Job Market Procedures
Summary of the Process
The Placement Calendar
Monthly Schedule
The Job-Market Paper
Your CV
Letters of Recommendation
What the Department Does for You
Your Job-Seeking Activities
The Interview
Job-Market Visits and Seminars
Frequently Asked Questions
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PLACEMENT TEAM AND CONTACTS
Students who are on the market or thinking about going on the market should check this site frequently. Your placement team this year is Director Natalia Lazzati and Placement Coordinator Sandra Reebie.
Send an email immediately to the Placement Coordinator if you plan to be on the job market this season. Indicate the probability that you will actually see the process through. If you have any questions, email Sandra Reebie or Natalia Lazzati.
SUMMARY OF THE PROCESS
You start by preparing a job-market paper, which is ready for circulation by early fall. The department distributes its list of job candidates in October. In early November, you mail out packages applying for posted jobs or in response to requests from employers. During December, you schedule interviews at the January meetings. Registration and hotel information for the January ASSA meetings is available at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/anmt.htm. Some of the places that interview you will fly you out in January or February. After the flyouts, generally around mid-February, you will receive job offers. You will be expected to make up your mind by March, usually.
THE PLACEMENT CALENDAR - IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
- November 3 : Your information will be listed on the department's webpage.
- 1st week of January (2020): AEA meetings.
MONTHLY SCHEDULE
August through December
On the first of each month, the JOE (Job Opportunities for Economists) comes out. The most important months are October, November, and December. The JOE is online and can be downloaded and then printed into hard copy. http://www.aeaweb.org/joe/
Beginning of Fall Quarter
Inform Placement Coordinator of your plans to go on the job market and RSVP to attend the departmental Job Market Info Session, first Monday of fall quarter.
October
Prepare CV and website and submit it to the Placement Coordinator by the November deadline.
Persistently but politely ask faculty to have your recommendation letters done and submitted to the Placement Coordinator by the October deadline.
Make reservations at the main hotel for the meetings. You can get the ASSA forms automatically if you are an AEA member. Do so as early as possible and get a room on a low floor (due to elevator traffic) with a refrigerator (so you can buy some snack food). It is a good idea to get to the meetings the day or evening before your interviews start so you can familiarize yourself with the hotel layouts.
November
Send out application packets. Most applications are due December 1 and a few are due in November. Read the deadlines carefully. Decisions are made at the margin so make sure you are not late on a deadline.
Attend the department's Mock Interview Workshop, (early December, actual date TBD).
Early December to Day Before
Receive calls to set up interviews at the meetings. Most calls come the week of December 17. It is a good idea to have an answering machine available for messages. If you leave town for the holidays, make sure you leave a forwarding number on the answering machine where you can be contacted. Sometimes faculty make the call but most times an administrative assistant calls. Some schools set up interviews through email. Check email over the holidays or arrange someone else to do so.
Questions to Ask when Scheduling Interviews:
- Who am I speaking with and what instititution/business are you with?
- What hotel are you staying in and what times do you have available?
- How long is the interview (usually 30-45 minutes)?
- Whose name will the hotel room be under?
- Who will be interviewing me (sometimes they may not know)?
- Can you send me some information on your department/business/agency?
- What is your phone number and email address?
- Will the hotel room number be posted on the message board or should I call the hotel room directly?
Tell them where you are staying and the phone number where you can be reached over the holidays just in case. You may want to send them a letter confirming your interview.
Tips on Scheduling:
- Much depends on the layout of the hotels. If hotels are separated, try to schedule a string of interviews at the same hotel.
- Leave at least 15-30 minutes between interviews.
- Usually there are four days of interviews. The middle two days are typically the most hectic, so it can be helpful to schedule interviews on the first and last days of the meetings for interviews if possible.
- Don't overbook. If your schedule is getting very full, you may want to cancel a few interviews if they were with employers you are not really interested in. (There is a cost associated with an interview if you have many because it is an exhausting process.)
