Academic Careers

In weekly 90-minute seminar-style meetings, group members will have the opportunity to:

• share their academic job search progress
• discuss aspects of the academic job search process (CVs, job talks, etc.)
• develop their communication and pedagogical skills through short presentations and discussion facilitation
• review and have their own documents reviewed by peers and career advisors
• practice for interviews, job talks and teaching demos
• draft the components of an academic job application

Weekly topics:

1. Welcome: Community Guidelines and Finding Jobs
2. Application: CV/CL
3. Application: Research Statement and EDI Statement
4. Application: Teaching Portfolio
5. Interview: Campus Visits, Teaching Demos, Job Talks
6. Offer: Decisions/Negotiation

A CaPS staff member will be present to help facilitate the meetings and provide non-discipline specific career development advice.

Note: Accelerate is a space for job search discussion and peer review from fellow academic job seekers. If you are more interested in learning about the academic job search in a structured workshop format, check out CaPS’ Academic Career Series coming in September 2024.

Academic Career Resources

Please note that CaPS and McGill do not endorse any particular websites/services; the listing below is for your information only.

• CVs & Résumés
• Cover Letters
• Teaching Portfolios
• Interviews
• Reference Letters
• Salary Information
• Academic Jobs
• Career Planning

Academic CVs & Résumés

For a list of sample CVs or résumés, consult the following sites:

• Samples for Academic Positions (UCSF)
• Creating Your Academic CV for Masters and PhDs PDF (University of Toronto)
• Cover letter, CV and resume samples (UBC)
• CV for faculty job applications (University of Pennsylvania)
• List of Vitae CV examples (Vitae)
  Registration is required to see the samples.

Articles of Interest

Consult the following sites for tips and advice on writing academic résumés / CVs.

• Creating an effective academic CV (Vitae)
• Dr. Karen's rules of the academic CV (Dr. Karen)
• Explain the gap in your resume (UA)
• Preparing your application package for an academic job (UA)
• Presenting scholarly work on your CV (UA)
• Resume writing tips for academics (UA)
• Writing an effective academic CV (Elsevier)

Academic Cover Letters

For a list of sample cover letters, consult the following sites:

• Academic cover letter sample (OWL)
• Cover letters for faculty job application (University of Pennsylvania)
• Sample cover letter for an advertised position (The Chronicle)
• Sample cover letter when no position has been advertised (The Chronicle)
• Sample cover letter for a one-year position (The Chronicle)

Articles of Interest

Consult the following sites for tips and advice on writing academic cover letters.

• A dozen sentences (Inside Higher Ed)
• Beyond the one-page cover letter (The Chronicle)
• Those 12 sentences: Evaluating cover letter advice (The Professor Is In.)
• Understanding cover letters (Inside Higher Ed)

Teaching Portfolios

Developing a great personal teaching portfolio or statement is crucial. For a list of sample portfolio or research statement, visit the following websites.

• McGill Teaching and Learning Services
  Guidelines, samples and consultation.
• Writing Your Teaching Philosophy (University of Minnesota)
• Writing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement (Ohio State University)
• Application materials for the faulty job search (University of Pennsylvania)

Articles of Interest

Consult the following sites for tips and advice on developing your teaching portfolio / statement.

• Developing a teaching portfolio (UA)
• How to prepare a teaching dossier (UA)
• Video: What's included in a teaching dossier (UA)

Academic Interviews

Consult the following websites for a list of sample interview questions for academic jobs.

• Same Typical Academic Interview Questions (On the Cutting Edge)
• Two-Year College Interview Questions (On the Cutting Edge)

Articles of Interest

Tips and advice on how to prepare for an academic job interview as well as what to expect in the first round interview.

• Preparing for the academic job interview (UA)
• Preparing for the tenure-track interview (UA)
• The actual job interview - what to expect (UA)
• What to ask - and not to ask - in your interview (The Chronicle)
• What to expect in a first-round interview (The Chronicle)

Reference Letters

Tips and advice on how to ask for a recommendation or reference letter.

• Writing effective reference letters (McGill GPS)
• How to ask for a reference letter (UA)
• Sample faculty reference letter (NACE)
• Sample teaching recommendation letters (Penn State)

Salary Information

Use the following websites to find out average academic salary or stipends.

• Academic salary policy and data (McGill APO)
• Faculty salary explorer (The Chronicle)
• Research salaries (USA) (The Adjunct Project)

Articles of Interest

Consult the following sites for tips and advice on salary negotiation.

• 36 negotiable items in an academic position (On the Cutting Edge)
• How to Negotiate your Tenure Track Offer (The Professor is In)
• Data on number of professors and their salaries released after five-year hiatus (UA)
• The best problem: dealing with more than one job offer (The Chronicle)

Academic Job Boards

Academic Job Websites
Academic job boards in Canada, USA, Europe and around the world.

Networking

Join one or more groups to connect with alumni and professionals in your field to build your network and find job leads.

• McGillConnect
  Join the global McGill community to build and expand your network.
• Academia.edu
  A platform for academics to share research interests.
• Academia Stack Exchange
  A question and answer site for academics and those enrolled in higher education.
• Academic Jobs Wiki
  A information-sharing platform for academic job candidates.
• LinkedIn - McGill University
  Connect McGill alumni on LinkedIn to build your network.
• Connect with alumni from your faculty, department or professionals in your field to expand your network and find job opportunities.

Career Planning

Career information, tips and advice for those who are interested in landing an academic job.

• Creating a simple and effective academic personal website (Elsevier)
• Commencing the academic job search - impetus and deadlines (UA)
• Deconstructing the academic job offer letter (UA)
• Do's and don't's to land an academic job interview (UA)
• Preparing your application package for an academic job (UA)
• The academic job search - getting your foot in the door (UA)
• Tips for success on your path to tenure (Elsevier)

For more career resources, consult the following resources:

• Academic career books (Available in the McGill Library)