Don't Go It Alone

Gene C. Fant, Jr. at The Chronicle of Higher Education's On Hiring blog says that budding academicians ought to "have a mentor before going on the [job] market." Just like most journals don't publish papers subjected only to a single review, a tenure-track applicant would be remiss to allow a search committee "to be the sole reader/adviser to one's pursuit of an academic position," he adds. To that end, Fant says that "the importance of having strong, assertive mentorship in the hiring process … cannot be overemphasized." Tenure-track applicants should seek out mentors — or, at the very least, peers, he says — to read through their application materials and help them keep their aspirations in check. "Being on the market is very much like being involved in peer-reviewed research," Fant says. "Applicants must have people review their thoughts and their applications, providing feedback at every stage of the process."