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Student Tips: Job Search Advice

SPSP members share their advice on mistakes to avoid during the academic job search process.
Although the job search experience may be slightly different for each person, SPSP members agree on some key mistakes applicants make that can lower the chances of a successful job search process.
  1. Applying to positions that are not a good fit with your qualifications. This is usually due to not fully understanding the requirements of each position, or due to applying to many positions, regardless of the stated candidate skills and profile.
    • “Applying to jobs that are not a good fit.”
    • “Don't apply for just any job. My friends that tried the ‘shotgun’ approach didn't have as much success; they couldn't tailor enough and were super stressed. I only applied for jobs I thought were actually a good fit.”
    • “I think it's a waste of time to apply for every job is you don't fit with what they're looking for. I also think a mistake would not be to overemphasize how you fit with the department, potential experience you can contribute, and so on.”
    • “Decipher the job ads in context. While ads may include paragraphs about research/student research, a small teaching school is probably not actually interested in the type/pace of research you do during grad school. Also, though I went to smaller schools pre-Ph.D. and felt I wanted more teaching focused jobs, I didn't realize how thoroughly acculturated I had become to an R1 environment until I started getting phone interviews. It can feel like you are suddenly supposed to emphasize aspects of your career (teaching, service) that you may have been previously told to avoid or downplay.”
  2. Not tailoring your materials, such as your CV, cover letter or research statement, to the requirements described in the job ad.
    • “Being too rushed to complete materials, being too general in material content (e.g., generic cover letters), and not understanding how different application services (e.g., Interfolio, other university-level systems) actually process materials.”
    • “Not paying enough attention to the specific qualities they are looking for in the job ad and not tailoring materials (e.g., cover letter, research statement, teaching statement) to those qualities. Success in getting a job is about fit so it is important to convince that you are the perfect fit based on what they are looking for.”
    • “One tempting mistake is to make generic materials and send these to every potential job, however this is not a good idea. In my experience, I only began to receive interview invitations when I started to tailor EVERY document to the specific place I was applying.”“Be sure to personalize your cover letters so it's not just a generic form letter.”
  3. Not getting feedback on your materials. It is important to have your application materials checked by someone who is experienced and can give you valuable guidance for improvement.
    • “Not getting ALL your materials (CV, research statement, teaching statement, diversity statement, cover letter) vetted by your advisor or other faculty member who's willing to edit/provide feedback”
    • “Not relying on the advice or intuition of one influential person.”
  4. Being underprepared for interviews. Most applicants focus on the initial stage of the application process, and spend a lot of time tailoring their application materials. However, meticulous preparation is also required for the second stage of the process, which is the interview.
    • “Be sure to allocate enough time to prepping for campus interviews. Try not to schedule phone interviews for the end of a long day on campus because it can really affect how well you're able to present yourself to the search committee.”
    • “Being underprepared. You cannot overprepare! Even for a phone interview. This means knowing your own work inside and out and the work of your interviewers.”
A big thank you to the SPSP members who dedicated their time to give us valuable advice!