This week we are focusing on Essential Elements of the Faculty Job Application.  Today Dr. Matthew Lerner, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in the SBU Psychology Department, was our featured speaker in an event targeting Social Science grad students and PhDs.

He introduced the faculty job search process by talking about the variety of traditional academic jobs, and what ingredients went into the “secret sauce” for entering the job market (hint:  recipe includes networking).

He suggests that RESEARCH STATEMENTS be a 2-4 page “review article of your research program,” that includes a clear and coherent collection of: your project(s) theme, findings, subthemes, and a brief summary of future plans (do not lock yourself in by being too specific).

TEACHING STATEMENTS should be 1-2 pages that include your teaching philosophy with specific examples from your experience, use of creative approaches/technology, “Courses I feel prepared to teach” (be sure you list them using their terminology/course titles), Teaching awards.  Remember that “teaching” includes TA, class, one-to-one, supervision and mentorship.  And convey your enthusiasm!

While not all reviewers will look closely at your teaching statement, they will ask to see your TEACHING PORTFOLIO.  This may be one page with:  Table of classes taught (when, what, to whom/# students, where), evidence of teaching excellence (cherry-pick the best quotes from a few student evals, and give a summary of ratings with benchmarks to compare them to.

Dr. Lerner concluded with a timeline and ideas about how to prepare for your search.  We appreciate his thorough approach, and willingness to answer questions from the participants.  Students, postdocs and staff agreed we learned a lot…