4 ways to find top academic jobs
Academic jobs — While some people covet the opportunity to get an academic job, others view them as boring and joyless. So many hours of reading papers on a variety of topics. I know, pretty sweet (Okay, nerdy too!). It’s like being paid to do what you love.
A successful academic job search requires thorough self-assessment, knowledge of the field, characteristics of the universities, and a well thought out strategy. Academic jobs are hard to get, but they’re not that hard if you know where to look. In this blog post, we’ll share some tips regarding where and how to find academic jobs.
There are three factors to consider before starting searching for open positions in the academic job market:
The field of study
The field of study doesn’t have to be the one you have the most experience with or in line with your undergrad or master’s degree topics. In fact, most professors end up in a completely different field on their academic journey. While it should still be a related area to your undergrad degree, It’s never too late to pick a different field of study to work for. While you can be very specific for your study field, you could also go with a couple of different disciplines for the starter and decide during the application process. For example, a math undergrad can have an academic career in computer science.
The location of the Institution
Supposing the field of study is already determined, the first step before starting an academic job search would be deciding from which universities or locations you would be accepting job offers. Every academic job post will have different requirements, questions, and specifications for the application. So, you don’t want to apply for jobs you wouldn’t accept if you’re chosen for an interview. It would otherwise be exhausting for you. Make a Google Sheet with a list of countries, cities, and universities from which you’d accept job offers. And then accompany that list with detailed columns like application deadline, location, specific requirements, interview dates, etc. You may want to apply for anywhere from 10 to 50 positions depending on your competence and ambition.
Job type and academic position
There are two types of jobs at universities: Administrative/Staff Jobs or Academic/Faculty Jobs. Administrative/Staff jobs are the ones that manage the non-academic side of the university. Although some university administrators also work as lecturers, they do not have the same responsibilities as faculty members. They may be in charge of activities such as admissions, construction, safety, and residence life, all of which are crucial to the university’s smooth administration. University administrators oversee the university’s day-to-day operations, such as supervising personnel in the school’s offices, drafting budgets, and serving as a liaison with students’ parents. A university administrator may also collaborate on initiatives with students.
Academic jobs (faculty jobs), on the other hand, are entitled to responsibilities of conducting research, teaching, or both with an advanced degree, such as a PhD, at a university or college. There’s no uniform academic title standard. They could differ from country to country but most countries adopt either the US version, the UK version, or a slightly different version of those for their academic rank titles:
Academic Rank Titles in the United Kingdom vs United States
| UK | US |
| Undergrad | Undergrad |
| Post-Grad | Grad |
| Post-Doc | Post-Doc |
| Lecturer | Assistant Professor |
| Reader/Senior Lecturer | Associate Professor |
| Professor | Full Professor |
Come to mention it, there’s a decrease in the percentage of Ph.D. ‘s who find academic jobs by graduation (source):
So, making a list of academic institutions is crucial to track them properly. Here’s a template you can use. You cannot edit this copy. All you need is to go to File>Make a copy to create a copy and make it your own:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OuAi4PIRT82IT-vGfVgTfAnzw72_2foWiA-MtTqQ2vo/edit?usp=sharing
If you don’t want to leave the city you’re living in but would still love to work for an institution in another city, or even in another country, COVID-19 actually made this possible. With the effects of Covid-19, universities realized that most of the research jobs, as well as teaching jobs, can actually be done remotely. And some positions are not going back from remote even after the pandemic. Data shows that more than 50% of the positions in Sweden’s academic job market in 2021 are remote.
1) University Websites
If you’re interested in working at a certain institution, look for open positions on the HR / Career / Job / Employment section of the university’s website, as well as the web pages of specific departments within universities. The main problem with this method is that if you are open to academic jobs in any region of the world, or even in your country, possibilities are limitless. And it is quite time-consuming to find the job posts for every position that is open. And quite frankly, you have to check those websites at least once a month because they might post a job the day after you check their website the last time. Also, the process might be challenging in terms of keeping track of all the positions you ever applied for. So, keeping an excel file or google sheets will be handy as you continue the application process.
Direct links to some of the job listings on university websites:
- https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/
- https://jobs.lse.ac.uk/
- https://careersearch.stanford.edu/
- https://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/
- https://www.jobs.ox.ac.uk/
- https://www.nus.edu.sg/
- https://ncc.metu.edu.tr/sfl/job-opportunities
- https://jobs.universityofcalifornia.edu/
- https://www.sorbonne.ae/work-with-us/vacancies/
- https://www.uva.nl/en/about-the-uva/working-at-the-uva/working-at-the-uva.html
- https://www.tum.de/en/about-tum/working-at-tum/open-positions
- https://www.su.se/english/about-the-university/work-at-su/available-jobs
- https://www.ntnu.edu/vacancies
- https://www.dtu.dk/english/about/job-and-career
- https://jobs.berkeley.edu/job-listings
2) Networking
When you are looking for a job, networking pays off. Whether you are a recent graduate or even an experienced professional, networking is one of the best ways to get your foot in the door. Having a personal connection with someone who has the power to hire you can open a lot of doors and help land interviews that might have otherwise been inaccessible.
