees might not value these public forms of scholarships presents challenges when preparing for an academic career. To meet these challenges, one recommendation we can suggest is that you aim for a careful balance between those top-tiered journal publications and the public forms of scholarship. Engaging in both increases the value of your research, markets yourself to both specialist and non-specialist audiences and can persuade a hiring committee that may view public scholarship as a lesser form of academic prestige. 

Conferences are good arenas to share your ideas and receive feedback. If you feel your presentation may warrant publication, conferences are also good places to meet journal editors and suggest your ideas to them. Plus, if you plan on preparing a publishable manuscript from your presentation, presenting at a conference will allow you to complete one round of reviews.  

Participating in conferences also grows your professional network and can connect you with colleagues and mentors that can support you in your academic job search. Creating a support network of fellow academics can provide you with mentorship, advice and collegiality when pursuing your academic career. 

  1. Learn more about: Academic cover letters and writing CVs.