Hereafter, I put together a quick list of resources, tips & tricks, and thoughts on the PhD/postdoc search process. Some things are ideas, but are not necessarily solidly grounded. Take the following as a starting guide, and adopt the approach you think is best for you. Most of the time, an application consists in finding an offer, submitting your dossier, passing an interview, and receiving an offer. Your application may fail at each of these steps.
There are different broad strategies that can be taken when doing applications.
Shower 🚿: You send your dossier everywhere, hoping one catches someone’s attention. Once the dossier is ready, it’s easy to have it submitted to 100 or more places (truly 100, not an exaggeration).
Laser 🎯: You select a few places, say less than 10, and tailor your dossier to each offer. Compared to the previous approach, you fire less shots, but each has higher chances of a hit.
Notice that between these two, the latter is more likely to land you in a place you like. Of course, the one option that maximizes your chances overall is:
Shower of lasers: You send tailored dossiers to all positions, even those interesting you only remotely.
Unfortunately for most us, we are not super-humans. And this option is incredibly time consuming. If applying is your thing, don’t hesitate, but it’s not mine. I think the easiest is to actually combine the first two strategies. Specifically, aim for the position that interest you most. Tailor your document for them, and focus your efforts there. In parallel, if a position seems somewhat interesting, but not enough for you to spend more time on it, just send your default dossier. If you really do not have the time, you could even not bother to respect the guidelines (e.g. number of pages). Don’t forget that if they do not have your dossier, they simply cannot accept your application. However… if you submit a dossier, be sincerely ready to accept the position. Don’t apply to place “just to see”. Take into account your other applications as well, when deciding this.
Finding a position 🤔
First things first: where can you apply? How should you proceed? There are several options…
Online job offers
Probably the most common approach is to reply to a job offer. In the past, I have personally combined the results of the following four websites.
Academic Jobs Online: The design and interface is dated, but it works well. Make a profile online. You can pre-upload most of your dossier and re-use parts of it when/if necessary. This also applies to recommendation letters. Naturally, you can also tailor anything you wish, as usual. Sometimes, you can even update your dossier passed the deadline (though be careful with that).
InspireHEP: A bit less comfortable to use than hyperspace, but gathers offers from various sources. Notice that you can subscribe to its new jobs mailing list!
AAS Job register: They recently updated their design, which makes it much clearer. I observed the ads there are more from the USA, and more leaning on the technical/observational side.
Deadline distribution. In that case, the deadlines are spread throughout the year, but many concentrate one or two months before December, their number raising until they peak in mid-December, with a sharp fall after that. This is when you will have to put all your efforts.
RSS feeds. To make it manageable, I personally have used RSS feeds. These allow you to monitor efficiently and in a centralized place any new offer coming up. While I found this to be very useful, the main drawback of this approach is that some websites do not natively support RSS feeds (🤬🤬). Other services can sometimes fill in the gap and scrap the website for news periodically. Unfortunately, I have never found a perfect solution there either.
Mailing lists. There may also be mailing lists. InspireHEP Jobs has a mailing list to which you can subscribe for new job offers (top right, in the job category). Some professors/faculty members also sometimes advertise to other groups their new positions via emails. Be careful to catch these too.
Scholarship/fellowship
Another, sometimes under-considered, option is getting a scholarship (or fellowship for more senior positions). Some websites list them. When applying for a scholarship, the application dossier is often longer than for a website offer. However, some scholarship/fellowship can be more prestigious, or give you more money. They also sometimes cover some wildly different topics.
MEXT Scholarship. It covers a Bachelor, Master and/or PhD in a Japanese University (tuition fee + monthly stipend). If you go for it, I would recommend you to aim for the biggest Universities of Japan, to ensure they have a program in English.
Ideal timeline. The scholarships usually have deadlines landing between September and November. Since they require you to put together more significant proposals, and fill in more forms, to be comfortable, you should probably start at least a month ahead. You have less time? Still go for it. You never know. I got one with a one week deadline (requiring medical exams), but you will have to work harder/smarter. Ideally, you would like to start thinking about these in late June, July.
