career advice

For every article you submit, it’s always a good idea to have a prioritized list of journals you want to submit it to. If your optimal preference rejects your article, in many cases it makes sense simply to turn around and send the article to the next journal on your list. This strategy is wise especially in cases where you don’t plan to revise the argument further because you have other things to do, or the reviewers’ comments aren’t helpful.

"How do I secure money for ___?" Whether you’re a grad student or faculty member, you have probably asked yourself that question at some point in your career. Perhaps it’s tuition, or living expenses, or a grant to buy data or books. Maybe it’s for travel to a conference, dues in a professional association, or a stipend to conduct research or prepare a manuscript for publication. The bottom line, as any decent economist will tell you: money is scarce, and it generally isn’t handed out free of charge for pure benevolence.

While the quest for research funding is highly competitive, here are a few tips you should consider to help your name stand out from the pack and, hopefully, maximize the return.

The article you spent countless hours writing, revising, and altering has been under review for five or more months at a good journal. You’ve been waiting anxiously for a response, imagining how pretty that journal would look as a publication line on your CV. You’re proud of this article and can’t think of any reason why it would warrant less than a revise/resubmit. Finally, one day, you see the subject heading in your inbox: “Your Submission.” The journal has finally gotten back to you!  With a jolt of nerves you cross your fingers and click on the message . . . and then go numb. “We regret to inform you that your article has not been accepted for submission.”

If you’re unfamiliar with this experience then you’re not working hard enough to get published.

When it comes to dressing appropriately for any occasion, your first consideration should be for your host. They have put together this event, planned it, and invited you, the least you can do as a guest is to honor their requests for a minimum level of comportment. It is out of respect for your host that your second consideration arises, it is always safer to err on the conservative side and to be overdressed than underdressed.

When applying for a program or scholarship, you’re going to carefully craft your essays, writing samples, and reference choices so you appear as a dedicated scholar with contributions to your field that ought to be taken seriously. When corresponding or speaking with someone from the program, you’re effectively extending your application to these interactions. So just as you will for your application, think before you click ‘send’.

Here are some general guidelines to follow when emailing a scholarship program:

Here are a few pieces of advice for meetings based on mistakes I’ve made and things I’ve observed:

1. Be There

You’re meeting someone whose time isn’t free. They could be doing other things. Respect that by keeping your appointment or by making sure you let the person you’re supposed to meet know if you aren’t going to make it. You might not have their phone number, but you might be able to reach the coffee shop, restaurant, hotel, or wherever.

2. Be On Time

Try not to introduce additional uncertainty into your friend or mentor’s day. Be where you are, when you said you ‘d be there. It never hurts to be a minute or two or three early. My high school band director—a fountain of wisdom I didn’t fully appreciate until I was older—once said that the only way to be on time is to be early.

3. Be Prepared 

Have a pen and paper (preferably a notebook). Write things down on something you will see regularly so you can

It is now the case that for anything you apply for, whoever is reviewing your application will Google you, stalk you on Facebook and Twitter, and that what they find will factor into their decision-making process. Especially in the last few years, the reality of how public the internet is and how this can be leveraged to your advantage. So you know this and you want to launch a personal website, but what else should you be thinking about? Here are four things that you should be thinking of when creating your online presence.

In this week's Kosmos podcast, Dr. Aeon Skoble and I discuss what a young scholar should keep in mind and what action they should take to set themselves up for a successful career in academia.