How to give an academic job talk.

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How to give an academic job talk.

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Күн бұрын

Job talks for faculty positions (also relevant for postdocs) are some of the most important moments in our academic lives. Here are some pointers, from decades of experience on search committees (in biology)...hope you find it useful.
Assistant professor, associate professor, full professor - it doesn't matter; the rules are the same. There may be differences from country to country, but the basic strategy will be the same.
0:00 Intro
0:26 This is not (just) a research seminar!
0:59 Invest energy and stay on time (assume here 30 min)
1:35 How to start (2-3 min)
3:04 Content slides (20 min)
4:09 Lose them for a moment (30 s)
5:34 Conclusion (1-2 min)
5:55 Don't forget the all-important outlook! (5 min)
6:12 What is your contribution to the place?
7:20 Name collaborators as examples
9:00 Fin
#academic #interview #job #seminar #faculty #professorship #professor #postdoc #academia #jobtalk #interviewtips #phdlife #academicsuccess #academia #jobinterview #jobtalks #assistantprofessor #assistantprofessorinterview
Matthias Rillig, professor of ecology at Freie Universität Berlin, chats about life in academia.
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Пікірлер: 58

@mrillig 3 жыл бұрын

If you find this general topic of faculty interviews/ application interesting, let me know what else you would like to know!

@elisamafiosa 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this informative video! As a follow-up: I'd be very interested in hearing about typical questions that are asked during the actual interviews for faculty positions in Germany.

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

@@elisamafiosa Sorry for the late response, but I have now made a video on faculty interviews (not necessarily specific for Germany) in general. Perhaps you find it useful.

@marekmutwil6416 2 жыл бұрын

Could you please let us know how to write a good research statement for e.g., faculty positions?

@user-lt6rm2bg2c Жыл бұрын

the suggestion of "1 technical slide" will benefit me lifetime

@mrillig Жыл бұрын

Great! thanks!

@spideramazon5032 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting! I particularly liked the one-slide trick in which complex technical details are presented during the talk... The provided info are of great use for researchers who would like to pursue an academic career. This of course does not apply to DE but in countries where normal scientists can still manage to get positions in academia, incl. US, UK, IE, FR, DK, FL, SE, NO, to name a few...

@mrillig Жыл бұрын

Thanks! And it has helped me get a job (and several position offers) in Germany, and other people as well.....even though I get your point! :)

@ronan-dm5xc 2 жыл бұрын

I subscribed immediately after watching this videos! So helpful and concise!

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot! Glad you find it useful.

@wl9318 4 ай бұрын

Thank you so much, sincerely.

@mrillig 4 ай бұрын

thanks, glad you liked it!

@behnazm430 10 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for the great tips! They were super clear and to the point.

@mrillig 10 ай бұрын

Thanks; glad you found this useful!

@ManuelRelativista 2 жыл бұрын

This is a very useful video to prepare my postdoc job talk next week. Thanks!

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Glad to hear this, and good luck with your talk!

@liamcahill7245 Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this video. This is extremely good advice.

@mrillig Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@kingsta4145 Жыл бұрын

Really helpful video - thank you

@mrillig Жыл бұрын

Thanks very much! glad you liked it.

@wajidumar4300 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you Prof. Rillig for sharing a piece of nice information.

@mrillig 3 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@RenataB503 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for all your great tips!

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much!

@DrWainkwa 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for sharing this Prof Rilling. I learnt alot

@mrillig 3 жыл бұрын

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

@nirajanibudhathoki2921 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I'll be giving a 10-minute job presentation soon. The interview panel has asked that I give a presentation on my research accomplishments and fitness for the role. It appears to be challenging. Should I present only on two themes such as achievement and suitability only? I will highly appreciate your suggestion Prof.

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching, and good luck with the interview. On your presentation: if this is what they want, then yes, then you should cover these two points. If I were you, I would emphasize how your previous research accomplishments define the fit to the job. In others words, stuff you have done that doesn't seem directly relevant, I would only mention in passing, and instead make clear how you could fulfill the role outlined in the job description.

@zaiha82 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. I have an interview soon. Your video was very helpful. I would be interesting about teaching demonstration.

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you found this helpful, thanks for watching. I'll think about making a video about the teaching demo, but I suspect this is going to be rather specialized to particular fields. Good luck with your interview!