Spontaneous candidacies
Spontaneous candidacies are another way of applying. In doing so, you surely show your motivation to join the particular team you contact. However, as you can expect, chances are that, if no job offer has been posted online, there is no money for you to join. Nonetheless, it may still be worth trying. However, to avoid putting together a full tailored dossier for someone who cannot take you in, start by sending a brief email, asking whether it is worth sending your dossier to that professor. At that time, you can already share your CV, for example, which will not change between each application.
I’m applying 😫
Welcome to the dry, painful stage where you’ll spend most of your time. For virtually all applications, you will need an application dossier. It will probably change for each application, but you’ll quickly have a foundation from which to start from. To be efficient, take the time to organize yourself. You will probably have a folder with some templates, a folder for each individual application, and a spreadsheet somewhere to keep track of the deadlines, the emails where to submit, etc…
Once an interesting offer is spotted, I usually fill in the details in a spreadsheet, and carefully write down the application details. Here are some possible column headings, if you wish to do something similarly.
For each offer that interests you:
Check the location. In which city is it, and where in the city? Which institute is it attached to? Are there groups/universities nearby with common interest?
For how long is the position? Typically, postdocs will be for two to three years. Senior positions will be longer. Usually, the longer, the better.
Is the position tied to a specific project or not? How much independence/freedom do you have with a position? Be careful, since you will probably spend some years on it. Don’t expect to be able to join a group, and spin the postdoc to your liking afterwards.
How about the salary? Usually, there is enough, but think a bit more broadly. Is there some funding for trips/conferences? What about computer/software?
Write down somewhere you can quickly find it the contact email, the deadlines, and the required documents.
As for the professor, does he/she have a personal website? A CV online? Some public statement of research interest? What about presentations on e.g. YouTube? Needless to say: check out the professor’s papers, but maybe also those of other of his/her group members. If time allows it, quickly read a few of them. All these are resources you can use to craft your own application documents.
A good move (but not infallible) is to visit, in person, the institution and professor you would like to join. This requires money and organization, however. Think about it… And if you can strike a collaboration, that may be beneficial for your subsequent application as well.
What is key to understand is that you want to re-assure the reader. So spot their concerns early, and address them in your documents. I insist on this last remark. This is really really what you are aiming for. On the other end, someone is going to look at the applications, and if they have concerns, they’ll think twice. And you don’t want them to.
The application dossier
Curriculum vitae: You probably know what this is.
Avoid too technical terms and acronyms. If necessary, reformulate in simpler words, even if it’s not the official/proper denomination. You are communicating your background to the professor, not filling in some tax forms.
Be straight to the point. Use bold/italic/arrow/underlines, whatever, to give some hierarchy to the information on your CV. Avoid long sentences.
Put the most important things first. The part that will be most read/seen is the top left corner of the page.
This depends on the application, but it is sometimes asked to not mention your gender and to not put a picture of yourself.
Contact information often goes to the top. Be easy to contact.
Don’t hide things. Be frank. An unexplained hole may look concerning.
Statement of research interest: As its name suggest, you state what are your interests.
Proposal: Not for a wedding. You are here explicitly putting forward a specific project. In case of your first postdoc, this can still remain broad (and therefore a bit similar to the statement of research interest). Also, bear in mind that, even though you are proposing something, it does not necessarily bind you to it. A proposal is typically a bit longer than the statement.
Motivation letter: A motivation letter is the shortest of these three documents. You will have to state all at once, but focus there on your personal motivation. What are the reasons for you to apply there, specifically?
Recommendation letters: That part is not entirely under your control. Ask professors (or senior researchers) around you for their support. Treat them well, and warn them enough in advance of your applications for them to write their letters. Keep in touch with them. For example, if you are really hoping to go to a specific place, you can tell them so. They may pay more attention or better tailor their letter to that specific position.
Personally, I had a shared spreadsheet with all deadlines, details, etc for the referees. This way, they can find all the pieces of information they needed quickly.
