Job Talks

Here are the key takeaways:

Design your talk in thirds:

1. The big picture of your research, not only the impact you've already had but the impact you will have.

2. The details of your research. A deep dive into the complexity that will demonstrate your depth of expertise to the people in the room who are in your field.

3. Your personal story. People need to feel like they know you and can trust you and that you'll be a good colleague.

But remember, the talk needs to flow naturally. Different segments of your talk will have different tones and a different feel. One postdoc I worked with even practiced delivering pieces of his personal story from one side of his slides and research from the other. But these moves need to feel natural not performative.

And while designing in thirds is a good idea, delivering in thirds is a terrible one. The talk should flow naturally from general to specific with a bit of personal story back to general back to more about you with a dive to specific and return to general.... you get the idea.

By the end, the goal is to cover this terrain but it is a natural weaving back and forth and in between that makes the talk feel like a natural conversation about the work you've done and the person you are and allows us to see and feel the work you'll do next and the ways in which you'll do it.

There's more art than science to these types of talks. As you move through The PresentBetter Program pay special attention to a few particularly key modules:

1. Credibility. Developing a deep understanding of how audiences triangulate credibility is particularly important. And remember the job talk is only 1 event in your interview. Everything else counts too.

2. Depending on the length of the Q&A time, the Zoom interface may prove very helpful. It's in the 3rd visual module.

3. Your delivery will matter. Academic positions come with the expectation that you are ready to be at the front of the room. You need people to know you are capable of having a strong, confident presence--even if you're a bit nervous at this particular moment.

Good luck. It's competitive, but the fact you are being asked to give a job talk means you are an exceptional candidate. Try your best to smile and relax a bit. You got this.