Preparing for Faculty Job Applications Series

This Fall series of participatory workshops focuses on the academic job market and addresses topics such as writing teaching, research, and diversity statements; creating ePortfolios; managing your online presence; and preparing for interviews.

  • All workshops are FREE to attend and are facilitated through Zoom. The Zoom meeting link is provided after registration.
  • Materials from the series will be made available in the Preparing Faculty Job Applications Resources Shared Folder. Use your UArizona email and password to access the folder.

Schedule and Descriptions - Fall 2023

  • All times are in Mountain Standard (Arizona Time)
  • All sessions are FREE to register for and attend. Registration is required for each session of the series.

Overview of Academic Career Pathways

  • September 5, 2023, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM
  • Facilitator: Dr. Vignesh Subbian, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Systems & Industrial Engineering
  • Navigating the job market can be a daunting task, especially for PhDs. This introductory workshop focuses on what career paths you can consider as someone with advanced doctoral or postdoctoral training. Attendees will gain insight into the career pathways within academia and higher education and how to begin navigating each path. The workshop is open to individuals in all disciplines. A separate workshop on pathways outside of academia and higher education will be offered at another time.
  • Register on Handshake

Creating ePortfolios and an Online Presence

  • September 12, 2023, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitator: Phyllis Brodsky, Associate Professor of Practice, University Center for Assessment, Teaching, & Technology
  • Building and maintaining a professional online presence is becoming a necessity for an academic career. Part of an academic identity is a cohesive and comprehensive professional portfolio, which often includes a teaching philosophy statement, representative sample of instructional materials, research materials, and evidence of teaching effectiveness. In this workshop, we will discuss the purpose and characteristics of an effective professional portfolio, strategies for an engaging portfolio design, and share examples of online portfolios.
  • Register on Handshake

Developing your Teaching and Research Statements

  • September 19, 2023, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitator: Dr Erin Galyen – Professor of Practice, University Center for Assessment, Teaching, & Technology
  • Teaching and research statements represent core elements of the faculty job application, as they communicate not only what you can do, but also who you are. In this workshop, participants will engage in individual exercises and group discussions to begin to develop or refine their Teaching and Research Statements, including working with sample statements. Participants will also discuss what evidence is appropriate to include and ways to communicate or represent evidence in these statements, such as results from research, Teacher Course Evaluations, and other types of research and teaching data.
  • Register on Handshake

Writing Diversity Statements

  • September 26, 2023, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitator: Dr. Mascha Gemein, Assistant Professor of Practice, University Center for Assessment, Teaching & Technology
  • With growing dedication to inclusivity and accessibility, educational institutions frequently ask for explicit statements about our diversity-responsive beliefs and practices. There is little research to date about how hiring committees are evaluating these statements but some common expectations are becoming clear. We’ll help you identify and articulate your investment in inclusive and diversity-responsive teaching, research, and service. We will alternate individual writing exercises and brief discussions to systematically work through conceptualizing and drafting (or revising) your diversity statement.
  • Register on Handshake

Writing Your Curriculum Vitae and Cover Letter

  • October 3, 2023, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitator: Dr. Shawn Nordell, Associate Director of Graduate Career Services, Assistant Professor of Practice in the Graduate College
  • Your curriculum vitae (CV) is often the first document read by a search committee, so it needs to be comprehensive, tailored for the position and school, and easy to digest. The cover letter is your opportunity to highlight your experiences that make you a terrific candidate for a position at a specific school. In this workshop, we will review the content and formats of CVs as well as how to create a tailored cover letter that showcases your academic achievements and represents you as an excellent fit for the job.
  • Register on Handshake

Preparing for the Academic Job Interview

  • October 10, 2023, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitators: Dr. Jenny Hoit, Director of Postdoctoral Affairs, Professor of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences
  • For any college faculty position, job interviews not only involve fielding questions about teaching experience from various stakeholders, but also commonly include teaching demonstrations that range from a short audition to guest teaching in actual courses. For faculty positions that also involve research, questions about research and a research talk are expected. This workshop will cover the nature of the academic interview process and how to prepare for the interview. Participants will be given the opportunity to practice answering actual interview questions.
  • Register on Handshake

Questions: Contact Shawn Nordell, Associate Director of Graduate Career Services (nordell@arizona.edu)