The theory

In what follows we assume that you are looking for your first permanent or tenure-track academic post. In the UK this would be Lecturer, in the US Assistant Professor. There are two ways of getting such a post: either by internal promotion or by applying for an advertised post. As the latter case is more typical, we focus on it here.

As there are not many academic jobs available at any given time, the competition for them is fierce – as many as 100 people can apply for each post. Therefore, you will probably need to write several application letters before you get invited for an interview and you may only get a job offer after several interviews. In order to increase your chances of success you need to search widely, do a lot of preparation and planning and hone your interview skills. Interviewing is a communication process centred on talking and listening. It is different from a conversation as an interview is structured. Traditionally, it is conducted face-to-face, but nowadays people can be interviewed by telephone or via a video-link. While statements of factual knowledge and information on a candidate’s attitudes and beliefs can be gathered in all three types of interview, a telephone interview misses non-verbal messages. In this sense both you and the interview panel lose important information.