You will often be asked to do a job talk when invited for an on-campus or Zoom interview. The job talk fulfills several essential tasks for the search committee in their consideration of your candidacy and, as such, is incredibly important.
After years on search committees, it still amazes me how candidates often overlook and arrive unprepared for their job talk. Use the following tips to prepare for your job talk to stand out from the other candidates and do your best.
What You Need To Know
You will be given few instructions on the talk's content; you'll probably be asked to do a talk on 'your research' for the faculty. You'll also be given some basic information – usually the length of time you have to talk, the amount of time for questions and answers, and the "type" of people that will be at your talk, such as students, post-docs, etc. (if you aren't given this information, make sure you ask!). You must pay attention to these parameters; they are the first test you'll pass (or fail) as a candidate.
For example, if you can't follow simple directions such as 'you have 45 minutes to talk and 10 minutes for Q&A' and you go much longer in your talk, the search committee and administrators will wonder if you'll be able to complete more complex tasks later. In addition, if you will have teaching as part of your responsibility, presenting content in a specified period and releasing students on time to get to their next class is a critical skill you need to demonstrate.
While following simple time guidelines should be a no-brainer, some hidden outcomes of a job talk can influence your candidacy. For example, when applying for research-based positions, you'll be asked to talk about your research. However, many candidates take that instruction to mean that the attendees will only want to hear about their research. While it is true that you should base your talk on your research, there are so many other factors that you need to include to fulfill all of the hidden outcomes you may not know about.
As discussed in depth in Finding the Best Faculty Job for You, your job talk should cover the following points, all of which lead seamlessly into each other.
What You Need To Include
1. Who you are – a brief description of your past academic training because all of the talk attendees may not have seen your application. This description should include why you are interested in the research focus you are working on and will lead right into the next point.
2. Your past research agenda and findings – this is a description and overview of your research focus and the results of a few studies you've done, emphasizing your significant conclusions. This description should lead you directly to the next point.
3. Your future research agenda – the department needs to see where you think your research is going. They want to know you have a vision for your research. Then you'll lead right into the next point.
4. How you will fit into the department research portfolio – the department must know how you think you'll fit into their current department research portfolio. Will you add new approaches/questions, or will you strengthen existing inquiry centers? That's up to you to tell them.
5. Potential collaboration partners – as part of the "Fit" discussion, you should indicate who you think you'll be able to work with at the university.
6. Your plans for funding – no talk is complete without sharing how you plan to fund your experiments. Give your general objectives and goals for your funding.
7. Summary and conclusion – lastly, close with major take-home points and make sure you express your thanks for the interview and the faculty's time.
Last but not least, practice your job talk repeatedly until you have it down and it's within the allocated time frame. A job talk is NOT when you want to "wing it." Your career depends on you doing a good job talk!