Putting oneself forward. A friend had done something I found useful too. In a file, write all the good things about you. List all your skill, what you did well. All the responsabilities that you took. Don’t leave out anything, even small things. That will give you some material to start from.
Writing style/content. In all cases, be careful to the following.
Go straight to the point. Avoid using roundabout ways of stating things. Don’t repeat yourself. Keep the sentences short, and avoid subordinate clauses.
Notice that this guide may not always do so… 🙃
Avoid subjectivity in your writing.
Avoid imprecise language. Words such as “thing”, “interesting” or “great”, often have a better, more precise alternative.
Give some hierarchy to the information. Use short section titles, use bold/underline.
Respect the formatting guidelines and the page limit. Unless stated otherwise, the references are included in the limit. Speaking of references, keep these to the minimum (no need for historical references, etc, just the references you want to bring some attention to). In the reference list, highlight your name, so that your contributions can be easily spotted.
Make everything look pretty. Nobody is a machine, and a nice formatted document will always leave a better impression. On this note:
The dry “default latex” is not always the best option there. You can use some template, but be careful to modify it a little bit, so that it does not look like a default CV. On the other hand, don’t go overboard and excessively decorate your CV. It’s still a serious job application, and you want to stand out by your excellence, not your eccentricity.
Avoid the 2 columns format. This is done to maximize content per page, but is not adapted to application documents. Who loves scrolling down, then up, then down again, while reading a document on the screen?
Avoid squeezing the margins or reducing the font size (too much). People see it. Take the space constraint as part of the exercise.
Pay attention to details, if possible. Again, you want to leave a positive impression to the professor. Don’t say “oh, this will probably do”.
Be honest. You will work with that person for one, two, three, more years. It may seem obvious, but while you may twist things a little bit, never lie! Similarly, as mentioned earlier, don’t hide (too much) things.
Ask colleagues for their opinions. You can ask your professor, postdocs, other students… More is better. But don’t get (too) slowed down by this either. It’s better to send your dossier on time, rather than wait for the feedback of that one postdoc who will just say “fine to me” anyway.
Ask the group you are applying to. Before submitting your application to the group, you can contact the professor, ask him/her the questions you have. Does he/she have some recommended papers? What is his/her vision of the position (if not clear already)? You can even contact PhD students or postdocs in the group you would like to apply. This can give you a second point-of-view on the working environment, the flexibility of the group, etc. In all your contact remain polite (but not excessively so).
Check what the internet has to say. Sure, a lot is not applicable to academia, but you will still find useful pieces of advice there too.
I remember checking the day before an interview typical questions I could be asked, and the last question of my interview was exactly one I had read the day before (“why should we take you in rather than another candidate”). That meant that I had already thought of an answer. I passed the interview.
Submission of your dossier
Of course, if possible submit on time. If possible submit your application a little bit early. It can give a better impression. But you can sometimes still submit past the deadline. Don’t hesitate to do so, if you missed the deadline.
Before submitting, double check that the people’s names, institution names, etc are correct. What about the addresses? Any placeholder left?
Be careful to warn your referees on time! Sometimes, the referees have an extra week or so to submit their letters, but most of the time, they share the same deadlines as you. Give them at least a week to put together their recommendation letters.
In all your contact with the professor, remain polite (but not excessively deferential), reply quickly, and go to the point. If he/she asks you for something, but you cannot provide it right away? Tell them so; don’t let them wait in a vacuum.
I got an Interview… 😬
Well done! Your chances of getting the position just increased tremendously. You will now want to prepare the interview. Just as you did for the application, go back on their website, and check, more carefully this time, all you can. Think of questions you may have (but try to answer them yourself first).
Look into the team, the members and their publications. Is there some common ground? What can you bring to the group? What can the group bring to you too?
Check YouTube/etc for presentations. That can give you some information on both their work, but also the way they speak, etc.
Ask questions and engage in the conversation. They want someone with whom they can talk and collaborate, someone who can bounce back on an idea, and bring in their own. You can say/ask stupid things, but remain careful.
