Applying to Postdoctoral Fellowships: Reflections from Robyn Wiegman
Q: In surveying websites about postdoctoral fellowships, I find contradictory information. Some say that it is better to spend a year polishing your dissertation before applying for a fellowship, so that you can use your fellowship year to do revisions. Others suggest that it would be better, career-wise, than spending another year at your doctoral institution.
RW: There is no one-size-fits-all answer here. Not all postdocs are the same—some come with too much responsibility so that it is really not to your advantage to move your life to take up residence, only to find yourself engulfed by everything that moving entails (especially if it is only a single-year position). You have to weigh what it would mean to move to a new place, the length of the fellowship, and the responsibilities entailed. Of course, if you run out of funding, you have no choice but to search for jobs and fellowships. If you have funding, however, I see no reason not to use it before moving on.
Q: What are the circumstances in which a person would turn down a postdoc?
RW: Too many teaching responsibilities, too much effort to move for a single year. Scholars with families are especially disadvantaged and might think twice, for good reason, in trying to relocate for a short period. In other situations, the pay might simply be too unsustainable, making another year at the doctoral institution a better option. Remember that a postdoc is a new job. The labor of assuming it is the same as if it was a tenure-track position, only its tenure is far shorter.
Q: I was also curious about situations in which a person might take a post-doc over a visiting or even tenure-track job. Michael Hardt once indicated he would consider this, mostly (he seemed to be saying) because it would allow you to get your book up to publishing snuff before your tenure clock starts.
RW: I would never advise turning a tenure-track job down to take a postdoc. Instead, I would help the scholar negotiate doing the postdoc before showing up for the tenure-track job. But if one had to choose (i.e., if the tenure offer disappeared without acceptance) then I would ask the scholar to seriously consider just how interested she was in the tenure offering institution. If the answer is low, then the postdoc makes sense. Given the classist structure of the academy, a postdoc in a more prestigious institution can be more useful in the long run than a tenure-track job in an institution with a high teaching load, low research standards, and substandard pay. As might now be clear, one has to do a rather complex calculation, to weigh the specifics she faces. There is no answer that can be drawn without knowing the terms of the different offers.
Q: Assuming we were lucky enough to get two such opportunities—either two postdocs, or one postdoc and one teaching post—how would we choose between them?
RW: I think the answer is in the discussion above about calculation. Or you could be far more simple and do whatever makes you feel good. For some people, the idea of a tenure-track job is the great euphoria—it’s the goal, so there is no way one would feel good about turning it down. For others, there is always the greener grass, so a postdoc has the great quality of making the future a realm of utter possibility. Know yourself and what you need. After all, you have been on this professional road for a very long time. It’s not like you ever expected anything to happen quickly!
Q: Are there any particular application issues or tricks you would recommend for a person applying for a postdoc? How would you tweak your application in comparison to either the research or teaching-centric CVs mentioned on other pages?
RW: Many postdocs in the humanities are linked to Center themes, so the first important thing is to pay close attention to how the position is written. If the theme is about transnational literacy, then you have to describe your dissertation and the book you will work toward in your postdoc year as one deeply engaged in current conversations about transnational literacy. Don’t risk thinking that your regular description “looks” transnational. Postdoc applications are far more individualized than applications for tenure-track jobs in American or Modern British literature (for instance). In addition, if the postdoc is connected to a humanities center or some kind of interdisciplinary project, spend time talking about your investment in the question of the humanities and/or interdisciplinarity, and make sure to present yourself as someone able to negotiate conversations across the disciplines. Selection committees for postdocs affiliated with Centers are looking for people able to contribute to intellectual community. Prove that you are the collaborative type they need.
Q: What's the timetable for postdocs? My sense is that they're almost all due after jobs.
RW: Yes, this is true, which means that you can concentrate on applying for jobs and then turn your attention to postdocs slightly later. Usually the deadlines begin in November and go through January, with announcements in March and April. There is rarely interviews for postdocs—everything is typically done from the written application, which is why you need to hone your letter and make sure that your writing sample speaks directly to the issues described as the criteria (if applicable) for the position.
Q: To the extent that we can prioritize, would you recommend focusing on postdocs or teaching jobs in the current market environment? Or is the timetable such that we can do both?
RW: The timetable is such that you can do both. I’ve advised people defending in spring 2011 to concentrate their energies on postdocs, in part because they are still in the process of finishing the dissertation and the fall job market for tenure-track is a serious amount of work. It is crucial not to impede your process toward completion by going on the job market. That might sound counter-intuitive but in this job market, your best position for searching is after you defend.
Q: To the extent that one can network effectively for these things at all, how might you network towards a postdoc?
RW: I met the postdoc I am currently sponsoring at Duke (who won one of the Provost’s two annual positions) when I was a faculty member at the Clinton summer institute on American Studies in Dublin. I was impressed by his work and invited him to apply. I think this scenario is not unusual. Being active professionally—in conference venues and summer institutes—can make you familiar to others. For those postdocs that are awarded through sponsorship (i.e., a faculty has to sponsor the candidate), it is crucial to have a connection to the person.
It is not unusual however for faculty to receive inquiries from dissertators interested in being sponsored for postdoc fellowships. My best advice here is that you get one of your dissertation committee members to write to a faculty at X institution and ask them if they are interested in shepherding you through the postdoc application process and serving as a mentor. The request is much stronger coming from your faculty supporters. I’ve had success with this route, in helping connect a Duke student to a mentor elsewhere.