Researching your prospective employer is key to any good job application and interview. I’ve collated three key tips that will give you the edge over those who simply stick to departmental websites.
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This post is a brief reflection on how to deal with the fact that you might not be the only one working on “your” topic.
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Interview feedback is difficult to approach, both giving and receiving. As someone who has more often been on the receiving end, I’ve found directly helpful feedback to be the exception rather than the rule. So, this post is about how to interpret feedback which might not tell you as much as you want. For me, […]
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You’re close to submitting your PhD, to passing your viva voce examination with flying colours, and to be awarded your doctorate. At various stages in these final months of your existence as a PhD student certain scary thoughts – of the practical kind – enter your mind repeatedly and persistently. When will my university email […]
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Some of the most common questions with which PhD researchers are concerned focus on how they should set their priorities during their doctoral studies. What else, and how much of it, should you do next to researching and writing your thesis? As so often, I can’t answer this for all PhD students in all disciplines, […]
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Claire Warden, Senior Lecturer in Drama (University of Lincoln), shares her experience of the process of writing her first monograph.
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Fiona Handyside, Senior Lecturer in French (University of Exeter), reflects on her first time submitting and receiving feedback on a book proposal.
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Louise C. Platt thinks back to her first time applying for funding via the research councils’ online system.
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Kit Kapphahn recounts her experience of her first ever paper at a postgraduate conference.
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Heidi Yeandle reflects on her first time marking undergraduate essays.
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Imogen Clarke shares her experience of presenting at her first international conference.
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The key skill that all PGRs and ECRs need to acquire is juggling. The thesis, the further research, the teaching, the first lecture or seminar, the networking, the conference presentation, the proposals to publishers, the admin . . . and on . . . and on. The bad news is that the quantity never gets […]
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Academic job interviews can take a variety of forms, and I’ve experienced a few different kinds of job interview – both from the perspective of a candidate, as well as from the perspective of a member of the interview panel. As with any public speaking engagement, preparation is essential and managing your nerves on the […]
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Academia often seems filled to brimming with misanthropy merchants, doom prognosticators and naysayers. It is true, however, that we do have to deal with an unusually high degree of scrutiny, evaluation and appraisal in our professional lives. This can take a toll on even the most Polyanna-ish of characters. It is a tough gig, and […]
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I’m a second-career academic. I had another entire life in schools and did my Ph.D. when I finally worked out that I didn’t want to be a headteacher forever. I was very lucky to be offered a position jointly funded by the state education department I worked for and one of the local universities; I […]
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It’s almost a cathartic experience to write a piece on tips for research survival for new academics. I certainly wish that something like this had been around when I was an ECR in the early 2000s. As earlier posts have noted though, academia is a different ballgame now. The pressures on new academics are huge […]
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Unless you’ve been asleep in the library for the past few years, you’ll almost certainly have heard about the REF (Research Excellence Framework); but you might be less aware of exactly what it is, how it affects you as a researcher, and what you need to do to prepare. In this post I’ll highlight the […]
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It seems like a lifetime away since I was an ECR (it was from the early to mid 2000s so not that long ago), but I feel that I’ve learned a lot on my way to becoming a lecturer. My top survival tips are based on my experiences, observations and knowledge gained, and are relevant […]
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