- You might want to call some places that you don't hear from for which you think you are a good match. Consult your adviser before doing this.
Develop a foolproof method of keeping track of intereview and contact information. One strategy is to cut out the advertisement from JOE immediately after an employer has contacted you, put it on an index card, and write down the important points of the telephone conversation. Make note of the time, hotel, and the name of the institution.
Do some research on each interview and make sure you have a couple of specific questions for the interviewers. You can get information from the material they send you or from their website.
Late December
Go through 5-15 minute presentation of your work with faculty and anyone else who will listen. Put some time into your presentation to be sure it's polished.
Early January
The AEA meetings. Get there the evening before your interviews and start to familiarize yourself with the hotel layout, bulletin boards, etc.
Try to find out the room numbers of the interviews the night before the interview. The front desk usually will not give out room numbers. Instead, you have to wait until they check in, ask the hotel operator to connect you to the person's room and ask them yourself. If they are not in, leave a message to call you with their room number. A few don't arrive until the day of the interview, but don't panic - just keep calling them until you reach them. Some will tell you when they call you to set up the interview that they will leave you a message on the central bulletin board (in the main hotel) telling you their room number. Keep notes on each intereview (ie. names of people who interviewed you, comments made during the interview). This is important information to have in case you get a fly-back.
After Meetings to Early February
FLY BACKS. Some places are able to extend invitations for flyouts immediately after the meetings end; other must have short-lists administratively approved before they can extend invitations. Others may wait for the market to clear a bit.
Get a high limit on your credit card. Most places require you to pay for transportation, hotel and sometimes meals, then they reimburse you four-six weeks later. Register for frequent flier programs.
Try to set up only one trip for interviews in the same area if at all possible. Multiple trips to the East Coast in a short period of time can be exhausting and time consuming. Many interviewers will ask you to let them know as soon as you have a flyout scheduled in their vicinity. Places like to have you combine trips so they can share expenses with other institutions. However, recognize that you may call an institution to let them know you have a flyout in their area but they may not yet be in a position to invite you to visit. Be wary of scheduling interviews on consecutive days. You do not need to schedule a flight right away since you usually reserve the ticket less than 14 days in advance. There is thus no price advantage to reserving right away. This way you can coordinate trips. Carry your suit and things you need for the interview/presentation on the plane with you. Do not check them in.
Keep receipts from your travels for reimbursement purposes. Make photocopies of the receipts.
Things to Remember to Ask When You Receive a Fly-Back:
Would you please mail/fax my interview schedule to me? (This way you will have a list of those you will be interviewing with, can do some research and prepare questions for each person.)
Be clear on who is setting up the arrangements, what hotel you are staying at and the phone number, how to get from the airport to the hotel, when/where to arrive on the day of the interview. Tell them you will need an overhead projector for your presentation.
March and Thereafter
OFFERS.
When you receive an offer, make sure you are clear about the salary and conditions of employment. For an academic position, that means teaching load, what mix of undergraduate and graduate course you would likely teach (if relevant), the specific course they expected you to teach, research support, start-up funds, etc. For nonacademic positions, make sure you know the types of assignments you will be expected to work on. Sometimes it is possible to negotiate after they make the offer. Your strongest bargaining positive is the time between receiving an offer and accepting it. Don't make non-credible threats.
You can typically expect to have 2 weeks to make a decision, although sometimes you may have less time. Often you can extend the deadline. After getting an offer, call places you had fly backs from that you prefer. See if they are still interested. They may be waiting for someone else to decide before making an offer to you. You may also want to contact places even if you haven't had a fly back invitation at that point. They may be able to speed up their process. Don't expect people to call you and tell you that you are not getting an offer.
Let the Placement Director know of all offers you receive. Talk to the Placement Director and your adviser to get their opinion before making a final decision.