If you feel you failed at a question, don’t stop, don’t worry, continue. This is not a graded exam, but a humane evaluation. The people on the other side know this happens.
Show motivation, but please avoid platitudes such as: “I found your group is very good, and your research topic is very interesting. I would love to join your group”. These sentences will just be ignored. Put content in what you say.
Show yourself. Avoid playing it excessively safe, and show who you are, how you would like things to go, and what you would like out of this position. From the professor’s perspective, it is unsettling to give an interview, and barely know more after it. By clearly sharing your thoughts, hopes and fears, you are also preparing the ground for this postdoc to go well.
Bear in mind that the selection committee/professor probably already has an opinion on your dossier, has hopes and fears. Some interviews will flow, and take extra time. Some may not work.
⚠️ The interview goes both ways. You are also evaluating whether you wish to work with the people in front of you. After the interview, the professor may wish to give you an offer, but you are also free to have changed your mind, and then refuse.
I have an offer! 😄
You got an offer? First, congratulations!
Now, send an email to thank the professor and refuse the offer. If this is your first choice, accept the offer. Celebrate. Relax. Go to the cinema. If not…
You will probably have been communicated a deadline for your definitive reply. If not, ask for it. You can now wait until that deadline. See if you get any other (better) offer by then. If you do, you can then refuse the least preferred position, and wait with the other position’s deadline (unless it’s your first, of course, in which case you refuse accept it).
If you still have questions, concerns before making a decision, ask right away. Ask the professor sending the offer, your current professor, colleagues, friends, etc… You got accepted where you applied. Do you accept this offer? If this is not a position you are interested in, refuse. Do it preferrably quickly, to let the professor give an offer to someone else, but be certain of your decision.
In general, I would recommend you to play it safe. What you do not want to is no position at all. Therefore, if the deadline for replying to an offer looms, if you have no other options, accept the offer.
Surprise! While waiting, you got an interview invitation for a position you prefer, but not an offer? Accept the interview, and warn them that you have a pending offer. They may be able to counter-offer the former one on time. In parallel, write to the institution of the first offer, and ask for an extended deadline.
What happens if you receive an offer for a position you prefer, after you have accepted another offer? Well, it’s too late… If really it’s your dream position, how about talking about it with the professor whose offer you just accepted? Be honest, be polite, and kind. And technically, as long as no contract is signed, anything is possible. However, as rule of thumb, it’s too late. Don’t worry, that postdoc you accepted, in that tiny town of Northern Siberia will still go well.
However, there may be something you can do to avoid such a situation. If you have applied for a position/scholarship that you really want, you can warn the other professors, preferably at the interview, that you will prefer this option to his/hers. In the case of well-known scholarships/positions/institutions (e.g. Marie-Curie fellowship), people are usually comprehensive.
I am still waiting… 😭
You spent a whole week preparing your dossier for that one position, and, six months later, no answer. This is actually fairly common. You can give the recruiters one or two months, past the deadline, for them to take their decision. But past that, you can assume the application failed. In case of doubt, send an email to ask about your application’s status.
In case of failure, you can ask for the reason of the failure. Most of the time, they will not comment (sometimes, as I mentioned, not even answer). But sometimes, depending on the situation (e.g. submitted to a single person), you may get some answer. Stay polite, and do not expect an answer. Don’t forget to thank them. Don’t do this too often, however. It’s better to just move on.
You are anxious and can’t wait? Some applicants update the Rumor Mill. People write there if they get an offer and whether the accept/refuse it. A bit unreliable, but can be useful, however.
Good luck 🤞🍀💪
In the end, there is no miracle: the application process is long and demands quite some efforts. It involves skills, tricks, yes, but also a large amount of luck. Who else is applying? Did the professor write his position offer clearly enough? Did he/she get stuck on some detail of your dossier? Did the brightest physicist of the field (assuming it’s not you) also apply at that position? Did someone applied with Nash’s recommendation letter? Who knows what might have happened. If you get denied a position, this is not a judgement of your skills or your qualities. It’s a choice for a position.
