Faculty Job Application workshop series draws huge audience

We hope you were able to attend some of our Faculty Job Application Workshop series sessions this fall. Launched in August, the series is timed to help postdocs apply for faculty job openings typically posted in early fall.  

The workshops were held every other week and included the following topics:

• Choosing the right academic career, Michael Goryll
• Preparing a Cover Letter, Alex Brewis and Matthew Green
• Preparing your CV, Duane Roen
• Letters of Recommendation, Tamara Underiner
• Writing a Research Statement, Zak Holman
• Writing a Teaching Statement, Ida Malian
• Writing a Diversity Statement, Katina Michael

Shalinee Kavadiya, a postdoc in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, was instrumental in organizing the series and sourcing the instructors.

“I wanted to go into academia and was looking for a program where I could get help with my applications and tips on how to go into the academic job market because it's not easy,” Shalinee explained. “I thought, why not initiate this program to help myself and my other postdoctoral colleagues?”

“I learned that when you need help and don’t see a clear path you make the path!,” said Kavadiya.

“The postdoc office has a two-pronged approach to professional development,” explained Wiley Larsen, Postdoc Office program manager. “We want postdocs to be aware of all kinds of opportunities in the job market, and we want them to be as competitive as possible when they go after jobs they want. This series of workshops really helped our postdocs get a good foundation for putting together an academic job application packet.”

More professional development Lunch & Learn workshops will be offered in the spring. They will focus on acquiring industry jobs and forming entrepreneurial ventures based on research and technology. The Faculty Job Application Series will repeat in August 2020.