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The Academic Job Search in Mathematics

The Academic Job Search in Mathematics

An Applicant's Perspective

By Darren A. Narayan

I feel it is appropriate to begin this article with a "thank you" to all of the people that fought for jobs in the very tight job market of the 1990's. Because of your efforts today's applicants have the resources available to help them breathe a little easier during their own job searches.


Lots of job applications!

Last year I was in the same boat with hundreds of other applicants searching for an institution whose primary focus was on teaching, but also valued scholarly research. The following article is meant to be a source of information that I hope will reduce the stress level for some applicants. It is impossible to give perfect advice, so I will just include some tips that I wish I knew before I started my search, including some advice from my Mom.

I will share with you some of what I learned. However since this is only a small fraction of things to know about the job search, I encourage you to talk with faculty members and students and map out a winning strategy.


The Game

Each institution is different and each search committee is different, but in the end they are all looking for the same thing - a good match. They want someone who will be effective with their students, work well with their faculty, and be a source of new ideas.


The application process

Where can I find job postings?

Probably the most useful site is the Employment Information in the Mathematical Sciences (EIMS) site, which is a service of the American Mathematical Society. Other good places on the web include MAA Online and the Chronicle of Higher Education Career Network Site. Advertisements also appear in the Notices of the AMS and in FOCUS.

Questions on the advertisement

A typical advertisement said to send a cover letter, vita, transcripts, and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to the search committee. However I ran into some ambiguities.

Transcripts: I was not sure exactly what kind of transcripts the school would like. Did they want official or unofficial transcripts? Are photocopies acceptable? Do they want my undergraduate transcripts too? How about the summer course I took at a completely different school? When in doubt, ask. This can take a lot of time to get responses back from all of the schools. I finally decided to send photocopies of transcripts of every school I attended and noted that official transcripts could be sent upon request. When all was said and done I applied to about 70 schools and none of them asked for official transcripts.

Preference of Research Area: Many advertisements said that they were accepting applications in all areas of mathematics with preference given to applicants that were in particular areas of mathematics. In some cases my area of research expertise was not among the preferred areas mentioned, so I was not sure if I should apply. After asking many faculty members that I knew, the consensus was that my chances would be slim. However they did mention that sometimes a department would like the position to be filled by someone in a particular field, but are really looking for the best overall candidate. In instances such as these the preference of research area may play only a minor role in the decision process. When in doubt I would ask the search committee chair, but if it was a school I really liked I figured it could not hurt to apply.

Deadlines: Many advertisements said something like "The review of applications will begin on December 10, but applications will be reviewed until the position is filled". While some schools met promptly after the first deadline date other schools were busy with final examinations and did not get to them until winter break. I did everything to meet the first mentioned deadline, but if a deadline passed and I saw it was a school I liked, I decided to apply and keep my fingers crossed.

The Cover Letter

After asking many members of search committees, I concluded that one of the most important parts of the application was undoubtedly the cover letter. In most cases a letter beginning with "Dear Search Committee, I am applying for a position in your College University..." is viewed much differently from a letter opening with "Dear Professor Crawford, I am very interested in teaching at Mount Allison University". I spent about 30-45 minutes combing through a department's web site looking to see if the school was a good match for me. If it was, I wrote the cover letter emphasizing characteristics that I liked about the school. Although this takes a lot of time, I did not send out letters to schools that were not good matches. This screening process not only saved time, but postage as well. One thing that can turn search committees off is a poorly written cover letter. Be sure to proofread it carefully. However if you catch a typographical error after you sent the letter out, don't stress about it. A faculty member asked me if I found a typo in an advertisement for a position I liked, would I still apply? My answer was "yes" because I was far more interested in the institution. Many search committees will be more concerned with a good match than a simple typographical error. However an error free application packet is the best situation, so time spent proof reading is time well spent.

An extra tip: I chose to print out my application on some fancy resume paper. I chose an elegant blue/gray that I thought looked professional. However what I did not account for was that my file would be photocopied and the blue/gray quickly turned very dark. Be sure to choose a color that is not too dark.

Sending additional information

Advertisements will differ. School A says to send a cover letter, vita, statement of teaching philosophy and a statement of research interests, while School B said to send only a cover letter and vita. The obvious question is: "Is it okay to send teaching and research statements to School B?" On one hand I felt that these materials would support my application, but on the other hand a search committee member might frown at the thought of receiving materials that were not requested. When in doubt, ask. What I did was to send only what the advertisement asked for but mentioned that all other information was readily available on my web page and I would be more than happy to provide additional information if they would like.

Build a web page

I greatly encourage you to build a web page if you do not have one already. Many search committees had liked my web site and the information found there. They commented that it showed that I had some experience in technology and that putting the information on the web made it easily accessible for the search committee.

