Event recap by Jessica Urzúa, PhD student in Sociology and Social Policy
The academic job search can feel opaque, solitary, and mythologized. How many jobs should you apply for? How much does networking matter? When should you start preparing materials? Can you negotiate an offer? And how do certain constraints like family obligations, geography, or disciplinary boundaries shape what is possible?
These were some of the questions explored in Real Life Stories from the Academic Job Search, a recent panel hosted by the Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS), featuring recent and soon-to-be Harvard Griffin GSAS PhDs reflecting candidly on their experiences navigating today’s academic labor market.
- Raul Duarte, PhD ’26 Political Economy and Government, Cowles Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University (2026) and Assistant Professor of Economics, Florida International University (2027)
- Jonathan Knapp, PhD ’24, Art, Film and Visual Studies, Assistant Teaching Professor (summer 2026), School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts
- Udodiri Okwandu, PhD ’24, History of Science, Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Professor (Fall 2026), Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
- Yingxue Wang, PhD ’25, History of Art & Architecture, Postdoctoral Associate in East Asian Studies and Lecturer in History of Art, Yale University.
The four panelists represented a striking range of approaches and outcomes: teaching professorships, tenure-track offers, postdoctoral fellowships, interdisciplinary searches, and fields with very different market structures. Yet despite these differences, several themes emerged.
There Is No Single Academic Job Market
One of the clearest takeaways from the panel was that there is no singular “academic job market;” there are many, and they operate quite differently across disciplines. For some, like Raul Duarte Gonzalez, the interdisciplinarity of his PhD program expanded his possibilities. Because his work straddles political science and economics, he went on both job markets, tailoring application materials to each field and ultimately securing opportunities in both. His story highlighted both the labor involved in pursuing multiple markets (with offset timelines) and the upside of seeing interdisciplinarity as an asset rather than a liability.
For others, scarcity shaped a different strategy. Yingxue Wang noted that in Japanese art history, there were limited positions to apply to. Rather than a high-volume strategy, her search centered on carefully targeted applications and sustained professional relationships within her field.
The contrast was instructive: success did not look like following one idealized model, but understanding the structure of one’s field and adapting accordingly.
Networking Often Looks Different Than People Expect
“Networking” can sound transactional, but the panelists described something much broader: relationship-building over time. Jonathan Knapp shared how geographic constraints led him to proactively send cold emails to every institution within driving distance of Boston that has a film or media studies program. Those efforts led to teaching positions at Emerson, Wellesley and Tufts—experiences that later helped him secure his current teaching professorship at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, at Tufts.
Others described networking through scholarly exchange. Raul pointed to several low-key forms of networking that quietly paid off. When visiting speakers came to give seminars at Harvard, he signed up for the 30-minute one-on-one meetings offered to graduate students. One of those brief conversations almost certainly helped him stand out in an enormous postdoc applicant pool later. Raul also emphasized the importance of coauthors and mentors, beyond your dissertation committee, who can advocate for you during your job search.
For Yingxue, reconnecting with a former undergraduate advisor during her fieldwork research proved to be one of the most impactful aspects of her job search success. This allowed her to request letters and advice from scholars in the field beyond Harvard. Attending national conferences put Yingxue on panels with junior faculty at institutions where she would later interview. Having people already familiar with her work ahead of the interviews made the process feel more relational.
Networking is not just collecting contacts. It can mean cultivating intellectual relationships, pursuing collaborations, or creating opportunities through initiative.
Preparation Starts Earlier Than You Think
One point that panelists returned to repeatedly was to start preparing materials early. Udodiri Okwandu offered perhaps the most direct advice of the panel…draft materials in the spring or summer before going on the market, because trying to finish the dissertation while building application materials from scratch can be overwhelming. Her observation that the first versions of your materials probably won’t be very good drew knowing laughter—but also underscored the importance of multiple revisions. Panelists stressed that circulating materials widely, getting feedback from mentors early, and recognizing that successful applications often emerge only after many rounds of iteration.
Yingxue added a related caution: Draft as much of the dissertation as possible before entering the market. Applying to jobs can be a full-time commitment, especially if it’s your first time. A completed or close-to-completed dissertation is also very helpful for preparing a strong job talk. Her takeaway: Talk with your advisor early about the job search timeline, and find a way to spread out the work.
