One of the many things that academics need to do but are seldom trained for in graduate school is networking. In order for you to be a successful scholar and to be a successfully employed academic, you need to get to know other people in your specific field and wider discipline. How to do this? Well, as ProfHackers have previously suggested you can attend conferences or use social media such as Twitter or Google Buzz. Today I’d like to suggest a cheaper and even faster way to build that network: write a thank-you note.
I have a particular type of thank-you note in mind. One of the other things that we are responsible for is reading the work of our fellow scholars. If you’re like me, you occasionally come across pieces that are especially striking, well written, groundbreaking, or help you reconceive how you had seen things. And sometimes it’s just a great essay/book and more enjoyable than many of the others you’ve recently read. When you hit those moments, I’d like to suggest that you track down the author and send her or him a note of appreciation.
We all know that the audience for academic publications is small, and one result of this is that you might never hear from anyone that has read something that may have taken you a better part of an academic year (or longer) to see into print. Writing to let them know that you enjoyed the piece is not only kind–something that we academics could spend some time working on in general–but also provides an opportunity to get to know someone new whose work is related to yours.
This might sound mercenary. And it is–in the sense that a commitment to writing is mercenary. And I don’t want to suggest that you should be sending form letters and blanket emails to everyone you ever read. It’s got to be honest, and you’ve got to realize that you might not get a response at all. But that shouldn’t stop you from sending the note anyway.
I started doing this in my first year of graduate study. I’ve sent notes to other grad students, to junior faculty, and to endowed chairs, and I always get a grateful response. Most often it hasn’t led to anything else, but in one case the person I wrote has become a mentor of sorts. When I had the opportunity to start a lecture/seminar series at Emory, I already knew the person that I could count on coming to speak even if I couldn’t secure an honorarium. And all it had taken me was 5 minutes to bang out an email about a book that changed how I saw an entire author’s corpus. Well worth the investment.
It of course bears mentioning that this hack isn’t only for graduate students or junior faculty. If you’re a senior scholar, just think how a kind word to a younger person in your field might make their day. Who knows, the new relationship might prove beneficial to you as well. You can certainly continue to learn from those entering the field.
Do you ever write thank-you notes in the academic setting? What effects have you seen from doing so?
cc licensed flickr photo by Romtomtom
Follow Profhacker through your favorite RSS reader: 
Developing online and blended learning programs requires research and collaboration. Learn how top technology companies are partnering with campuses across the country to advance online learning as it becomes an increasingly important aspect of higher education.
8 Responses to Expand Your Academic Network in 5 Minutes
Jonathan Dresner - February 26, 2010 at 11:23 am
Blogging works this way sometimes: acknowledging and discussing interesting research just because it’s interesting. I’ve gotten some really neat results from my conference blogging, in particular.
Janice - February 26, 2010 at 1:54 pm
If you receive these kinds of letters or emails, they’re not only gratifying, but they should be retained to demonstrate your engagement in the academic community and “influence”. I often receive thank-you notes from former students who express appreciation of my support as they seek employment and I try to write notes to session organizers and chairs to acknowledge their help. As you note, reaching out to thank someone for writing a particularly insightful article or significant study might well make someone’s day.
Speaking of thank-yous, I owe you one for the awesome tutorial on teaching with a timeline. I’m setting that up for a course this term where students research and share biographical entries via the timeline knowing that they can then draw upon this for one of their essays in the examination. They’re excited and so am I, so thanks very much!
Jana - February 26, 2010 at 2:05 pm
I once sent Carroll Smith-Rosenberg a thank you note for a guest lecture that she gave in an American history survey course at a California university (back in the day when I was pondering whether to apply to a PhD program). It made my day/week/year when she replied and suggested that she would welcome further correspondence if I had any specific questions about her work or my future in academia.
Julie Meloni - February 26, 2010 at 2:36 pm
I actually have seven e-mails on my to-do list, thanking people for speaking/chairing/attending a recent conference. I believe in the thank-yous!
Brian Croxall - February 26, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Thank you, Janice for this wonderful idea about preserving such notes for possible inclusion in things like tenure and promotion materials. Having them close at hand can certainly be useful for perking you up on a day when you’ve received a rejection or two.
And I’m glad that the timeline tutorial is proving helpful. Do you have an assignment that you can share? I’m collecting them where possible.
Nels P. Highberg - February 26, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Check with your institution to see their policies. At my school, I was told not to include the notes, cards, and emails from student that arrive before I’ve given final grades. Some committee members, I was told, would dismiss those as part of some attempt to influence grades. But it was fine to include things from after grades were distributed, especially the cards and such that some students send after they graduate. The “later” the not is, when it comes to students, the better. I had a note from a student that she sent after she earned her master’s degree that said some nice things about how I prepared her for grad school and the job she eventually received, and committee members actually pointed that out in their review. The same is true for letters I received from parents. Those cared a fair amount of weight.
Romtomtom - February 26, 2010 at 4:14 pm
I found that article by chance, because of using my flickr photo. I run a little ego-search and normally just stopping by for seconds, to have a short impression of the use of my stuff.
In that case I read the whole article and enjoyed it much. THANKS! :-)
I did my studies in the 80′s and my PhD in the beginning of the 90′s – and overtook the chance to build up a big network at this time. Later it was much more difficult to retrieve old companions.
Giving thank-you’s is a good way, to express your positive feelings and build up your network.
Regards from germany, Thomas
jmcclurken - February 26, 2010 at 10:17 pm
I’ve tried to send informal notes to people whose work I really enjoyed, and certainly have received nice responses. However, I recently received a couple of these notes about pieces of my own work, and it was incredibly validating. So, I’m recommitted to writing more of these for others.