November 27, 2011

On the Job Market? Don't Sell Yourself Short, Even Now

An Academic on the Job Market? Don't Sell Yourself Short, Even Now 1

Fabrizio Costantini for The Chronicle

Ilana Blumberg, a scholar in the humanities who recently earned tenure at Michigan State U., says she didn't do a great job negotiating her job offer when she was first hired. Now she knows better.

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close An Academic on the Job Market? Don't Sell Yourself Short, Even Now 1

Fabrizio Costantini for The Chronicle

Ilana Blumberg, a scholar in the humanities who recently earned tenure at Michigan State U., says she didn't do a great job negotiating her job offer when she was first hired. Now she knows better.

By Audrey Williams June

Scholars who have been on the academic market in recent years know the competition for limited tenure-track jobs is fierce. But what they usually don't realize is that there is still room to negotiate if they are offered a position.

Too often, experts say, aspiring professors' relief at getting an offer in a tough economy undermines their will to ask for more money or their courage to press for other perks that would help pave the way for a successful career. But it shouldn't,