Advancing your career

1. Advancing your Early
Academic Career
Ekant Veer
Associate Professor of Marketing
University of Canterbury
ANZMAC 2014 Doctoral Colloquium

2. BREAKDOWN...
• Work Ethic
• How you work
• What your worldview is
• Improving your chances of getting published
• Some tips that I use, that tend to work
• Building a Research Environment
• Creating a culture that accelerates your career

3. BUT...BEFORE WE GO ANY
FURTHER
• Some disclosure statements
• What I say is what has worked/not worked for me, and it may not
be as effective for you
• It is based on my experience working in the UK/Australasia – it may
be different if you plan to work elsewhere!
• A good academic has a balance between teaching, research and
service...BUT, IMHO, your early years need to be research focused
• The world is changing...

4. WHY IS THE EARLY CAREER
SO IMPORTANT?
• Your PhD & early career sets the tone for your
working habits and work ethic
• If you can balance your life, and still succeed early
on, it gets easier
• Everything you do at work, needs to focus on how
it will improve your career
• You’ll need support

5. THERE ARE NO
TRICKS...JUST HARD
WORK AND DISCIPLINE
However...you can be more efficient and learn from
others’ mistakes...and I’ve made plenty

6. SURROUND YOURSELF
WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE
• Some people will look to help you, some will look
to exploit you and some will look to destroy
you...and they all look the same
• If you’re really unlucky...the same person can be all
three
• Knowing who to surround yourself with will make
life significantly easier

7. SOME QUOTES...
• “Never say “no” to anything...if someone asks you to do
something, say “let me check” – then come to me...”
• Being able to say ‘no’ is sometimes not in our nature
• We don’t want to be seen as troublemakers
• We want to be a team player
• We think it’ll advance our careers
• We’re energetic, lively and ready to make a difference, sometimes
we think we can do this through service or additional teaching
• Being able to say ‘no’ to something that will take you away
from your research time is invaluable in your early years

8. SOME QUOTES...
• “If you pick up one of my classes, I promise to work with
you to get something under submission by the end of the
year...”
• I did this...did it pay off?
• I got to work with a prominent Prof
• I got a low level pub
• I got some more experience with teaching
• It was one hit, rather than the start of an ongoing stream
of research

9. SOME QUOTES...
• “You will never achieve anything...you’re lucky to even have
this job...be happy with what you have, do what you’re
meant to do and quit trying to be more than you’re entitled
to...there’s a pecking order, and you’re at the bottom”
• Actual conversation I had with a Prof that lasted over 30
minutes without me saying a thing
• You will find these people, or they will find you
• You cannot effect what they say, but you can decide how you react
• My reaction... “Challenge accepted”...I was promoted that year and
published a couple of A journals...

10. WORKING WITH PEOPLE...
• Surrounding yourself with the ‘right’ people is
crucial
• Your first job should be away from your PhD institution so you can
grow without being thought of as ‘the student’
• Sacrifice what is comfortable, for what will make you better
• Work in a leading research group
• Failing that, work with a leading researcher who will mentor you
• Failing that, work at a University that respects research and build
your networks externally

11. SIX VERY SIMPLE [BUT
PAINFUL] RULES FOR
THRIVING
(ADAPTED FROM GINA BARRECA) • Choose your research topic wisely
• You’re going to be living with it for a LONG time
• Passion cannot be manufactured
• Everybody else’s topic will look more attractive
• If there isn’t love for the topic at the start, it certainly
won’t be there when it matters

12. SIX VERY SIMPLE [BUT
PAINFUL] RULES FOR
THRIVING
• Write for those who will read your topic in 10
years’ time, not those who were writing about it 10
years ago
• You need to push the bounds of knowledge, and that
can’t be done by appeasing the past
• Draw on the past and reinvent it for the future
• Knowing your topic is one thing; but being stuck in your
topic with no way out is another

13. SIX VERY SIMPLE [BUT
PAINFUL] RULES FOR
THRIVING
• Don’t rely on others to keep you going
• You have to be self motivated
• Surrounding yourself with good people can help, but it is
not enough
• Other people won’t take the time to tell you you’re
doing a good job
• As adults, you know you’re doing a good job when
you’re not being actively criticised

14. SIX VERY SIMPLE [BUT
PAINFUL] RULES FOR
THRIVING
• Even the best advisor/co-author/mentor won’t
have enough time for you
• Doesn’t matter how great you are, you’re not the only
thing in their life
• Have a support network outside of your primary
contacts
• Family, friends, other colleagues
• Your advisor/co-author/mentor is not your parent, and
never will be

