Read on Twitter
With the current state of the academic job market, a decent number of friends have reached out to me for advice about the #postac #altac jobs market. Most PhD programs don't provide a ton of advice in this area, so here are some tips that I learned when I did my search in 2018.
One note before I start: Grad school might condition you to think that a #postac #altac job means you failed in your TT search. That's not true. I love my job, and prefer it to my old TT job. Success can mean something different for you than it did for your advisor.
Get on LinkedIn now if you aren't already on there. Seriously, pause reading this thread and go set up your profile. It is the single best tool for networking.
You will be shocked with the number LinkedIn of connections that you have to companies that you want to work for, and it is the best place to advertise your skills to recruiters.
While you are there, LinkedIn Learning is a great tool to fill in the gaps if there are skills that you don't have. It will also show the courses that you have taken on your profile. Your library card probably gets you free access to the courses.
The most common mistake that I see PhDs make is converting their CV into a resume. Don't do this. The two documents seem similar, but serve different purposes. A CV is a record of your accomplishments, while a resume is an advertisement for why you fit the job.
When someone converts their CV into a resume, it usually just looks like a CV with some of the blank space removed. Relevant skills get buried several pages in when they should be front and center.
Build your resume thoughtfully from the ground up, and make your relevant skills and experience immediately apparent. Someone who glances at your resume for 30 seconds should be able to see why you are a good fit for the job.
The other common mistake that I see PhDs make is doing tons of networking and informational interviews, but very few actual job applications. No matter how good a fit you are, the odds are stacked against you for any given job. Be sure to apply to a good number of positions.
On to finding jobs to apply for! In the academic job market, people typically apply to any positions nationwide in their sub-field. In the #postac #altac market, you can generally be more choosy about location. If you have a few decent-sized cities in mind, you should be fine.
In my (US based) experience, the two best ways to find jobs in the cities that you have selected are 1.) search on http://Indeed.com , and 2.) go to the websites of the major employers/employers that you find interesting there.
You don't need to limit your #post #altac search to just your topics of expertise. For every one of those jobs, there are five that will make use of your research skills, even if it is applying them to a new subject-area.
On Indeed, find some keywords that are common in job listings for your skill-set, and search for them every day. They keywords that I had the most success with were "R", "SPSS", and "social science". These had way more relevant results than "political science".
Note with SPSS: While it is not the preferred software for most data analysts (myself included), it is pretty common to see on job listings as a proxy for knowing how to do regression. It is worth including in your search, and most employers will let you use R if you prefer.
Don't underrate your skill-set. Social science #postac #altac seekers tend to focus on their analysis skills, but research design is also valuable. Knowing how to design good survey questions and interview protocols is as valuable as knowing how to analyze what comes from them.
Did you teach in grad school or at your professor job? Great! Being able to translate complex ideas to an audience that is not already familiar with them is a great skill for almost any position. If you have taught college classes, you likely know how to do that.
When you find a job that interests you, go to LinkedIn to see if you have connections there. You can usually just send a message letting them know what position you are interested in and asking for advice. If you don't know someone there, secondary connections are also helpful.
When I started my #postac #altac search, I felt nervous about reaching out to others for advice and references. Now that I am on the other side, I realize that there is no need to be nervous. I love connecting people with jobs when I can. Most people are happy to help.
Make sure that your resume and cover letter talk about your skills in the same language that the job listing uses. There is a chance that a computer will read the application before a person does, and it might miss you if you say "statistical analysis" instead of "data modeling".
Oh yeah, the cover letter. Most companies don't just want to know your skills and experience, they also want to know the impact that your work has had. The cover letter is a great place to talk about that. How have people used the analysis that you have done to make decisions?
When you interview for #postac positions, be honest about what you can and can't yet do. "I am still working on that" is a perfectly acceptable answer. Most employers want someone smart and motivated, and trust that someone with a PhD knows how to learn new skills when needed.