These reflections reframed the academic job search less as a fall-semester sprint and more as a long preparation process that builds throughout graduate school and starts, in earnest, the spring before applying for positions.
Keep Multiple Possibilities Open
All four panelists had at least considered non-academic paths, and three actively pursued them. Raul ran a parallel search for economist and data scientist roles in industry, while waiting for academic offers to come through. His strategy for managing a two-pronged search in an uncertain market: enter the academic job market early and, where possible, ask for more time while waiting to hear from academic searches.
Udodiri emphasized the value of being honest with yourself about what you actually want to do, including remaining open to careers beyond the professoriate. She suggested that this flexibility made her more intentional in what she pursued. Part-time and consulting work during grad school, as a research historian for The HistoryMakers and as a consultant for Ancestry, not only broadened her options, but also became what search committee members asked about most during interviews. Her ability to translate historical research for non-academic audiences made her more compelling on the academic market, not less, and gave her genuine peace of mind by reminding her that fulfillment and joy were possible beyond academia.
Keeping options open is not a sign of divided commitment, but often a pragmatic and empowering response to a difficult job market. MCS graduate career advisors are happy to help Harvard Griffin GSAS students brainstorm career options, within and beyond academia, and they strongly encourage you to begin this process as early as possible in graduate school…don’t wait until the spring of your final year!
Negotiation Is Part of the Process
A particularly valuable part of the conversation focused on an aspect of the job search that often feels especially mysterious: negotiation. Across very different institutional contexts—public R1 universities, unionized environments, and teaching-focused appointments—the message was remarkably consistent: negotiate.
Best practice, when receiving an academic job offer, is to first express deep enthusiasm and ask for time to consider the offer. Rank your priorities, then communicate them in a single coherent package, framing asks not around your personal needs, but more around what you would need to thrive as a scholar and colleague to ultimately reach tenure.
With FIU, Raul was able to negotiate on salary and secured a teaching release for his second year. A priority for him was to do the postdoc at Yale before starting at FIU. He ultimately agreed to a compromise of taking one semester for postdoctoral research first.
Jonathan offered a reminder that negotiation is not only about salary. Having taught at Tufts previously, he was able to accelerate the timing for promotion review. He also secured summer support before the position formally begins, as he will be preparing his classes then.
Udodiri’s Rutgers experience reflected another model entirely. Because Rutgers faculty are unionized, certain conditions are defined by contract. However, her department chair and mentor negotiated on her behalf. She was able to identify her priorities, however, and she successfully rolled over unspent postdoctoral research funds into her assistant professorship.
Especially encouraging was a broader point echoed by several panelists: Once an institution has made an offer, departments generally want to help set you up for success. It’s important to realize that they really want you to say “yes,” not only because they selected you, but also because no one wants a failed search. So don’t be afraid to negotiate in a professional and collegial manner.
There Is No Single Definition of Success
Perhaps the most meaningful theme running through the panel was that success looked very different for each speaker.
For Jonathan, it meant finding a stable teaching-centered role in the Boston area. For Raul, it meant leveraging interdisciplinarity across multiple markets to secure a research-focused role. For Udodiri, it meant choosing a postdoc that converted into a tenure-track line and offered mentorship, stability, and strong ties between related departments at the university. For Yingxue, it meant persevering through multiple cycles on the market, while balancing family life and ultimately securing a tenure-track offer.
Final Takeaway: Strategy Matters, but So Does Perspective
If there was one overarching lesson from the event, it was that navigating the academic job market requires both strategy and perspective. It requires strategy, in the form of early preparation, tailored materials, networking, and thoughtful negotiation. It also requires perspective, in recognizing that there are many viable paths, that constraints do not preclude creativity, and that the process is often less about following a perfect script than about finding a path that fits your priorities.
A reminder to current Harvard Griffin GSAS students and recent alums: Schedule an advising appointment (through Crimson Careers) with Laura Stark, Associate Director for Academic Careers. If you’re planning to apply for postdocs and/or faculty positions this fall, spring and summer are the best times to work on your application materials.
