1. GETTING A JOB AT A
RESEARCH SCHOOL
Joanne’s Top 10 Tips
JOANNE OXLEY
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto

2. 1 – Do Good Work!
 Develop a topic / question / context
/debate that you really care about
 Remember that the goal is deep
understanding, not just getting the “right”
answer
 LISTEN to and HEAR feedback – check
back to make sure you got it
 Engage in the conversation

3. 2 – Remember that it’s YOUR job
 Reflect on your own priorities
 Seek information from faculty, former
students, your own cohort
 Cast a wide net in the first instance –
would you take this job over
unemployment?
 Develop a short list of “dream jobs” for
focused attention

4. 3 – Optimize your packet
 Work, rework and polish your dissertation
summary – this is the written equivalent of
your “elevator speech”
 Energize your letter writers (see Tip #1!)
 Don’t put anything on your CV that you
cannot discuss coherently (or ideally that
you are keen to share)

5. 4 – Leverage your network
 See Tip #1 – if you’ve been doing good
work you’ll already have a network!
 Don’t be afraid to contact people or
send a packet even if you haven’t seen
a job announcement – enlist your
advisors if possible

6. 5 – Preparing for your job talk
and interviews
 Practice, practice, practice
 Don’t forget your elevator speech (30
second, 2-minute, 5-minute versions)
 Do your homework – look up news about
school and backgrounds / interests of all
faculty on your schedule – look for
common ground – be curious!
 Follow up – thank you notes, scholarly
exchanges

7. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 – Do Good Work!