How to get an Academic Job. Part 2.

6. Go fish. Apply apply apply to journals, conferences, exhibitions, performance opportunities. The reason I say 'fish' is borrowed from Tenure Hacks. This means that you are not concerned with your rate of acceptances (so, unlike baseball) but rather are concerned with the size of your catch (fishing). Of course, balance this out with research and work, and make sure that you have solid (but not necessarily 'perfect' as it is the enemy of the good) work to submit. 

Its another long conversation about whether you should do huge, long projects or small, short ones, etc. but you can probably be successful with both approaches. With the long projects, publishing an initial paper about your intentions/design will help you maintain constant output through a long project. Iterative design may also help you achieve outcomes in this situation. Smaller, earlier prototypes can find local or lower profile venues, and then you can build it up. 

Look at a lot of other research, documentation, and outcomes, too, with a mind of -- what gets published? What is respectable? Hit those markers. Note that published papers are not perfect. Make it as best as you can, though, within the timeframe. Remember, you're fishing, so you need a lot of lines. Not just one. 

Just, focus on outcomes. Don't focus on something brilliant. Just something you can get out there. Things will go wrong for you if you focus being brilliant or coming up with the one big thing that cracks whatever open. I mean, that is a great long-term goal. But don't expect any one paper or exhibition or performance to do that. Its too much on the poor thing.

I also have this idea about "brilliant": it is something that someone else calls you. It is not a goal. "Brillance" and related blah blah feel like they are about this internal, intrinsic thing that is ultimately elusive (to me). Ugh. I can't work with that. I just think of immediate outcomes. By immediate outcomes, I don't mean publishing. I mean, "I want sound to happen when I dance now". Then I can elaborate, look at consequences, how does that help people, etc. I try to remove the aim of brilliance.

7. Arts-specific. Make your documentation beautiful and professional-looking. This is duh, but really, this should be a very high priority. People in the visual arts know this but those in other areas don't always get the kind of training, esp. in video. Your documentation is more important than your performance, in terms of career. More people will see it. 

Look at a lot of people's documentation in your field and evaluate what they did. That is really helpful. Your documentation should not look like student work. Your aim is for everything to look highly professional at all times.

8. Have a website and social media presence. It doesn't have to be incredibly up to date at all points but it should NOT be like, a year, since you last updated it. When you update your CV, update your website. Don't go crazy on the tech or design. Just get one up and make sure it looks professional. There's so many easy tools. It does not have to look unique. This is basically a must in the arts.

Like CVs, go through and look at everyone's website in your field. Look at what they do and don't include. Note that blogging, etc. can be a route to raise your profile, even outside of the arts. Put it in perspective, though. 

9. Do just enough service things. Weight them at the start of your grad career. Don't organize local/school things (unless you will teach organizing or it is directly useful to your path, eg. directing/conducting an ensemble) past your 2nd or 3rd year. You can get away with doing no service or organization or leadership ever but it will give you super valuable skills that you will need later. For instance, if you're a scientist, eventually you want manage your own lab, etc. It will be better to get these skills earlier rather than later. Same is true for ensembles, etc.

10. More arts-specific. Local and low-prestige showings and performances have very limited value on your CV, so while they perform other functions (a way to get good documentation, community engagement, etc.), no amount of local and low-profile venues can substitute for high or medium profile outcomes. Of course, there are exceptions for particular fields and work, etc. but if you are in those fields, you probably know. As a general rule, it holds. So prioritize your time. I learned this the hard way. If you are an artist, you want a national or really, international profile. That is what will make you hire-able.

11. Take the time that you need. Somehow I meet a lot of people who expect to finish in 3-4 years. OK. I don't know that many people that graduated within that timeframe, much less people who were competitive in academia. There are a few, so hats off to them. The exception is the MFA, but note -- not the DMA for composition (from what I can tell, a phd is more common, so you better be competitive with them).

It seems (from my experience) that if you take 5-6 years to do a doctorate, you can get away with low or no publishing/conference attendance for the initial years (1-3 years?) of schooling. Is this the best (tm) plan? I don't know. I do think some time to just develop and explore is pretty valuable in the long run. I should note that if you are taking these years to develop and figure things out or do a huge project, that I had a few outcomes from my Master's and in-between, so I started with initial outcomes and so that is what my experience is representative of. But I still think it is OK and that time without pressure can allow you to develop into something more outstanding/interesting.

That's why, even if you are in a 3-year program (in theory I was -- ha.) it may be valuable to take more time if that is possible. Thus, you may need to search for funding. And -- btw, there are few downsides to learning to get your own funding. If you actually want to get into academia you will have to do it!