@lucybrooks00 Ай бұрын

This is very helpful thank you for making these videos. In regards to talking about fit with the institution, what do these slides tend to look like? Are they mainly bullets? And how fleshed out should potential collaborations be?

@mrillig Ай бұрын

Thanks. Yes, these can just be bullet points; or if you have a graphical representation of where your research is headed, you can also add this in there (the names of collaborators). I wouldn't put a fleshed out collaborative program in there, but I would think about these if this comes up. Nothing is more lame than putting someone on a slide as a collaborator, and then drawing a blank when that person asks a follow-up. So: make sure this has substance! :)

@user-hv7lc3pj9x 11 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for your helpful video. If possible, could you please give us some tips for preparing teaching demo as well. Many thanks.

@mrillig 11 ай бұрын

Thanks! I'll think about the teaching demo; but I think this is a lot more country-specific.

@avaspakrashi3053 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much ..

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, glad you liked it.

@avaspakrashi3053 2 жыл бұрын

@@mrillig kindly use a microphone while recording.. the sound output is not that great. Thanks again for the helpful content.

@emmanuelameyaw9735 10 ай бұрын

The problem is actually too many candidates for one role.😊. Even if they all perform well...there is just one role. Good advice though. May the best candidate win.

@mrillig 10 ай бұрын

Yep, that is true; there are many candidates for any one position. But it never happens that all perform well...

@elikintisch1046 4 ай бұрын

Fantastic advice. But is it a little weird to name potential collaborators who you haven't discussed it with? Or should you discuss with them before you name them on a slide IE perhaps could be viewed as presumptive that you could do x y z with prominent people in the school...

@mrillig 4 ай бұрын

No, it's not weird. And you don't need to discuss this with the persons named, since you just list them as potential collaborators. But it should be real, like this is a real collaboration you could see yourself doing, not just lip service. If it seems fake, it can backfire.

@AnnaHolmquist-ccg 5 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for your videos! Do you have any tips for interviewing for a research-based curator position in the US?

@mrillig 5 ай бұрын

Thanks! I don't have any specific tips beyond making sure that you explain how you will mobilize the collection for your own research and for that of others. Other than that, the suggestions in this video will still apply. Good luck with your interview!

@hodulakr 2 жыл бұрын

Hey Prof. Rilling, I'm looking into techniques on how to talk with an academic neutral tone. Do you think you could make a video on that?

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion. It's actually an interesting topic, and will think about it. :)

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

There is now a video on the tone of a presentation, inspired by your request: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nd51lcSGktmRm6M.html

@FionaLynch-zr6fk Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for such a profound talk! Can I ask: what if I have changed my research areas during my postdoc, should I include both PhD work and postdoc work in the research presentation (20 mins)?

@mrillig Жыл бұрын

Thanks for writing. If the two topics cannot make a coherent story then I would drop the PhD work, but (depending on how many years you are into your postdoc and thus if you have enough material from your postdoc alone) it would be desirable to have some convincing way to weave the two research areas together, maybe even in terms of methodology, etc., perhaps even a brief mention would be ok. It's always preferable to show continuity in one's career.

@FionaLynch-zr6fk Жыл бұрын

@@mrillig Thanks very much! Thats very helpful!

@cassandrahesse1247 Жыл бұрын

Do you have any advice for applicants who apply before their PhD is complete?

@mrillig Жыл бұрын

Employment-type questions are difficult to talk about, since they differ so much from country to country (or even among institutions). Here, for example, if you have not completed a PhD you cannot be considered during the application screening, and this is quite different at other places. The only real advice I can give: find out what the rules are that pertain to your situation.

@mr.chindo8570 2 жыл бұрын

Sir how about 10 minute job talk... I'm comfortable with 25 minutes talk... But recently I received a email to present a 10 minutes research presentation and 15 minutes teaching demonstration.... The former is tricky but later is okay

@mrillig 2 жыл бұрын

For a job talk that's really short, unless this is not for a faculty position. If it is shorter, I would scale everything in proportion to the 25 min version. If everybody in the audience is familiar with the topic in your situation, you can cut the intro somewhat shorter, and start less general. Good luck!

@mr.chindo8570 2 жыл бұрын

@@mrillig thank you, sir. it was for a faculty position... I did well in the job talk and interview... I hope I hear from the university soon... thank you again...