Karen Kelsky, through her business, The Professor Is In, has advised countless graduate students and junior faculty members on how to navigate the perilous waters of the job search. Here she answers questions from readers on all aspects of the hiring process. Following is a sampling of her recent columns.
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AdviceThe Professor Is In: Stranded on the Academic Job Market This Year?
A look at what the Covid-19 crisis might mean for untenured faculty members on and off the tenure track, and for new and returning doctoral students. -
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The Professor Is In: What if Your Teaching Experience Is Not ‘on Brand’ for the Hiring College?
A common question from job candidates is how to cope with a major disconnect between the place where they earned a Ph.D. and the campuses that are hiring. -
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The Professor Is In: ‘Should I Mention I’m From the Area?’
In applying to small liberal-arts colleges, your local ties may be worth bringing up in your application. -
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The Professor Is In: It’s Hard to Be Ill in Academe
With the cold and flu season comes the pressure on faculty members, especially the many untenured ones, to teach through an illness because canceling class would “look bad.” -
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The Professor Is In: A Few Good Reasons to Switch Graduate Programs
You may lose a year or two in moving to a new doctoral program, but sometimes that is the best call. -
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The Professor Is In: Publishing Isn’t Just About Volume; It’s Also About Strategy
Few benchmarks for tenure are more important than getting that first book contract if you are in a book field at a research-focused institution. -
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The Professor Is In: Is a Renewable Faculty Job Ever Better Than One on the Tenure Track?
Sometimes the financial health of your institution can matter more than whether your position allows you to seek tenure. -
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The Professor Is In: ‘What Is Your Five-Year Plan?’
What to say (and not say) when asked about your professional plans during a job interview at a teaching-focused college. -
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The Professor Is In: When the Promise of Research Support Falls Flat
How to read the mixed messages from an “aspirational” teaching institution that is looking to raise its profile. -
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The Professor Is In: Ambivalence About Midcareer Moves
For many professors, the possibility of changing departments triggers uncertainties that are not always easy or possible to resolve. -
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The Professor Is In: Why You Should Negotiate Every Job Offer
Whether or not you have the leverage of a second job offer, ask your potential department for what you deserve (within reason). -
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The Professor Is In: Should I Admit I’m Not Submitting What They Asked For?
You don’t want the search committee to think you sound like a panicked undergraduate trying to explain why a paper is late. -
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The Professor Is In: How to Discourage Sycophancy in Graduate School
Deflect your doctoral students’ excessive praise by emphasizing that academe is a workplace — not a holy order. -
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Your CV Should Inform. Your Cover Letter Should Persuade.
A CV and a cover letter are not just redundant vehicles for the same information. -
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What Actually Happens After the Interviews Are Over? And Who Decides?
Here’s why you should always assume that everyone you meet on a campus visit may have a say in who gets the job. -
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The Professor Is In: Should You Reach Out to Potential Colleagues Before the Campus Interview?
Calling or emailing ahead of time might seem like a good way to get information about the place, but it’s more than a little risky. -
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5 Big-Picture Mistakes New Ph.D.s Make on the Job Market
All sorts of magical thinking can distort the realities of the tenure-track job hunt. -
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The Professor Is In: My New Colleagues Are Inundating Me With Advice
A Ph.D. starting her first job in the fall wonders how to respond to a flood of professional and personal suggestions. -
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The Semester’s Ending. Time to Worry About Our Flawed Course Evaluations.
If students already think I’m a good teacher, doesn’t that mean that I am just “meeting expectations”? -
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The Professor Is In: Is Texting During a Job Interview Now Acceptable?
In a campus visit, you are assessed on your adherence to social scripts expected of you in that setting. -
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The Professor Is In: Should I Turn Down a Tenure-Track Position?
A job candidate wonders how to decide which of two offers to accept when both have drawbacks. -
The Professor Is In
The Professor Is In: The Ethics of Backing Out
Is it OK to renege on a job offer once you’ve accepted it? That all depends on the nature of the position. -
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The Professor Is In: The Sham National Search
Why bother if an inside candidate is in line for the job? -
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The Professor Is In: Breaking the Alt-Ac News
How do you tell your Ph.D. adviser who disdains nonacademic careers that you’ve accepted a private-sector job? -
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The Professor Is In: Research First or Teaching?
Sometimes it’s not easy to tell whether a hiring department is more interested in your scholarship or your pedagogy.
