In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:
I am consistently getting 1 or 2 interviews a year but I cannot seem to get over the hump, so to speak, to the on-campus phase. I am going on 3 years removed from PhD. I have a non-TT position that is fairly stable but somewhat unsatisfying. Does anyone else have this experience and if so, what would you recommend?
This is a very good question. I had a similar experience. My first three years or so on the job-market were similar. I got one or two TT interviews each year, but had trouble converting them into on-campus visits. I started to worry about 'going stale', and asked several senior mentors for advice. Their advice was to keep publishing and otherwise improving my CV (viz. teaching experience, service, etc.). It ended up working. My number of first-round interviews began climbing each year, as did my number of on-campus visits. I ultimately ended up getting a tenure-track job 7 years post-PhD, in what was likely my final year on the market (as my non-TT job at the time had a 7 year maximum). I'm not sure that sticking it out as long as I did is good advice for everyone, as it was a miserable seven years and I ended up lucking out at the last minute. But, for what it is worth, the advice I received worked: the more that I published, and the more than I improved my teaching and service record, the more interviews I got.
Second, although there can be all sorts of reasons why a candidate isn't converting first-round interviews into on-campus visits, it may be worth doing some mock interviews with friends or even hiring an interviewing coach–as there may be things about the way the OP interviews that come off poorly. As someone who is naturally shy and introverted (and who had a stutter as a child!), I struggle with interviews a lot. I can come across uncomfortable and nervous, and I practiced interviewing a lot with my spouse on improving. We'd do mock interviews while walking, and even by Zooming in different rooms. There are also interviewing consultants one can hire to help one improve.
Finally, I expect quite a few readers may say that given how bad the job-market is, if the OP is in a fairly unsatisfying job, it may be worth exploring some plan Bs: that is, job opportunities outside of academia. Of course, the OP didn't mention whether they are at the point yet of seriously considering non-academic jobs. But if they are unsatisfied where they are, it could potentially be worth their while to begin exploring their other options. But these are just my thoughts and experiences. What are yours?
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