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November 9, 2005
On getting some professional advice
Given my current state of progress toward my degree and such, I have been asking for (and getting) much professional advice from the wise, younger faculty around me. Today, I met with two different people who gave me some advice on job search stuff as well as on my research process. Here's what I learned:
1. Being a faculty person in any department is about "image management." It was suggested that one might think of three kinds of departmental colleagues: (1) the people you have natural affinity with and would talk to anyway; (2) the people who are in positions of power and who have different philosophical orientations from your own; and (3) the people who are not in positions of power and have different philosophical orientations from you. The advice: hang out with the people in (1) because you enjoy them anyway; be mindful of persuading (2) that you're a team player and appreciate their perspective; just ignore (3).
2. Some job talk advice: don't be all things to all people. While it certainly is the case that a new PhD can more easily persuade a committee that we are malleable, adaptable people who can develop a research agenda fitting of a new context, it's also the case that departments are looking for people who are more intrinsically motivated. Grad school is about pleasing your committee, I was reminded, but a faculty job is about defining yourself and bringing some strength to a department. So, I was told, don't sound too diffuse in defining what you can do for them. Give folks a clear vision of a project you can reasonably accomplish in 2-4 years, and that will be something they'll believe.
That's all the advice for now, but I think these two are big ones, and not necessarily things they tell you in some of those grad school support books.
I scheduled my prospectus meeting today so now it's back to work! I have much to do before my mid-December meeting.
Posted by chri1010 at November 9, 2005 8:07 PM