Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Surviving and Thriving in Uncertain Times Uncertainty is stressful. Things are always uncertain. We have limited control over the future. My approach to supporting academics focuses on identifying the things you can control, while being flexible enough to change track if necessary. The most important component of this approach is […]
Read More »Finding Your Way: Academic life as a journey
One of the great attractions of an academic career is the level of autonomy and freedom that you have. Some possible paths are clearly marked. Others are less obvious. Roadblocks are a frequent problem. Regardless of your stage of career, posts in this section help you identify the signposts and make decisions.
A story from… A Meeting With Your Writing
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · A Story from A Meeting With Your Writing If you’re a long-time member or someone new researching how you can add some accountability to your writing goals, here is a story from A Meeting With Your Writing – my weekly series of virtual writing groups to help you learn […]
Read More »Writing a research statement
A research statement is a common component of the academic job application. The purpose of this document is to give the hiring committee a sense of what you will be doing if they hire you so they can see how that fits into the department and institution as a whole. The research statement is like […]
Read More »Taking on a leadership role
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · Taking on a leadership role Taking on a management/leadership role, even at the department level is a big deal. You might be really excited about the possibilities and have all kinds of plans for how you can make things better (for some value of “better”). But you also know […]
Read More »Prestigious journals & wider impact
Writing for scholarly journals and writing for wider impact are not mutually exclusive. The impact your work has outside of academia is partly dependent on the quality of the work and the respect that work has within relevant academic networks. Yes, we want evidence based policy and practice, but we also want that evidence to […]
Read More »Take control of your research plans
One thing that frustrates me, is how often researchers seem to be giving over control of their research to others. You don’t think about planning your research until a funding deadline looms. You do that planning within the constraints of this particular grant. You are trying to figure out what makes a good 3-5 year […]
Read More »Change is hard
Whether you want personal change or institutional change, there are some things you need to accept about how it will happen. There is no magic wand It would be really nice if there were. Imagine “Poof!” and things are the way you’d like them to be. No messy transition. Some things are better but […]
Read More »Applying for promotion: Research Trajectory
While helping a client with her application for promotion, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a senior colleague when I applied for a promotion many years ago. The promotion committee will be looking for a trajectory in your research. I checked the guidelines for promotion from my client’s institution. Sure enough I […]
Read More »End of summer panic
As the long summer break nears an end and the beginning of the academic year looms larger on the horizon, you may have a tendency to panic about your writing and research. You wonder whether you’ve done enough over the summer. You fear that you won’t get to it at all once teaching, student advising, […]
Read More »Jumping off cliffs
Making decisions about your career and your next best steps is like standing on top of a cliff. It seems really scary. It’s a long way down. You can’t really see what’s at the bottom, but you suspect there are rocks. You’d really like to avoid the rocks. Other people confirm your fears. They tell […]
Read More »What you can change
Jo VanEvery, Academic Career Guide · What you can change God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. (The Serenity Prayer —Reinhold Niebuhr) Whether you believe in that god or not, the sentiment of this prayer is just […]
Read More »What are you waiting for?
Are there things you’d really love to be doing but aren’t? It could be anything: spending more time with your kids writing something different from what you’ve been writing using your research to serve the needs of some community … You are probably telling yourself some story about why you can’t do it. That story […]
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