On rejections in academia—a thread:

Today is Norway’s Grant Christmas. Right before the holidays each year, the Norwegian Research Council @forskningsradet publishes a list of funded projects. I know many, many of the applicants — a good friend was funded this year, and last...

...year I even got to tell the good news to @arkeostrida that she won a grant (as her phone had been stolen at the pub the night before). But most people’s grants are rejected. This year, the success rate is 10%. For some, this is the end of the dream of an academic career.

My grant this year was rejected. And that makes me think of the concept of ‘shadow CVs’ ( https://www.chronicle.com/article/me-and-my-shadow-cv/). We all broadcast our wins in academia. Yet we all have these monstrous shadow-twins following the wins: the jobs we didn’t get, the talks we tanked, the ideas that..

... funding agencies did not find worth supporting. We need to talk about that second-life of academic practice more. From the outside, people who have ‘made it’ in academia may seem invincible, but they have an invisible shadow-CVs too. We all feel like imposters sometimes.

So is there a lesson? I like Paul Silvia’s advice to aim for more rejections. If one paper/grant/project out of ten works out, he counts it as a win, and more submissions means more rejections. And to recognize that every grant or paper rejection is not a rejection of you as a..

... scholar or person. Perhaps it helps to normalize rejections more. I also like to think about the team effort that goes into research: all the brilliant people that have shaped my ideas, helped me with budgets, cheered me on. Whatever wins I have, it’s not because of me alone.

And finally, that there is a huge dose of lottery involved. Because the same project that @forskningsradet has now rejected twice, became a successful @ERC_Research Starting Grant on the first attempt. Go figure (?) So to everyone putting their ideas forward, whether receiving...

... beautifully wrapped presents or stockings full of coal; here’s to the bravery in daring to put ideas out there, to collaboration, and to learning from each other. Happy holidays/god jul!