For the next few weeks, we will be hearing from DRS Member Prof. Emmanuel Tsekleves, Convenor of the Design Research Society Special Interest Group in Global Health, on his advice for PhD students and early career researchers. These posts will cover everything from writing, networking, finding a mentor, getting a job, applying for a research job, self-care and wellbeing and more. Watch this space for more articles from Prof. Tsekleves, and if you have ideas for a series like this, or want to share your voice with the DRS community, get in touch at editor@designresearchsociety.org.
I spent years navigating the hidden struggles in securing my own job and building a successful academic career.
When I was 25, I got my first lectureship. I was happy as I had several failed attempts before getting this. I had to learn the hard way and fast.
I had no advice, no support and no training on:
- how the academic hiring process works
- how to prep and write my application effectively
- how to communicate my skills and experiences in the application
- how to answer questions well at the interview
- how to stand out from other candidates
- how to negotiate my contract
I had limited networking opportunities, little teaching experience and no clear research profile and research independence.
Lots of mistakes, lots of learning.
Though, after landing my first academic job things did not go as smooth either.
I was drown in teaching and administrative tasks. Working late hours and weekends.
But still little to no time for research. Little time for family and friends. I was feeling frustrated, disappointed, uncertain about the future and stressed out.
I had many rejections for publications and research funding, not knowing why and how to change it.
I was burning out and I didn't know if I was good enough, what I was good at and if I was going to be successful.
Academia completely failed in teaching me how to land my first academic job as a PhD student. It also failed to teach me how to climb the academic ladder without burning out.
When I moved jobs to another institution I got a mentor. This changed everything!
I got inspired by and learnt how to focus my research, win grants, form high-quality international collaborations.
More importantly I learnt how to work less and achieve more. How to prioritise my daily tasks, become strategic with my actions and time and say no more often.
As a result I became a Full Professor (Chair) at a highly ranked UK University and Director of an international research Centre by the age of 40.
My mentor helped me develop my own academic career strategy, focus my research and start winning research grants.
In 2021, seeing my PhD students, postdocs, early career researchers, colleagues and friends struggling with getting jobs or burning out whilst getting on the academic career ladder, I decided to do something about it.
I have been in tens of hiring committees, reviewed over 200 job applications and interviewed 50+ applicants.
This has helped me gain valuable insights on how to secure a tenure-track job. What to do and equally importantly what not to do when you apply for a job or at an interview.
Now, I'm sharing my hard-earned insights. I am lifting the hood up of academic job applications and career development, showing the process underneath, so that other PhD students have a guiding light that helps them on their journey.
Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
- Get a free actionable daily tip on how to secure a tenure-track job in academic by following me on Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Join for free The Academic Insider Newsletter. Every Saturday morning, you will get ONE actionable tip on how to secure a tenure-track job in academia, in less than 4 minutes.
Good luck on your journey to becoming a lecturer or assistant professor—your future in academia awaits!