I'm excited to announce I've accepted an offer from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (OB area; Gies college of business)! I feel like there is often little transparency about the time + effort involved in getting a tenure track job. So, here's a thread w/ lessons...

What did it take? 95 job applications across multiple years on the market, 6 yr grad school + 2 yr postdoc + 11 journal pubs (9 first author). I applied widely for social psych + management jobs. 1st year on the market, I got 6 interviews for tenure-track psych + mgt positions.

This year (w/ stronger vita + postdoc), I applied to same # of jobs and only got 3 interviews, all management. I didn't get a *single* campus interview in psych! 2 first author JPSPs & still no luck! I applied to less research-intensive schools too. They weren't biting either!

Many grad students spend years obsessing over getting top-tier pubs & thinking it will translate into success. This is what our programs often train us to do! Reconsider whether this strategy is worth it to you or if there are other pathways towards a fulfilling career.

I was partly drawn to b-school jobs because I (mistakenly) thought the market might be easier--Why not enhance my chances by applying in 2 fields? Recently, fewer psych phds are getting hired at b-schools. My appeal to psych depts (as a b-school postdoc) is much lower too.

You can't win them all and if you want to be successful it may make more sense to commit to a field (ideally one with many jobs!) as early as you feel comfortable with! Spreading yourself too thin can backfire.

The prevailing wisdom is a postdoc will enhance your odds of getting a competitive tenure-track job. While technically true (I wouldnt have landed a job if I didnt!), as long postdocs (or doing 2!) become a norm, doing a brief, 2 year postdoc may not make a huge difference.

I have even heard that there is sometimes a bias against hiring postdocs for b-school jobs--we're not "fresh" enough, apparently!

I have been incredibly fortunate to have strong, supportive mentorship and ample resources to conduct research, which certainly facilitated my ability to eventually find a job. I am ecstatic and relieved the job search process is over!

I'm happy to discuss job market related stuff (especially for social psychologists considering b-schools jobs + postdocs) so DM me if you want to chat.