Advancing your career

Ekant Veer, PhDUniversity of Canterbury

Presented at RMIT, Melbourne, 26th October 2011

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

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...

Wait...why should I even listen to you?

• Received my PhD from Uni of Auckland in 2007, so I know the system you’re working under

• Took my first position at the Uni of Bath, UK in 2006• Now an SL (over the bar) at Uni of Canterbury• 10 As, 4 Bs, 3-4 Cs and a handful of conference

presentations/reports/book chapters (based on ERA rankings)• Editor of the Journal of Research for Consumers (www.jrconsumers.com)• Editorial board for JCB, CMC, JSM, IJEM• TCR Board member, ACR Comms Manager, ACR Board Member• Supervised over 60 PG students to completion• I’ve won Teaching awards, Research awards blah blah blah• But...I haven’t achieved anything yet, in my mind

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, needs to focus on how it will improve your career

• That takes sacrifice and support

There are no tricks...just hard work and disciple

However...you can be more efficient and learn from others’ mistakes...and

I’ve made plenty

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

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

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

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 affect 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...

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

Six Very Simple, but Painful, Rules for Surviving (adapted from Gina Barreca)

1. 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 matters2. 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

Six Very Simple, but Painful, Rules for Surviving

3. 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 4. 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

Six Very Simple, but Painful, Rules for Surviving

5. 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 hindrance6. 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

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 (especially at the doctoral level, sorry Jo!)

What did I do?

• The UK system was ruled by the REF and that’s the only thing Deans cared about

• Every academic needed 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

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 its important

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…

Communicating the Contribution

1. What’s the problem?– What is the issue you’re trying to solve?

2. Why is it an important problem?– What is it about the problem you’re looking to solve that

makes it worthy of attention?3. What’s your solution/approach?– How do you plan to solve this problem?

4. Why is that an effective solution/approach?– Why do you think you’re solution/approach is the best

way forward?

Creating a Research Culture

• 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

How to build a research culture

• Thou shalt read and read often– You cannot add to the current debates and the current

knowledge if you’re behind• 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• 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

How to build a research culture• Thou shalt celebrate others’ successes, and mourn others’

setbacks with honest and integrity– If you can’t celebrate with others with honesty, then don’t expect it

back• 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• Thou shalt surround yourself with people who encourage and

empower you and not isolate yourself – This can be a lonely existence, so make sure you care for your

support network – you will need them

How to build a research culture

• Thou shalt stay humble– Arrogance has its place, but it’s not between colleagues

and does not help the research culture• 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

• Thou shalt meet often– Separation doesn’t need to be physical, but also emotional – Meet regularly and chat about work

And finally…

Thou shalt have fun

Summary

• I wish I could hand out a list of sure fire 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

Now you have the theory…go and do it…

…yeah, easier said than done