How not to land a job in academia

As a head of department at a major Australian university, I have been involved in recruiting, employing, managing, retiring and dismissing staff. Over the years, I have been asked many times for advice on getting a first job in academia. “How can I get a job in your department?” they ask. 

While I could mention several important points, after being on interview panels and doing performance reviews I prefer to take a different tack. Here are ways that candidates can ensure they are not offered the job. These can be reflected in a CV, in the interview, the candidate’s body language and responses from their referees, as well as what is not communicated. 

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Usually, when institutions are hiring faculty, they look at the general categories of teaching, research and service, but to really encompass the expectations for a well-rounded academic career, I suggest we expand these to five categories: teaching, external engagement, academic management, research and service for others. 

Let’s look at what can go wrong in each of these categories. 

Teaching 

• No experience in teaching While not necessarily a dealbreaker, if a candidate has never taught a class, it is difficult to know whether they will be confident in front of a room of students. Experience with tutoring, and even training, can be a big help in showing teaching potential.
• No positive student feedback If you have had teaching experience and a student feedback survey (SFS) was run at the end of the subject, there should be student feedback to share. If a candidate has been employed as a tutor but cannot show any positive student feedback, that can be seen as a red flag.
• No interest in teaching If you are being employed as a lecturer, it is expected that you will spend some time (often 40 per cent of your time for a balanced academic workload) lecturing or teaching. Some candidates might feel they are really researchers but apply to be lecturers to get into the system; however, no interest in teaching can result in unhappy students, poor feedback, negative word of mouth and student complaints. It is important, therefore, to appreciate the importance of teaching and good student feedback.

External engagement

• No interest in connecting with local or broader organisations, businesses or communities It can depend on the discipline, but having links or communication with bodies outside the university is important for building relations with the wider community and also bringing real-world examples to the classroom.

• No knowledge of relevant industry/academic associations Most disciplines have relevant academic and industry associations that provide information and networking opportunities and run events and conferences. Knowing about these bodies indicates a basic knowledge of support agencies related to the discipline.

• No interest in living or connecting locally While living locally or in the same city is not mandatory, hiring panels might be concerned that physical distance and detachment from the workplace will get in the way of engagement and could be a sign that the candidate is waiting for a position to come up close to where they live. 

Academic management

• Not doing homework on school/university Getting ready for an interview should include checking who is on the panel, their expertise and the organisation’s structure, so that the candidate can show they understand the background of the people on the panel and answer their questions. Lack of preparation leaves the candidate vulnerable to being tripped up by simple questions. Meanwhile, others have impressed by mentioning the research interests of staff.

• Not meeting staff or knowing what they do More detailed preparation can go beyond the panel and explore potential connections with other staff in the department or faculty. Emailing or organising meetings to talk to other faculty staff before the interview can help in gaining knowledge about the institution and possibly having them as supporters or collaborators in the future.

• No interest in contributing to service No university runs itself, and all need people to take on university management roles, such as administrative work and roles on internal committees. Having experience in volunteering for some service roles, such as being a student representative, can be looked on positively. Further, undertaking service roles in the faculty is also a good way to get noticed by those outside your department and in higher positions.

Research

• Having a research area that is too specialised After completing a doctoral degree, the candidate’s research focus – though interesting to them – might be narrow, specific and not interesting to anyone else, including journal editors. It can be good if a student can see their thesis as a training ground and indicate that they are open to expand their areas of research interest.
• No publications after several years A few years without any publications can reflect a lack of quality or impact of the research and the researcher.
• No indication of quality research in their discipline Outputs outside the candidate’s discipline area or publication in low- or no-level journals or magazines or predatory journals (where you pay to have your article published) can indicate poor-quality work, which could further reflect on the institution that employs them.

Service for others

• No interest in collaboration/collegiality When recruiting people, the panel will often consider how well the candidate will fit in with the rest of the staff. We don’t want to employ people who are total loners, who don’t communicate with colleagues (or only want to communicate with their former supervisors), who refuse reasonable requests to collaborate with others or who are more self-interested than collegial. 
• Not volunteering to help A good colleague indicates a willingness to help others and be a team player (for example, volunteering to mentor students, to assist at open-day events or graduation processions). Not showing evidence of or interest in supporting colleagues and the department can be a sign that the candidate will not fit in with everyone else. 
• Not seeing a future with the school Some candidates can make it obvious that they see the position on offer as a stepping stone while they wait for something else. At times this is reflected in the candidate’s attitude or how they answer the dreaded question: “Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?” Candidates should ensure their body language doesn’t respond: “Anywhere but here!”

So remind yourself about all the areas that make up a job in academia and building your career:

• Teaching
• External engagement
• Academic management
• Research
• Service for others.

As someone who has sat on interview panels and undertaken work performance reviews, I feel that following the points above will guarantee that you will not get employed or maintain employment in academia – which could mean that your career dreams could end in tears.

David Waller is an associate professor and head of the marketing department in UTS Business School at the University of Technology Sydney.

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