Job-Search -1

(prepared by Ashwini Kelkar)

Dr. Matthias Kawski was the speaker and the purpose of today's discussion was to prepare us for what is needed to apply for an academic position in Mathematics.

One of the major sources to look for job opening is AMS-Notices, advertisements placed by SIAM, the AMS Joint Meetings. (It is quite unlikely that the job openings will be found everywhere!)

We browsed through some past AMS-Notices, and observed that the maximum advertisements (including those for post-docs) appear in December and January, and the deadlines for the applications are strict. So, we have to start well in advance, since it is the pre-application preparation which is the most important. By September itself, we should have started working on our CV, and at least identify the gaps, which need to be filled, if we are not totally ready yet. Later on, we can just concentrate on filling the details that we did'nt have before. So, our Curriculum Vitae has to be updated all the time.

Once the job-ads are out, we should carefully read it and see that we satisfy at least the minimum criterion mentioned exactly. There is no point in applying otherwise, since we would be rejected in the innitial scrutiny itself. Most of the jobs require us to give a “teaching-philosophy” and a “reasearch-philsophy”, along with the CV and the Job-Cover Letter. So, it is good to have thought about these and written them before hand, since it is quite difficult to come up with these at a very short notice. A “minimum” of three letters of recommendation are required, your advisor's being the most important. Along with that, if the position emphasizes on teaching, you should try to get one from someone who has observed you while teaching. And it is advisable to give at least 3-weeks advance notice, while asking for a letter of recommendation, along with a of follow-up on this.

Although, we will talk about the actual interview process in the second session, we have to also prepare and practice our interview talk before we go for one.

We then had a look at the statistics of the past employment. The absorbtion rates of PhD's is quite high at the current time, although this was not so, about a decade ago.

Along with looking out for position, networking is important. So, after attending a colloquim, especially if it is in your area, it is essential that you follow up on that, and try to meet people afterwards and talk to them about your work.