After you accept a position, call everyone you had a fly back with to tell them that you have accepted an offer. This allows the market to clear more efficiently and is the professional thing to do.
THE JOB-MARKET PAPER
The job-market paper is the most important of the materials and information that will be considered by prospective employers. Your efforts during the Fall should be directed towards finishing this paper. One completed job-market paper containing important original research is more important than having several papers at earlier stages of completion. Employers will make their screening decisions on the basis of a single paper you designate.
The job-market paper should be professionally done, and it should look it. Look at articles in the JPE or the AER for style guides. It should be written at the highest professional level for a wide audience of highly trained economists. Your paper must convey a clear sense of your contribution. Remember, it is likely to be read by economists who are not working directly in your area, so it needs to be written for the general audience of well trained economists. You have probably been immersed in the specific area of your research for months, but you cannot presume your readers will be as familar with the area as you are. You need to give special attention to making your paper understandable to this kind of an audience. You should not presume that your readers are immersed in the particular literature you are working within. You should assume a strong general knowledge of economics and high technical level in your audience. Use TeX to make it look completely professional.
YOUR CV
Please use our CV template when creating your CV. One of the most important choices you need to make is the fields you list for teaching and research. Generally, it is better to be broad in identifying fields. International trade and finance is a good choice, for example. Don't try to invent a field to describe some special interest of yours. Your deadline to submit your CV to the Placement Coordinator is October 14.
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
Prospective employers will ask you to provide letters of recommendation. Generally, these will come from the three members of your committee. You will need to be in close touch with them during the fall quarter. Bring each committee member up to date on your research and show them the current version of your job-market paper. Be sure that they agree you have reached the point where you have a good paper and are ready to be on the market. Only then, ask for the letter. Discuss with each the types of jobs you are most interested in (nonacademic, research university, teaching colleges, etc.)
Most letters will go out in November. Ask the faculty to submit the letters directly to the Placement Coordinator. The department will keep a copy of the letters in the main office. For mailing the letters to those universities/institutions for which you are applying, you are expected to provide the Placement Coordinator with the complete addresses and the specific letters you'd like them to forward.
WHAT THE DEPARTMENT DOES FOR YOU
We prepare a webpage that describes all of our candidates, including student CVs, and websites during the month of October.
During November and December, the Placement Director talks to prospective employers seeking to find good matches.
There is relatively little the department or your advisor can do after December. It is generally not possible to get employers interested in candidates not interviewed at the meetings, or interviewed and not scheduled for flyouts.
YOUR JOB-SEEKING ACTIVITIES
Most jobs in the U.S. are posted in Job Openings for Economists, http://www.aeaweb.org/joe/. Get to know this site well. Apply for every job that you feel is at all a reasonable fit for you.
An application package comprises an appropriate letter from you, your CV, and your job-market paper. Your letters of recommendation will be sent separately via the Program Coordinator. If you choose to use the University's Career Center service to send out letters, you may set up an account with Interfolio.
Discuss with your advisor and other committee members what places would be good matches, and see if they can help you get in the door.
Respond immediately when the Placement Director or Placement Coordinator informs you that an employer wants your package.
The total cost of being on the job market is approximately $2,000. This includes copying, postage, hotel, and flight expenses. Don't expect to do much work between October and February besides look for a job.
The process is very stressful. Almost everyone you interview with will have gone through the process, so they understand the stress. There is always a lot of "randomness" involved in the market. Prospects in some fields are better than others one year and worse the next, so the number of interviews that someone gets does not necessarily reflect that person's abilities as an economist. Be considerate of those who may not have as much luck on the market as you. In general, it is better to keep your experience to yourself while it is occurring. You and your interviewers are trying to find a good match. Be honest and gather as much information as possible.
THE INTERVIEW
Proper dress is business attire. For men, this means a jacket and tie. For women, a suit is the safest choice. Look professional.
Follow basic American customs: practice a firm handshake, look the person in the eye and try hard to keep the person's name in mind, say "How do you do" or "I'm very glad to meet you."
