This is a combined/excerpted/modified version of some interesting gripe-mails, with details removed and the verb tense arbitrarily set in the present (some e-mails used the past tense), but still (I…
CreepPI
An undergraduate recently wrote to me about a difficult situation. I don't want to reprint her entire e-mail because it might have identifying details, so I will describe the general…
I Notice These Things Too
Consider this: Last week I went to listen to a talk by a graduate student. I didn't know this student, as he is in a different department from me, so…
Local Mom Effect
Most weeks, I post something here and put a link on my FSP blog to it. This week, I am reversing that practice, for no particular reason, and providing a…
Mid-Career Mentoring
Although perhaps no amount of information, obtained online or in person, can remove the uncertainty and anxiety associated with being a graduate student, postdoc, and/or tenure-track professor, in recent years…
Taking a Chance
Several readers have written for advice about complex situations involving making major career decisions before all possible options are known. Most of these e-mails are very long and detailed, and…
Must-Have Letter
Over in FSP a few weeks ago, readers and I obsessed about many different aspects of Cover Letters. And yet, there are still aspects of this topic that remain unexplored.…
The Ask
Here is an interesting question from a reader: I was wondering, how to ask the faculty search chair, "why was I not invited for an interview?" and if this is…
Wrong and Stupid
A reader wonders: Consider this hypothetical situation: two individuals (married, but with different last names) apply for the same job but do not disclose their relationship. The search committee determines…
LoR Lore
A veritable flurry of letters about delinquent Letter-of-Reference Writers has appeared in my inbox. Coincidentally, my next piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education is about getting advisors and co-authors…