Any Associate/Full Professors on the Market?

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Any Associate/Full Professors on the Market?

dis-associate-ive professor (guest) 19 Nov 2015 20:45

Hello Fellow Job Searchers! I am hoping to open up a dialogue with any other Associate / Full Professors who may be on the market….or anyone who has a perspective on this issue…

Much of the information on this site pertains to first-time job seekers, or Assistant Profs seeking an early career move. Less discussion occurs regarding mid-career or old-timers in the field, but I think we are often in a qualitatively/quantitatively different situation. I do not have many of the same questions that an early-career person has - I know about cover letters and search committees, about the T&P process, etc. What I am most interested in is, why can't I successfully compete to find a (another) job!!!!???

I have mostly submitted applications (over the years) to R1 institutions, so there's that; but, I also regularly get interviews at these sites. I am starting to feel like Susan Lucci - always nominated, but never winning… Some people might say it is a component of my experience or productivity, but other than grant funding (which is hard for anyone to get), then I would say I am highly competitive (i.e., with regard to pubs {closing in on 100}/presentations {300+}/service/teaching/etc). Others might suggest that - if I get interviews, but no offers - that it may be a personality issue; however, such "problems" have not impacted my collaborations, mentoring, current/past jobs, etc., so I don't think I am some social pariah on interviews…

SO, I was hoping to open this up for discussion on the forum - I am looking forward to hearing from others that might be in, or have gone through, similar situations…..

2-cents (guest) 19 Nov 2015 22:40

I can't speak from experience, but I suspect grant $ would be the Elephant in the room.

Anon (guest) 19 Nov 2015 23:58

Grant $ and perception that you wouldn't leave? But mostly grant $ in R1s. Also, how cohesive is your program?

Why do they make me wait? (guest) 20 Nov 2015 01:18

Did those places end up hiring a someone else instead? Is there a way to see if there is some notable difference between their record or research focus that might explain the difference? Associates and Full hires are always a big risk because they are already tenured. Grant money is a potential issue. Do you sell a vision for how you will mentor junior faculty or otherwise contribute to the department internally or externally (e.g. prestige, research focus)

associanon (guest) 20 Nov 2015 17:04

I also think that the issue must be funding.

anonnn (guest) 20 Nov 2015 21:07

do you have a history of grant funding (even if they are smaller in scope….R03, R21, R34 etc)? Considering R01s are a requirement for tenure at many R1s, I'm willing to bet the funding is the issue (unless you have multiple smaller grants that demonstrate your line of research is in line w/ grant agency priorities, but just haven't hit the holy grail of an R01).

anon (guest) 21 Nov 2015 11:46

I agree that the lack of funding is likely the primary issue. The vast majority of R1s are looking for faculty members who can bring that component to their departments. That being said, the fact that you are getting interviews suggests that you are likely "close" and may just need to find the right department that doesn't value funding to quite the same degree.

anon (guest) 27 Nov 2015 22:16

The way I see it, asso or full prof positions are filled without any public ads in many cases. It appears networking matters.

alum (guest) 12 Dec 2015 17:17

I'm, currently a tenured associate professor at a research focused (but not "R1") university. An assistant prof position just opened up at my alma mater, which is a medium sized private university back home. Doesn't seem like my dream job, but it's in a dream location for me. Currently, I have a dream job, but I hate living in this part of the country/town/etc.

Any advice on how to address this in the cover letter?

More generally, I'm worried I'll simply be thrown out of the pool for already being tenured and not having federal funding, but this target job isn't a place where people do very much research or typically get funding anyway. Any thoughts or advice on this part?

alum (guest) 12 Dec 2015 17:18

More specifically, the ad mostly focuses on being able to teach courses X Y or Z (I can teach all of them), and makes almost no mention of research.

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