To the extent practical, know the research of your interviewers and consider it in your responses. It is successful flattery to acknowledge the contribution of an interviewer, but be careful not to overdo it.
Have a 4-minute presentation of your job-market paper ready in your head. Stress what is new. Demonstrate your knowledge of the related literature, but spend most of your time on what you have done. Don't go on longer than 4 minutes.
In most cases, you will be interrupted with questions during this initial presentation. Give calm answers even to questions that may seem hostile. Answer the question directly and don't run on too much.
For academic positions, you will be asked about your teaching interests. Show an interest in a broad variety of teaching. Remember that at most places, the bulk of teaching is undergraduate.
You are also likely to be asked about your post-disseration research plans. Be able to discuss at least one future project.
Participate in the Mock Interview workshop in early December. This is done in groups, so all of you can benefit from advice given to each of you.
JOB-MARKET VISIT AND SEMINARS
During a flyout visit, you will typically spend a full day. Dressing for a flyout is the same as for an interview. Fly outs give you the opportunity to meet more of your future potential colleagues and for them to meet you. It is an opportunity to tell them about your research, find out more about their institution, and show them you would be a good colleague.
Your seminar is key to getting a job. Not only are you selling the ideas in your research, you are showing that you are good on your feet and will do well in the classroom and other places where presentation skills matter.
Start your presentation by spending a few minutes explaining the question you are working on and giving a general description of what you have added. Be careful to do this in a way that does not invite distracting questions that you will be answering later. Don't try to rush through dozens of slides. A good presentation for a 90-minute seminar will usually have about 20 slides. Use at least 24-point fonts for your slides. In graphs, use heavy colored lines. Tables should be limited to 20 numbers at the very most. Tables must be reformatted from your paper; usually they have to be broken into several slides.
Your skill in handling questions is central to your success. Always give friendly answers even if the questions seem hostile. Try to answer questions on the spot, but defer them if you can't make progress. Don't try to do too much new theory on your feet; be ready to say "I'll have to think about that. Maybe we could discuss it later."
As in an interview, you should try to be aware of who in the audience has contributed to the area of your research.
You must schedule a practice session of your seminar to present your finished job-market paper during the fall quarter. Try to arrange another rehearsal just before you go on the road in January.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. After I send out a packet to the JOE address of a school, sometimes I receive a separate solicitation from a particular person at the school. Should I tell him that my packet already has been sent to the school? Or is it to my benefit to send him another?
A. Definitely send a packet directly to any individual requesting it.
Q. How many packets should I send out?
A. The average seems to be around 75.
Q. Who pays for the application packets?
A. You are responsible for sending out your own job market application packets and providing postage. The department will forward your letters of recommendation to the addresses you provide, email or hard address. If you want to use the Career Center's services, you will need to contact Interfolio to open an account and pay the necessary fees, and provide them with a list of addresses to which you'd like the letters sent. See the Letters of Recommendation section above for more details.
Q. Should I ask faculty for teaching references as well as general employment references, or do I only need to send teaching references if specifically requested?
A. The preferred solution is for faculty references to cover both research and teaching. In some cases, it might be appropriate for a candidate to have a separate letter covering teaching.
Q. Is a cover letter essential if my package is specifically requested?
A. Yes.
Q. What happens if I drop out of the market?
A. You will impose costs on the department if you drop out. Thus we ask you not to go on the market unless you are quite sure you are ready, and have the support of your advisors. You also lose the benefit of the efforts you put in, which would have to be repeated next year. You would not lose much in terms of reputation with employers if you dropped out before the meetings. After that, you are likely to be remembered as a dropout if you interview. It would be quite costly in reputation if you dropped out after you start receiving flyouts or offers.
JOB OPENINGS
Any announcements the department receives are emailed to the job market candidates and posted on the JOB BULLETIN in the student mailroom.
