fellowship plus regular job searching

[quinsy]

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so, I have done the requisite poring over the archives, and I can't find answers to this. I am looking at a few specific fellowships, but I'm also interested in considering regular jobs just to see what's out there. How do I handle doing both at once?

I have made up an academic CV and scheduled meetings to speak with the fellowship directors who are at my current institution, so I can find out more about those. It seems that they are enthusiastic about having me and this job could be mine if I want it, without much red tape. However, this job (and my residency) is quite far from where I live, and what I would really love is to go work near where my house is, or at my husband's hospital.

I'm unsure about whether the programs at my husband's hospital would want me (it's an ivory tower of academics), and they have a lengthy process of submitting CVs/personal statments, interviewing in December, and sending acceptances in January. In the meantime, I'm in a very competitive job market, and if it turns out the fellowships I can easily get are not a good deal, and the other fellowships don't want me, then I'll be stuck looking for plan B in January, whereas my fellow residents looking to stay in this area are on the job hunt right now, as I would be if I wasn't interested in fellowships at all, but I can't start job hunting because I've been told that if I get an offer, there will be a limited time to sign a contract and make a commitment (like they will not give me until January to make up my mind). Note: I believe I have a very competitive CV for academics with some research and other diverse experience, but then again I am not in the Ivy Leagues so it always looms large in my mind that I will not be good enough against the competitors...

any thoughts on this? Has anyone else tried applying for fellowship and regular jobs at the same time? Advice?

 

[docB]

I think you should try to get the fellowship issue figured out first. The private jobs will want you to commit pretty quickly. If you get offered a job and you still have 3 or 4 months to wait on the fellowship the job will probably not wait for you.

 

[dlung]

Unfortunately, more complicated than that. Fellowships will fill anywhere from 1 week to 1 year ahead of their start date...

But, agree with docB, figure out the fellowship part first. But, doesn't hurt to start making contacts for job interviews at the same time. I ended up interviewing for jobs and fellowships concurrently.

You should feel comfortable that the worst case scenario is that you end up picking up plenty of part-time work and get benefits through your husband, and sort it out a year later... well, at least I felt comfortable with that. 🙂

 

[Hawkeye Kid]

Unfortunately, more complicated than that. Fellowships will fill anywhere from 1 week to 1 year ahead of their start date...

But, agree with docB, figure out the fellowship part first. But, doesn't hurt to start making contacts for job interviews at the same time. I ended up interviewing for jobs and fellowships concurrently.

You should feel comfortable that the worst case scenario is that you end up picking up plenty of part-time work and get benefits through your husband, and sort it out a year later... well, at least I felt comfortable with that. 🙂

I did the same thing (job and fellowship interviews at the same time). In the end, the fellowship offered before the jobs had decided, so I went with the bird in the hand. When I told them I was taking my hat out of the ring for the job, every chairman said he thought I would be well-served by the fellowship (I'd like to think this statement is generalizable and not just that "I'd" be well-served...).

In general it seems that academic jobs tend to fill considerably later than community, so that might play into your decision as well.

The worst part about doing a fellowship (besides less pay) is that you have to turn around and apply for jobs pretty quickly, but otherwise, I've had a great experience.

Good luck.

 

[quinsy]

thanks to the fellows and docB who replied.

I'm the kind of person who likes to have things taken care of/ all the ducks in a row, and I'm sitting here watching my colleagues talk about how they've got job interviews and offers and I'm getting bombarded by career advertisements (some of which actually sound pretty good)...

it's so hard to sit here and go "it'll be OK, I'm waiting til January!"

 

[roja]

You have to decide on if you want a fellowship and why. I know commutes can be painful but you are, in essence, deciding on your future.

Why are you considering a fellowship? where do you want your career to go? Is the fellowship going to help get you there?

If you are looking at a fellowship because it is simply a job issue, then I would recommend not doing it. However, if it is something you love, want to spend time doing and building, then you should definately do it. If you are in a competetive academic market, the fellowship will help.