In our newest “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks:
Does it matter how recent a job applicant’s teaching experience is? If I’ve just completed a year of adjuncting, can I pivot to more research-oriented positions (e.g., non-teaching postdoc, permanent research associateship)? Or will committees desire recent teaching experience, such that I should continue adjuncting with some regularity? If so, how much would be a good benchmark?
I’m not sure, but I suspect that (A) a longer, several-year gap might cause more problems than a short gap (at least for competitiveness for jobs at teaching-focused institutions), and (B) there’s also the issue of perceptions of the candidate’s trajectory/values (i.e., the candidate looking more aligned with research than teaching). But these are just off-the-cuff reactions.
What do readers think?
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