Navigating the Academic Job Market Post-PhD (from someone who’s just done it)
Image: Measuring instruments
The academic job market. It looms over PGRs like a spectre. We hear from fellow PhDs, ECRs, alt-acs (those who have chosen to pursue careers outside of academia), and academics, that the academic job market is a desolate wasteland. We hear the stories of precarious, short-term employment; of people trying for half a decade or more to find those coveted permanent positions; of receiving hundreds of rejections, and the resultant impact on people’s mental health. For every one person we see breaking into the field, we see hundreds more leaving academia, for careers that are more stable, better paid, and well incentivised. It’s really no wonder that PhDs start sweating and hyperventilating when met with those dreaded questions: “when will you finish your PhD?” and “what’s next?”.
But, for those of us who want a job in academia, those who have worked hard on completing their PhD, getting published, conferencing, and teaching … you feel like you’ve got to at least try before leaving academia for potentially greener pastures.
Well, that’s how I felt, anyway. And I am incredibly fortunate to have secured a new position as an Early Career Academic at the University of Derby, where I will be researching digital feminist and popular feminist responses to INCELs and the Manosphere, as well as undertake teaching in English Literature.
Now, I will share with you some of the tips I have picked up along the way:
1. Make sure you are familiar with academic CVs and cover letters.
Did you know that academic CVs should be longer than one page? Because initially I didn’t. They don’t expect you to include the two years you spent as a barista on there, but they will expect to see:
your education
awards and funding
research interests
publications and forthcoming publications
conference papers
academic memberships
teaching experience
Not necessarily in that order. I recommend having 2 CVs, one with teaching first and one with research first, based on what you’re applying for.
As for cover letters for academic jobs… You should be writing a new cover letter for each and every job you apply for. Yes, this can be arduous, and yes, some of it can be copied and pasted, but the employers will expect to see a cover letter tailored to the job. Not only that, they literally have a checklist, where they check your cover letter against the job specifications. Hence, the best thing you can do is structure your cover letter to coincide with each of the job and person specs, so whoever is reading your application can just go: tick, tick, tick.
2. Make sure your online presence is up to date
Your potential future employers will Google you. On the one hand, this is kind of anxiety-inducing. On the other hand, this gives you a chance to curate your image beyond the restrictions of the application. Make a Research Gate profile and ORCiD account, and make sure that your publications are up to date on there. Make your CV accessible online. Write articles informed by your research for online newspapers or the Conversation or your university’s PGR blog.
Have a think about social media. Some people love Twitter as a networking tool and a great way to improve your impact, while others have decided that it’s far more trouble than it’s worth. That’s a personal decision, and I won’t advise you either way. But what I will say is that if you have a public profile with your full name on it, is there stuff on there you wouldn’t want your new bosses seeing? Some people elect to have public and private accounts, for this very reason. Or some people believe in the importance of showing yourself as a flawed, well-rounded human online. There are also considerations of online abuse. Again, it’s your choice, but it’s something to think about.
3. Get organised
Some of this is common sense. If you are applying for postdocs, reach out to potential mentors and departments early – they might not respond to you three hours before the deadline. Check jobs.ac.uk, THE jobs, academicjobs, and so on, regularly, bookmarking the jobs that you want to apply for. For extra organisation, I would order them by the closest deadline to the farthest, to make sure that you are optimising your time. There are a lot of jobs listed in short spaces of time:
I heard once that August–January is the key period for most postdoc funding opportunities; and from February–May for university roles starting in September. This is conversational wisdom, and you can find jobs in other months, too, so keep your eyes peeled!
4. Reach out
Not sure if you qualify for this role? Not sure if your research would fit well in the department? Not sure what one of the questions on the application is asking of you? Email someone! There will be a line like “enquiries welcome: please email…” – do that! But, again, enquiries sent ten minutes before the deadline might not be responded to in equal haste. Ask your supervisors and peers for help, advice, and support too.
5. Be prepared to be rejected … a lot.
I got an academic job.
I also got over 60 rejections for similar positions.
It’s disheartening and demoralising and indicative of deep, systemic issues within the field. It is not in any way a reflection on the value of your work and your worth as a researcher and a person.
For a long time, “PhD student” or “academic” (or even just “the smart one”) may have been your primary identity. It can therefore start to feel really personal when you are rejected for jobs in your field. Even if you’ve been telling yourself sternly and logically that the academic job market is a renowned nightmare, wall-to-wall rejections can still take a personal and emotional toll on you.
You can try to harden your heart to it, or you can decide that it’s just not worth the way it makes you feel. Either approach to this is valid, and electing to leave academia because of the job market is in no way a failure. Please, though, don’t try to do this alone. You need a support network, whether that’s family, friends, coworkers, or your cat. They can help take the sting out of the rejections.
6. Comparison is the thief of joy
Someone just got published in a leading journal, again; someone else has a wealth of teaching experience. Someone just got that prestigious postdoc; someone else just got a lecturing position. Someone left academia altogether and regularly reminds everyone that it’s a toxic cult; someone else suggests that it’s not that hard to get a job in academia (that last someone probably has a lot of privilege and is in STEM).
Ultimately, you have to do things at your own pace, know your own worth and your own limitations, and make the choices that are best for you.
Shelby Judge is an Early Career Academic in Creative and Cultural Industries at the University of Derby, researching digital and popular feminist responses to INCELs and the Manosphere. Her doctoral project, undertaken at the University of Glasgow, was “Contemporary Feminist Adaptations of Greek Myth” 2005—2022. This investigated the current trend of women writers retelling Greek myths and what this illuminates about current concerns within feminism. Due to the popularity and proliferation of this genre, her work into this field is ongoing. Shelby’s overarching research interests are in feminist and queer theory and contemporary British and North American women’s fiction. She has published on topics including #MeToo and the Trojan War, Instapoetry, queer theory and Ovid, and embodied fantasy. She is also a regular contributor to the Literary Encyclopedia, for which she has written articles on the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy and Margaret Atwood.
Follow her on Twitter: @judgeyxo
Read more about her work here: TheShelbiad.blogspot.com and www.researchgate.net/profile/Shelby-Judge
