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Advice on Successfully Navigating the Current Academic Job Market

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by Alvaro Huerta, Ph.D.
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As someone who recently accepted a tenure-track faculty position at a four-year university, I want
to share some helpful advice for those on the academic job market. The selected tips below not only
represent my experience on successfully navigating the academic search process, but also include
insights that Ive learned from other academics on the subject. Like other academics, I lament the
dismal academic job market, where we have too many qualified PhDs applying for few tenure-track
job openings.

Current Context
From the demand side, the current saturation of PhDs on the job market is primarily linked to
several structural issues: (1) an overall decline in state funding for public colleges and universities;
(2) the adjunctification of the academy, where adjuncts or non-tenure track faculty consist of 75%
of all instructors in higher education; and (3) the delayed exit or retirement of tenured professors.
Regarding the last point, given that tenured faculty represent coveted positions associated with high
status, great benefits and lifetime job security (with some exceptions), its logical that professors
hold on to their positions beyond the average retirement age in the U.S. and beyond.

From the supply side, not only do universities produce too many PhDs for the tight labor market,
but theres also a surplus of PhDs from prior years. Overall, those in the job market for tenure-track
positions include: ABDs (all-but-dissertation); recent PhDs; postdoctoral fellows; adjunct faculty;
visiting assistant professors; visiting scholars and researchers; independent scholars; and those
individuals working in a variety of non-faculty positions with the goal of eventually securing a
tenure-track position.

Managing the Tight Job Market
Seek expert advice. Seek advice from your advisors, recently hired faculty from your department
and other academics who can provide valuable tips on preparing application packets. In the social
sciences, a typical application packet includes a cover letter, statement of research, statement of
teaching, CV, three letters of recommendation, one writing sample and, occasionally, teaching
evaluations. Transcripts are usually requested once an applicant secures an interview. Also, dont
hesitate to solicit successful sample applications from other academics. For further excellent advice
on this topic and related areas, refer to Karen L. Kelsky, PhD, at The Professor Is In
(www.theprofessorisin.com) and UC Berkeleys Career Center website at Academic Job Search
(https://career.berkeley.edu/PhDs/PhDAcademic.stm).



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Written on October 9, 2014, this essay will be published in academic eNewsletter in late Fall of 2014.
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Short Bio: Dr. Alvaro Huerta is an Assistant Professor of Urban & Regional Planning and Ethnic &
Womens Studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He holds a PhD in City & Regional
Planning from UC Berkeley. Hes the author of the book, Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate:
Towards a Humanistic Paradigm (San Diego State University Press, 2013).

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Prepare in advance. Expect to allocate between three to six months to complete your application
packet. Given that each document deserves a lot of time and effort, you should produce quality
documents that reflect your academic credentials, research interests and potential abilities in future
scholarship. This includes revising documents, proofreading, seeking input from advisors and
getting feedback from peers. After youve completed the application packet, provide selected
documents, such as CV, Cover letter and research statement to your academic recommenders. By
doing so, theyll be able to write a stronger, more detailed letter for the job search committee.

Be selective. Similar to applying to graduate school, be selective when seeking tenure-track
positions. That is, only apply to positions that youre qualified for. Academic job descriptions
clearly stipulate (or should) the required qualifications and areas of specialty. Thus, if a job
description requires someone who specializes in quantitative research methods, dont apply if
youre an expert in qualitative research methods. By narrowing your job search to positions where
theres a likely match or fit, you will save time and energy in this time-consuming effort.

Act like an academic. Just because you dont have a tenure-track position, it doesnt mean that you
cant engage in scholarship and academic activities to raise or enhance your scholarly profile. Try
getting ahead of your competition by taking part in activities that help to raise your scholarly
profile, such as publishing in scholarly journals, attending and presenting at academic conferences,
joining and contributing to academic listserves and networking with other academics, especially in
your field.

On being an adjunct. On the one hand, there are three pros from this status. First, you have the
privilege of teaching, mentoring and preparing tomorrows leaders. Secondly, you obtain academic
work experience to include in your CV. This is important, since academic positions typically
require some level of teaching experience, especially for teaching-focused colleges and universities.
Thirdly, if successful in the classroom, you acquire strong students evaluations that you can share
with your recommenders and, if you secure an interview, can provide to the job search committee.
On the other hand, apart from the job insecurity, low pay and lack of benefits, theres the danger of
being pigeonholed an adjunct by tenured faculty, especially if youve been lecturing for several
years without any publications in scholarly journals. While theres dignity in all honest work,
unfortunately, in this tight labor market, perception matters.

Be positive and confident. Just because youre on the job market for one or more years doesnt
mean that you should be pessimistic or insecure about your academic job prospects. Remind
yourself that by obtaining a PhD from an accredited university, youve already accomplished a great
academic milestone and should be proud of yourself. If you display a lack of confidence or
competence to your recommenders and, especially, job search committee members, youll limit or
eliminate your job prospects for a tenure-track position. This is not to imply that you shouldnt
share your personal issues or insecurities with trusted advisors. In short, you dont want to give
anyone in a position of power (e.g., a gatekeeper) an excuse to not hire you, especially if you
meet or exceed all of the job requirements.

Conclusion
While theres much more to say about the job search process, I hope the aforementioned advice
provides some job seekers with guidance on this rigorous and stressful process. That said, given that
we find ourselves in an extremely tight labor market for tenure-track faculty position, I empathize
with all of those PhDs on the job market and hope the best for all of you, be it inside or outside of
the academy.