The Academic Job Search Handbook (3rd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: This is the book that I recommend
Review: Although this book is very generic, I found it extraordinarily helpful when doing my first academic job search (which is different from all the other job searches for which there are plenty of books). I moved through it chapter by chapter as my search progressed. This is the first book that I recommend to graduate students on doing the academic job search.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book to have on hand when job searching.
Review: For graduate students looking to the professorship, this book is nothing but helpful. I haven't read other books like this, I have to admit, but as I was clueless as to what happens when going on the job market, this book served me WELL.

The authors describe options I hadn't thought of, and ended up having to think about. There's specific descriptions of what happens in interviewing, in different types of institutions, and suggestions for writing up the documents needed for the dossier.

I felt I had the comfort of someone knowledgable with this book when sending out my application packets, preparing for the interviews, during the interview, and after. I even knew to write thank you letters. No faculty ever mentioned that to me! Faculty were giving me advice, but very minimally, I found after reading this book and going through the whole job search process.

All I know is that I found AND landed a job beyond my dreams, even making more money than I ever thought I would in the teaching field, and I start soon!

Rating:
Summary: A very good book for graduating job seekers
Review: For those about to navigate the intricate world of academia in search of employment this is an excellent guide. It will keep you from wasting time and encountering frustrations that you would otherwise experience. Good work.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "The Accelerated Job Search" [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: It is really helpful
Review: It is a must-read book for any academic job applicants. Make sure you read it before you prepare your application materials. It will surelly save you a lot of time. It is really helpful in my job searching.

Rating:
Summary: Worthless tripe
Review: The authors seem to walk the line between stating the obvious and dispensing outright bad advice. On more than one occasion, they cross that line with reckless abandon.

First of all, the book is geared towards newly minted Ph.D.'s or ABD (All But Dissertation) graduate students who plan to enter the academic job market. The authors seem completely ignorant of the fact that in many disciplines, particularly the biological and physical sciences, Ph.D.'s first hold postodoctoral research positions for 2 - 5 years before entering the market. I cannot find a single reference to the word "postdoc." Thus, the book completely ignores anyone with a science degree, and all of the advice concerning "timetables for your search" and the advice to "have your degree in hand" is useless.

Secondly, some of the advice in the book is dubious, at best. The section on cv construction states:

"If you worked prior to attending graduate school at jobs you now consider irrelevant, you may summarize them with a statement such as 'Emmployment 1992-1994 included office and restaurant work.'"

To which my response is, "What the hell for?" If the work was "irrelevant," it has no business on a cv. Period. Unless, of course, your goal is to give the hiring committee a good laugh before tossing your cv into the rejection pile.

Don't worry, it gets worse. The section on writing a "Statement of Teaching Philosophy," which almost all liberal arts schools require, is all of one paragraph long. The authors' best advice is to "try to look at statements written by others in your department as well as those written by applicants to your department, if those are available to you."

Here's an idea: instead of using the last 19 pages of the book as appendices (also known as "filler"), why not actually give some EXAMPLES of teaching statements? I didn't spend money on a book just so I could ask other Ph.D.'s for samples from their application packages!

The section on research interests is equally inane.

The bottom line: If you're a liberal arts major, then maybe you'll get something useful from this book. If you're a science major, then buy "Tomorrow's Professor" by Richard Reis. It's three times as long, and about a hundred times as useful.

Rating:
Summary: Essential guide & companion for those on the market
Review: The earlier in your graduate career you obtain this book the better, since the section on planning your job search gives great advice about positioning yourself as an attractive candidate well before you start applying for jobs. I found the guide an invaluable companion over the seven month period that comprised my job search. The sample vitas, cover letters, and statements of teaching philosophy were especially useful, as was the extensive section on interviewing at conferences, on campus, and by phone. The tone was reassuring but realistic, and the advice was helpful both in conceptualizing aspects of the search (e.g., think of the interview as a conversation in which the evaluative aspect is made overt) and as a series of friendly, pragmatic tips (e.g., don't check luggage when flying to an interview; bring an escapist novel to read at the hotel). The book also contains sensible discussion of how to negotiate an offer, how to handle illegal or simply bizarre interview questions, what to wear, issues surrounding dual-career marriages, and after you've gotten a position, how to handle your new academic responsibilites and secure tenure. I recommend this book to everyone who aims at an academic position, and in the future, I will recommend it to my students!

Rating:
Summary: Very usefull but at times too generic
Review: This book had some great recommendations regarding the academic market job search. It is definitely more useful if you read it at least TWO YEARS prior to finishing a Ph.D., but I still found it interesting even though I read it the semester I was about to graduate. It lacked, however, specific information regarding different disciplines (that can vay widely). For the price, I think is a good resource for any PhD students.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, but previous "review" misleads readers
Review: This book provides a wealth of information that orients graduate students who are unexperienced with the academic job market with the intricate process of securing an academic position. It doesn't provide discipline-specific information, but it DOES give an overall plan and breakdown of what you can expect during your job search. I found the sample curriculum vitaes and cover letters invaluable guides.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for your last 2-years of grad school
Review: This book provides a wealth of information that orients graduate students who are unexperienced with the academic job market with the intricate process of securing an academic position. It doesn't provide discipline-specific information, but it DOES give an overall plan and breakdown of what you can expect during your job search. I found the sample curriculum vitaes and cover letters invaluable guides.

Rating:
Summary: just the info i needed
Review: when i was nearing the end of my biochemistry Ph.D. studies, i applied for two professorships. (i didn't get the jobs, but i did have a decent application.) this book helped immeasurably. i had been reading the advice column in the chronicle of higher education, which is very useful and helpful, but wanted more. the columns typically expected you to know the basics, and i didn't.

enter this book ... simple and chock full of examples, information, and the like. don't know what the heck you need to assemble for a job application, start here, you'll be glad you did.

this wont be the only thing you need to read, but you'll be statred down a great path ...