15. SIX VERY SIMPLE [BUT
PAINFUL] RULES FOR
THRIVING
• Being perfect will kill your productivity
• Attaining perfection, in your eyes, may be the thing
that’s holding you back
• IF you attain perfection, and then you get rejected, how
does that affect one’s self esteem and drive to try
again?
• We’re not surgeons, we’re not rocket scientists, we’re
not even tailors – a drive for perfection is subjective
and, in most cases, a hindrance

16. SIX VERY SIMPLE [BUT
PAINFUL] RULES FOR
THRIVING
• Most importantly...Only writing counts as writing
• Talking about research, thinking about research, having
another research lunch, having another skype meeting,
reading another article, reframing your thinking
DOESN’T COUNT
• Writing, plain and simple, counts

17. HOW EXACTLY DO YOU
ADVANCE YOUR CAREER?
• Know the game you’re playing and know the rules
• Play the game and play it better than those you’re
being compared against (not necessarily those
sitting in the offices next to you)
• Publications are the only currency in many schools,
regardless of what you may be told
• Awards often don’t count as much as you hope

18. WHAT DID I DO?
• The UK system is ruled by the REF and that’s the only thing Deans care
about
• Every academic needs 4 publications from the ABS list
• As a result, my game meant that it was better to get 4 good publications,
than 1 JCR/JM/JMR
• Continued to teach and (thankfully) had minimal service
• Is there such a thing as a soft A?
• Went to the right conferences for my career
• Made sure everyone knew who I was, when I went to conference

19. IMPROVING YOUR CHANCE
OF BEING PUBLISHED
• Some overarching rules:
• Pick a journal you wish to target
• Read the journal you’re writing for & cite the journal
• Write your paper for the journal, don’t try and adapt a manuscript
to suit
• Format your publication for the journal
• Match the length of your article to the contribution you’re offering
• Communicate the contribution…not what you did, but why it's
important

20. COMMUNICATING THE
CONTRIBUTION
• The better journals publish articles that explicate a
tension, dynamic or competition between theories
• Drawing on an existing debate and adding to it with
your perspective is important
• This is your contribution and communicating it is
crucial to success
• Start by answering the same 4 questions…

21. COMMUNICATING THE
CONTRIBUTION
1. What’s the problem?
• What is the issue you’re trying to solve?
1. Why is it an important problem?
• What is it about the problem you’re looking to solve that makes it worthy
of attention?
1. What’s your solution/approach?
• How do you plan to solve this problem?
1. Why is that an effective solution/approach?
• Why do you think you’re solution/approach is the best way forward?

22. RESEARCH ATTITUDE AND
BEHAVIOUR
• You can’t do everything, but you can do a lot to ensure you
never lose sight of research
• Six months away from research can take more than a year
to catch up; one year away can take far longer
• Do a little research every single day
• Restrict teaching & admin to specific days, the rest is
research days

23. RESEARCH ATTITUDE AND
BEHAVIOUR
1. Thou shalt read and read often
• You cannot add to the current debates and the current
knowledge if you’re behind
• Don’t ‘make time’ for reading – make time for
everything else
1. Thou shalt not be too proud to ask for help
• Everyone is protective of their work, but asking people
to review your work is crucial to success

24. RESEARCH ATTITUDE AND
BEHAVIOUR
3. Thou shalt not put all your eggs in one basket
• Have multiple projects always on the go
• Every academic should have papers at all stages of the pipeline
4. Thou shalt celebrate others’ successes, and mourn
others’ setbacks with honesty and integrity
• If you can’t celebrate with others with honesty, then don’t expect it
back

25. RESEARCH ATTITUDE AND
BEHAVIOUR
5. Thou shalt get over rejection and keep trying
• I take rejection badly…very badly
• BUT, to be successful, you can’t dwell on the negativity, but strive
to improve yourself
5. Thou shalt surround yourself with people who encourage
and empower you
• Make sure you listen to encouragers and ignore the negativity!

26. RESEARCH ATTITUDE AND
BEHAVIOUR
7. Thou shalt stay humble
• Arrogance has its place, but it’s not between colleagues and does
not help the research culture
7. Thou shalt review for journals
• It takes up your time, but if you know the flaws and mistakes in
others’ work, it’s easier to avoid them in your own work
7. Thou shalt meet often
• Separation doesn’t need to be physical, but also emotional
• Meet regularly and chat about work

27. AND FINALLY…
10.Thou shalt have fun

28. SUMMARY
• I wish I could hand out a list of words to guarantee
success, but that’s impossible
• There is no one formula to success, but there are
ways you can make your life and career easier
• You have to know the game you’re playing and you
have to keep trying
• You have to know who is there to help you

29. NOW YOU HAVE THE
THEORY…
GO AND DO IT…
…yeah, easier said than done