12. Don't overwork. Always sleep. If you pull an all-nighter, make sure it is actually worth it -- like a very competitive conference deadline, an exhibition that you have to be ready for, etc. And only on the last day.  I only do 55 or 60-hr work days the week before a deadline, and sometimes not even then. (Counting working only as hours I am actually doing work - I try to be as rigorous as possible when recording them).

Don't over-prepare for things that are just jumping through hoops. Be prepared. But in the end, they are requisites that everyone has. Unlike many, I advocate keeping your GPA up if you are at a GPA-having grad school. The reason is that many fellowships, etc. continue to look at your GPA (eg. Fulbright) so I think it is worth it. But really assess what it will take to get an A and then what it is worth it to your research/development. Make sure you prioritize things appropriately.

For instance, I made sure I was prepared for my dissertation defense. I didn't kill myself. I did enough to do pretty well. I didn't lose a single hour of sleep. BUT I killed myself for my job talk.  I got tons of feedback, etc. and researched and went the extra mile. And note that the job talk was competitive -- the defense was not.

Have something outside of academia that you prioritize the same or more. Your dog or cat. Your boyfriend. Tango. Getting too caught up in whether you will be successful, whether you are ACTUALLY A REAL MUSICIAN OMFG AM I? or scientist or researcher whatever is the death spiral. Having other things builds resilience. It builds creativity. It lets you enjoy work. Really the way I think of it is that: the other parts of my life are fuel for my work. I need them or I have no fuel. And, honestly, vice versa!

Also, I just heard something in a podcast which I liked. I don't have work-life balance -- I just notice imbalances that reflect my current priorities. And then I correct when things are out of whack. Things are always getting out of balance -- that's just how it is! It's a process.

To get an Academic Job. Part 1.

1. You should read this book as well as the blog:

The Professor is In

If you are in grad school, and you have the tiniest kernel of thought in your head that you may want to become faculty: read this book ASAP. The context of the book is the humanities, but it has broad applications to other fields. 

Make sure your application package, interview skills, etc. are all targeted for the academic market. 

The Chronicle of Higher Education is also a good resource. It also helps you stay in the know as far as academic trends, etc. 

There is more specific job search information, which I will write a blog post in more detail later. 

2. If your school has professional development classes or workshops then take them. For instance, ASU has the Preparing Future Faculty program. I would strongly advise a program such as this. While again, these programs are generalized (e.g., the one at ASU probably could be stronger in it's relevance to fine arts and music), they are still incredibly valuable

The argument against programs like these is that they take time away from research, and ultimately one's career is determined by research strength. I would say that the majority of one's career is dependent on research but there are a ton of other factors which tend to be make or break. They can't make you on their own, but the lack of skills in practical job searching (& related) skills will definitely break you. AND they can save you, if you're a borderline case. And if you're borderline, maybe all you need is that foot in the door and the resources to become a star, if that is your goal.... Plus, it will help you understand what being faculty is actually like and give you a better idea of what will be expected. That's actually pretty damn important.

3. Ask for honest feedback from your advisor. This is obvious, but if you think you are not competitive (or you don't know) it is good to know. They will have good ideas, generally (but not always)  on how to help. Do it early. Ask this question way before the year you plan to graduate.  

Also, ask your advisor about how to do things in your career. Ask them to look over your job materials. Ask former advisors and professors. You can always ask. Even great advisors will be 500% more useful if you ask the right questions. But don't only depend on your advisor. Advisors will vary in how well they perform particular tasks, like most people, and they also only offer one perspective. Don't only depend on the professors in your department for information. 

4. Do a comparative CV search. Find all the CVs of assistant professors in your field. Get an idea of the outcomes you need. Nothing will substitute for this step, I don't think.  I've been doing this since I graduated with my Master's. This can be really stressful and ego threatening if you are far from where you want to be. It is still worth it for the information. You will not even have an idea of what outcomes you need until you do this. Its all smoke and rumors otherwise.

Also, make sure you look at more than just high prestige places. If you are not at a top 5 or top 10 school, you will probably not start out at a top 5 or top 10 school. You may eventually still end up there, who knows? Or maybe you are that awesome & it is your first job! But man, look at every level. Even if you do come from such a school, you can't really count on it so look at a variety of schools.

This process will also give an idea as to acceptable CV formats. There's a lot of advice on this (see links in #1) but its good to look at what works for your particular field. There will be tweaks.

5. Ask successful peers for advice. Have them look over your portfolio. Have them read your papers. You ask people who are in the same situation / career level as you or even people who are behind, but you can't ONLY ask them. You have to ask your peer who is more successful. They will know things that others don't. They may have tricks, short-cuts, etc. that they will share. They are doing something that works. Also, they are still emerging, like you, and so their feedback applies to people like you. (as opposed to established professors, artists, etc.).

Cont. in Part 2.