Preparing to enter the job market requires a multi-pronged approach of networking and developing an application portfolio and interview strategy that showcases your unique qualifications for the position. This breaks down that process with questions to ask yourself, checklists, and samples of others' work. It also addresses how to tailor application materials to the job description and the institution or organisation; learn all you can about your potential workplace before you interview; and seek out advantageous experience-building opportunities.

Preface

Introduction

1. Seeing the Entire Playing Field: Workforce Trends
2. Taking Your Cover Letter to the Next Level
3. Preparing Your Curriculum Vitae
4. Research Statements, Teaching Statements, and Teaching Portfolios
5. Securing Strong Letters of Recommendation
6. The Screening Interviews: Preparing for Success
7. On-Site Interviews and Job-Related Talks
8. Becoming a Great Candidate: The Preparation

Appendix: Negotiating and Deciding Among Multiple Offers

References

Index

About the Authors

Elizabeth M. Morgan, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at Boise State University. She received her doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2008. She also has a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on adolescent and young adult social development, with an emphasis on sexual and romantic relationship experiences in the context of parent–child relationships, peer relationships, and the media. Boise State University is her first academic position, which she obtained directly after finishing her PhD. During the process of preparing and applying for faculty positions, she found herself relying on many different sources for information about how to compile an application and what to expect in her interviews; these sources she found to be inadequate. Also, as both a first- and second-year faculty member, she was able to be a part of Boise State's psychology department search committee, reviewing application materials, interviewing candidates by phone, checking references, and hosting candidates on campus. This book was conceived as a result of being on both ends of the process within the span of only a few years.
 
R. Eric Landrum, PhD, is a professor of psychology at Boise State University. He received his doctorate in cognitive psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His research interests center on the educational conditions that best facilitate student success (broadly defined). He has given over 280 professional presentations at conferences and has published 17 books or book chapters and over 70 professional articles in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. He has worked with over 275 undergraduate research assistants and taught over 12,500 students in 20 years at Boise State. During the summer of 2008, he led a working group at the National Conference for Undergraduate Education in Psychology, studying the desired results of an undergraduate psychology education. Eric is the lead author of The Psychology Major: Career Options and Strategies for Success (4th ed., 2009) and also authored Undergraduate Writing in Psychology: Learning to Tell the Scientific Story (2008) and Finding a Job With a Psychology Bachelor's Degree: Expert Advice for Launching Your Career (2009). He is a member of APA, Fellow of APA Division 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology), and served as Division 2 secretary. He teaches general psychology, statistical methods, research methods, psychological measurement, and a Capstone course in history and systems in psychology.