Sometimes I help clients decide whether to turn down a job. Yes, that’s right. Even in this tough labour market some of my clients are deciding not to take jobs. These aren’t easy choices to make. I’ve written before about how you are not desperate. That post focused on applying for the right jobs. What […]
Read More »Making sense of the cuts
There has been a lot of head shaking, confusion and anger in the wake of the recent Canadian federal budget. Academics value evidence, reason, and rational argument. The cuts just don’t make sense. What happens if we turn the question around? How do we make sense of what appear to be nonsensical policies? The Conservative […]
Read More »Just because it doesn’t feel productive…
A couple of my clients are working on writing projects right now. And some weeks, their updates are less than enthusiastic. They are discouraged by their progress.
Here’s a different angle on reading that doesn’t feel like real research.
You might spend a lot of time reading with a particular project in mind only to discover that nothing you read is going to end up in what you are writing.
Although that feels like you wasted several hours reading stuff you didn’t need to read, it was actually time well spent.
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What is “research”?
In early 2012, Rohan Maitzen published a few very thoughtful posts about what counts are research, the apparent conflict between research and teaching, and related issues. One of these, “When is Reading Research?”, really highlights some of the underlying issues. “When we talk about “doing research,” I think we conventionally mean reading in service of a […]
Read More »Academia is not a world apart
Most of the time when I sit down to write posts, I have a particular audience in mind. Most of my clients are tenured or tenure-track academics in the social sciences and humanities, or the equivalent. Sometimes I have specific individuals in mind when I write, even though I am writing about the issue because […]
Read More »Proactive professional development
Under no circumstances should you wait around for someone to notice what a good fit you would be for a particular role/position/committee and sponsor you out of the goodness of their heart.
The people with the power and influence to do that are very busy. They aren’t spending a lot of time looking around for hidden gems. Prepare your case and go to them.
Read More »Volunteer before you’re drafted
If your level of frustration with your working hours is more about what you are doing in them than how many of them you are working, how do you increase the proportion of your time spent doing things that are meaningful? Try this suggestion from the #femlead Twitter chat. (Which sadly doesn’t happen any more.) […]
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Is “number of hours” the right measure?
Recently a client asked me to help her figure out how to work less. She is frustrated by long hours, working weekends, and so on. She figures at this stage of her career, she should be able to have a better balance. As we worked together, it became clear to me that the number of […]
Read More »Facing the unknown
The unknown can be overwhelming. You are about to finish whatever educational program you are in right now. Or, you are really unhappy with the job you have. Or, you can see that the company you work for is likely to lay people off or even go out of business. The problem is you have […]
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Permission to do the scholarly work you want to do
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Permission to do the scholarly work you want to do Are you telling yourself that you should be doing something that you really don’t think is valuable? Are there gremlins telling you that the work you want to be doing isn’t really scholarly? Or that it’s unfashionable (“No one […]
Read More »Context is everything
When you were in high school, you were consistently getting As. Those grades got you into a good undergraduate program, possibly one that was hard to get into. You got scholarships. Prizes. You applied for post-graduate programmes. The minimum grades required were high but you had them. You applied for funding. This might be where […]
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Are you treating your research like a hobby?
Most academics are paid to do research. Research is part of your job description. Research figures prominently in the criteria for hiring, tenure/confirmation, and promotion. This can feel out of sync with the reality of your daily life in the university. You teach. You attend meetings. You do the work necessary to do those 2 […]
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