Bang for your buck

My toughest task was getting across the fact that I am dedicated teacher who relates well with the students. How does one make this point with only a cover letter and vita? To demonstrate a strong research record you can list your publications, completing the task in a few lines. For teaching, unless you have a teaching award, it can be difficult to get the same bang for your buck. My problem was that I could not express my feelings about the teaching of mathematics in a few lines. A statement of teaching philosophy can help, but if they only ask for a cover letter and vita, it can be tough. I found it useful to have selected comments from student's evaluations on my web page, and this was well received by search committees.


The Joint Meetings of the AMS and MAA in New Orleans


First of all: you should go! Beat the clock. Registration Deadline for the Employment Center: November 7, 2000. For more information visit http://www.ams.org/emp-reg/.

Interviewing

One piece of advice is to be energetic. In many cases the department has gotten a position approved after years of waiting and they are looking forward to some "new blood" entering the department. The department wants someone who will be enthusiastic whether it is in teaching, research or service.

For interviewing, keep some copies of your application materials handy. There were two types of interviews last year. There was the self-scheduled area where schools invited applicants for a 30-minute interview. There were also the 15-minute computer-scheduled interviews. I found the self-scheduled interviews more useful, primarily because they were longer and also because since it was the school that invited me I knew that the search committee had some interest in my application.

I found it useful to have a complete list of questions. This is the time to ask about the position. Find out about the teaching load, research expectations, availability of research grants, amount of committee work, etc. In addition to these I asked about the department's future goals, and how the new faculty member might play a role.

My Mom's sixth sense: Bring bottled water because you will be doing a lot of talking.

Presentations and/or Talks

I would greatly encourage you to give a talk at the New Orleans Meeting. Many search committees will be interested in seeing an applicant's presentation style. You can give a talk in an AMS special session or a AMS contributed paper session. Although you are limited to one AMS talk, you can give a second talk in an MAA session and double your chances of being seen.

My Mom's sixth sense: Keep snacks and beverages in your hotel room. Lunch breaks at the last meeting were very short and the lines for restaurants were very long. It was great to run to my hotel room and grab a quick lunch without missing a beat.


After the New Orleans Meetings

Sleep. Then start preparing for on-campus interview. A school may continue with its search immediately and invite you to visit within a few days. These early invitations are rare, but in either case it is best to be prepared for interviews shortly after the New Orleans Meetings.


The on-campus interview

In most cases the school inviting you will cover all expenses. You may be asked to pay for expenses and then submit receipts for reimbursement or they may just send you the tickets. These tickets can be expensive since it may involve airline tickets that are booked only a few days before, so it is possible to approach $1000. Don't feel bad about the amount that a school is spending on your visit. They have a budget for this, but they are appreciative if you can save them money by finding the lowest airfare or offering to stay with a family or friend in the immediate area. But since the school might spend a lot of money for these interviews, if you are really not interested in the position you should decline the interview to save both time and money.

Most likely you will have a very busy schedule: meeting with the Department Chair, other members of the department, and possibly the President, Provost or Dean. You may be asked to give a 45-minute colloquium talk and possibly to teach a class. It is a good idea to find out all information regarding these talks. For example for a colloquium talk it is a good idea to find out who the audience will be. Don't be afraid to ask what you can expect the students in your audience (if any) to know. If you are teaching a class it is a good idea to ask about the students, textbook and assigning homework etc. For both of these I found it useful to request some time before my presentation to get my thoughts together.

Buy one get one free

These are rare, but in some cases you may have on-campus interviews close together, either in time or location. For example, say you live in New York and have an interview in Florida on Tuesday and an interview in Oregon on Wednesday. You might try to book a trip that goes from New York to Florida to Oregon and then back to New York. In a similar situation if you have interviews at schools that are really close together you may try to cover both of them in one shot, even if it means requesting a rental car to get from one school to the other. I was hesitant at first to let one school know about travel to another school, feeling there was a conflict of interest, but I learned that schools are well aware that candidates may have other interviews and can make reasonable accommodations. Although this can save both institutions money, that is not the primary goal. The main benefit of doing this is to save you time and travel during a very busy time.

Mom's sixth sense: Don't forget your interview clothes. I left mine at home. No comment.



The offer

There is sometimes the possibility of getting an offer from one school with a deadline that comes before another school in which you are interested has made a decision. It is possible to negotiate for time and even for schools to make a more attractive offer. This situation is tough and is next to impossible to offer advice, so I'll just say to use your best judgement.

Try to get the contract in writing and then, if you feel good about it, sign it, throw it in the mail and celebrate.



Some final words ? Did I make the right choice?

Well if your job search is successful, congratulations!

However, you might second-guess yourself, because your job is most likely not perfect. You might be searching for your dream school with the perfect size and a balance of teaching and research that is perfect for you, which is also in a great location where you can live happily ever after. Chances are though this school does not exist. However you may succeed in finding a match may not be perfect, but "within epsilon". And, who knows, over time that epsilon might just go to zero.



Darren A. Narayan recently completed a job search and is now an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is also a fellow of Project NExT, a program of the MAA supported in part by the ExxonMobil Foundation.


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