Feelers for Academic Jobs

[billypilgrim37]

So there's a very good chance after clinical training that I'll be heading heavily down the research pathway, but I don't want to totally exclude clinician educator/administrator type jobs as well. I'd be thrilled to stay on at the same department I'm in now if they would have me, but there could be some family things that might draw me away. If as a clinician I'm likely going to have some rather narrow but interesting sub-subspecialty interests that wouldn't be too obscure, so even at that point staying academic makes sense. I know private practice is a dream wonderland for many of you, but I doubt it's for me.

So, if nothing else other than a thought experiment, without having explicit connections at a place, how does somebody go about getting a clinician/educator type job at a specific institution? Some of the places that would be geographically sensible for me would be very good academic departments, but some of them wouldn't quite have as strong a reputation outside of their regions.

I'll have some national meetings coming up in the fall, and if there's a specific method of networking other than mentor introductions, I'd like to hear some thoughts about them.

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[Manicsleep]

Their used to be a conference for university based residents in psychiatry. The chair could recommend 1 person who they thought had an excellent future and a lot of people from several programs were present. Most of it was research based and the rest was academic/administrative. The lecturers were pretty good too.

However, Charles Nemeroff used to run it. Not sure its still around after his recent troubles.

Ask your chairman/program director. Its part of their job and it reflects well on them in the long run to have you be very successful.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Go to a smaller meeting--like Academic Psychiatry. It can be really quite easy to find someone from a place you're interested in and strike up a casual conversation. Even for introverts like us.

 

[Chimed]

If you're able to find some places that you might want to work at, try mentioning that to folks at your own institution. You'd be surprised at how many connections you might already have, especially where you're at. I did this and was able to make a connection at a potential academic institution I'd like to work for.

 

[dl2dp2]

I've heard from the grapevine that one way to do it is directly talk to your own department chair, then follow through with a national search. This is more common in research pathway than in clinician-educator pathway, but can be done in both. The department chair endorses you then you apply to all the programs you are interested in, interview at some of them that respond, then pick the best offer. Oftentimes your home department matches the best offer especially if they want you. So then you make an informed decision based on what the market can offer. For clinician-educator pathway I think you need to have some kind of training plan/educational plan that specifies what kind of practice educational environment you are interested in. I think department chair is at the level where this kind of information would be gathered. It's not rare to be hired as a residency program director right out of/a couple years out of fellowship.

 

[Doc Samson]

Agree with OPD - a meeting like academic psychiatry (www.academicpsychiatry.org) puts you in a room with a bunch of department chairs, residency training directors, and directors of medical student education. The chairs have their own society meeting immediately after the AAP meeting so their attendance is generally good. Everyone's laid back and chatty and eager to help fledglings find their wings. Plus, this year, it's a great excuse to spend a few days in a Scottsdale resort hotel.

 

[Chimed]

Agree with OPD - a meeting like academic psychiatry (www.academicpsychiatry.org) puts you in a room with a bunch of department chairs, residency training directors, and directors of medical student education. The chairs have their own society meeting immediately after the AAP meeting so their attendance is generally good. Everyone's laid back and chatty and eager to help fledglings find their wings. Plus, this year, it's a great excuse to spend a few days in a Scottsdale resort hotel.

Cool, I might have to go to this. Hopefully, nobody judges my potential academic abilities on my golf.

 

[billypilgrim37]

That sounds like an awesome meeting. I'm hoping to be in Scottsdale in December for the AAAP meeting. Between that and AACAP, it might be hard to shove in a third meeting in just a few months, but that sounds like a great idea.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

That sounds like an awesome meeting. I'm hoping to be in Scottsdale in December for the AAAP meeting. Between that and AACAP, it might be hard to shove in a third meeting in just a few months, but that sounds like a great idea.

I'll be in Scottsdale for AAAP in December. Chose to pass on AAP in Scottsdale in September (sorry, DS...) this year.

 

[Doc Samson]

Cool, I might have to go to this. Hopefully, nobody judges my potential academic abilities on my golf.

Losing to your prospective chair at golf is only a plus for your chances of employment.

If folks do decide to come to the meeting, maybe we could have an official SDN meet-up.

 

[cleareyedguy]

I would be more direct. Identify departments you're interested in, then identify an important person or two within that department. It might be the chair or the research director or the clinical director (or some combination). Write them a short letter explaining your interest. Reference your chair or someone they know, if appropriate, and enclose your cv. Clinical academic jobs tend not to open (and close) until Spring, as opposed to fellowships, which open and close in fall. If you write them in September, don't expect to hear back, though it's a plus if you run into them at a meeting a month later--though don't expect they'll immediately recognize your name or that they'll invite you to join their foursome. Write them again in January and February (or if you did actually meet them at a meeting, the next week), possibly with a very brief accompanying email in February or March. Two or three communications over 5 months isn't annoying, and the most prestigious places in the world have people dropping out of jobs the year round...

If you are going for a full-time research job, the situation is different, and then it's probably important to have someone with clout contact someone with clout, since those jobs are fewer and tougher to get. But if you're going for clinical academic, you can often find something with persistence.