Attending an academic conference is another great way to network for job opportunities. An academic conference is usually held for 5 days and includes a reception, hundreds of presentations, many coffee breaks & lunch breaks, and social activities & tours. Establishing a relationship with your peers would not be easier because you’re not only spending time in the session rooms with academic debates but also socializing with them throughout the conference. Most academic conferences have concurrent sessions so attending all sessions is not possible. You have to review the conference program beforehand and mark the “must attend” sessions beforehand.
Conferencealerts.com would be a good start to searching for conferences. Three things to keep in mind when choosing the right conference for you:
• Make sure the conference theme is not too broad and it’s the type of conference that your prospective recruiters in your field of study may actually attend. There are some “predatory” conferences that accept papers from a variety of different disciplines that are run like a “business” that you want to avoid.
• Check prior year’s conference proceedings to see how many attendants there were and were there any professors you may have wanted to meet.
• If you’re on a budget, you may ask for a discount from the conference organizers for a non-presenting attendee. Or you can help them with simple tasks during the conference in exchange for attending specific sessions you’re interested in.
Apart from the traditional academic conferences, a job fair with an attendance of a university would also be a starter for networking and eventually getting a job at a university.
3) Unidemics
While it can be challenging for the academics to keep track of the open positions in their field of study in a certain region throughout the year, it also takes a lot of effort for the universities to attract the top talent for their institution. Unidemics is a dedicated website that brings universities and academics together for the recruitment process. It makes it easy for the candidates because they can:
• Overview job posts at a glance without reading the full description.
• Filter and sort jobs according to their field of study, region, or job type.
• Set an alert for a job keyword within a certain radius so that we can notify you via email if any job in your criteria is ever posted (Example: Accounting Professor in New York).
• Not get distracted by non-academic jobs because Unidemics won’t publish any job posts unrelated to academia.
After making a search, you can set an alert as follows to get notified of your search term periodically
Unidemics also makes it easy for the recruiters because they can:
• Have their job post exposed to the maximum number of candidates
• Sort the qualified applicants at ease
• Have an overview of their information at a glance and shortlist or save them
• Keep the recruitment process (with the instant messaging feature) on Unidemics to protect your privacy
Whether you’re just starting out your academic career or you’re a full professor, Unidemics will be your go-to choice to land your next dream job in academia.
4) Other Online Job Boards:
While there are some other job boards you can check, they might not be as specifically made for academic positions as Unidemics.com:
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HigherEdJobs (www.higheredjobs.com): This is a comprehensive platform for a wide range of academic positions, including administrative, faculty, and executive roles across various disciplines and levels. You can search for jobs by category, location, institution type, and even specify criteria like dual career or remote opportunities.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education Jobs (www.jobs.chronicle.com): This site is a prominent resource for academic job seekers, offering listings for positions like provosts, academic advisors, lecturers, and assistant professors across various universities and colleges.
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H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online (www.h-net.org): Particularly valuable for those in the humanities and social sciences, H-Net provides a database of academic jobs in the U.S. It also offers additional resources like newsletters, book reviews, teaching materials, and bibliographies.
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Inside Higher Ed (careers.insidehighered.com): This platform offers not just job listings but also valuable career advice and compensation data. A unique feature is their Dual Career Search tool, which is especially helpful for couples in academia seeking positions in proximity to each other.
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Academic Jobs Wiki (academicjobs.wikia.com): Although it can be a bit unorthodox, the Academic Jobs Wiki offers a crowd-sourced collection of job listings and updates on job search progress. It’s particularly useful for getting insights into specific fields and job search experiences from peers.
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Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) (www.hercjobs.org): HERC is a consortium aimed at recruiting diverse candidates for faculty and staff jobs. It offers a tool to help couples find jobs near each other, addressing the common “two-body problem” in academia.
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UniversityJobs.com (www.universityjobs.com): This online service focuses on career opportunities in higher education globally. It’s a valuable resource for finding diverse academic positions across various institutions worldwide.
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Times Higher Education (THE) Jobs (www.timeshighereducation.com): THEunijobs lists academic and university jobs, offering filters by job type, academic discipline, and location. It’s useful for finding positions ranging from professorships and research roles to administrative positions.
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Academic Positions (academicpositions.com): This site is tailored for jobs in academia, particularly in fields like electrical engineering, programming languages, and machine learning. It offers job alerts and resources to support your academic career.
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Academic 360 (resilienteducator.com): A collection of internet resources including faculty, staff, and administrative positions, searchable by discipline, position type, and geographic location, both nationally and internationally.
In conclusion, embarking on the journey to find your ideal academic job can be both challenging and rewarding. As we’ve explored various resources and strategies, it’s clear that a tailored approach, combined with the right tools, can significantly enhance your job search. Among these tools, Unidemics.com stands out as a particularly valuable resource. Its user-friendly platform offers a wide range of academic positions at top universities and research institutions, making it easier for you to find opportunities that align perfectly with your academic aspirations and career goals. Whether you’re a seasoned professor or a budding researcher, Unidemics.com can be your gateway to the next exciting chapter in your academic journey. So, as you step forward, remember to leverage the power of Unidemics.com – where your academic career advancement is just a few clicks away.