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[US Ph.D. candidate]

I have just heard through the grapevine that there will be a very interesting "permanent" position in my field -- for. lang. lit. pre-modern-- to be offered at a UK university.   I'd like to get a dossier together before the official announcement comes out but have no idea what a UK institution might ask for.  

Could someone tell me what UK universities usually ask for?

I'm also wondering how on earth they can take care of the whole process and have someone nicely settled into their position by Sept. 1st of this year.  

what does the timeline of a UK application process look like more or less?

Thanks for any help.

[%sig%]

[chocky]

The timeline is much shorter than here, although this is leaving it a little late even by UK standards. But jobs are still coming out in my field for this year, so some depts obviously think it is possible.

Take a look at the dept's RAE rating, as that will give you an idea of the balance between research and teaching. If it has a reasonably high rating (e.g. 4 or above), they will probably be looking for someone with publications in hand or in-press, ready for the 2008 RAE. If it is a 3 or below, they may be more focused on teaching. You should formulate your application, esp your cover letter, with this in mind. If they are research-focused, make sure they know about any work in progress that you expect to come to fruition before 2008, as well as accomplishments to date and longer-term future plans.

They will probably be explicit in the job ad about what they want. In general, UK universities want less than US places. They usually ask for names of refs, not letters up front (they will contact them for info if you make the short list). In my field, they typically ask for a cover letter addressing the selection criteria and a CV with publication list. However, I also sent a research statement and a teaching statement (if they only accepted 2 documents, as was the case for some on-line applications, I tacked these onto the end of my CV). Some of the places I applied to explicitly asked aplicants NOT to send reprints. They generally did not want as much paperwork. If you are applying on-line, send PDFs not Word docs, as the different paper size can screw up your formatting.

It might be a good idea to show you are familiar with the UK system by mentioning things like the forthcoming RAE, and maybe UK or European funding opprtunities, in your cover letter. I don't know what others think of this -- maybe they would consider it too cheesy -- it's just that it might help your case to show you know what you are applying for, and are not completely naiive about the UK system.

[chocky again]

About the timeline, a shortlist is typically drawn up within a few weeks of the closing date. If you are on it, expect to hear pretty quickly (your references may be able to tip you off, if they are contacted). You may also find they have a specific date for interviews (often mentioned in the job ad), which is set in stone. So make sure you are available to travel then! Alternatively they may ask you to specificy your availability.

[Green Eyed Lady]

I agree with Chocky that it is probably a good idea to show in your letter or blurb  you write about yourself that you are familiar with the RAE and/or other elements of the UK system. A well qualified friend of mine was recently turned down for a UK job for which she was initially being considered, supposedly because they felt she was not familiar with the UK system. I have been applying for lots of jobs in the UK, and most of them seem to have handwritten application forms, which are a real pain. However, I write the 'blurb' bit on the computer, customizing it for each one, of course, and cut it out, paste it on the page so it fits perfectly, and then photocopy it so it looks really nice and neat. Unfortunately, I think that being American is a big strike against us, since it means they would have to request a work permit. But I figure it's worth us trying, anyway. If you check that university's web site daily, you will probably be the first to see the job advertised. They usually hit the Times Higher Education Supplement (availale online) somewhat later than they are advertised on their own web site. And they will tell you exactly what they want. It does vary quite a bit. One of the Oxbridge schools wanted everything (and I mean everything) in a letter, which I found rather odd. The typical timeframe in the UK from what I can tell seems to be about six weeks from job close to interview, but again, this will vary with the time of year, I bet. I have seen an earlybird advertising in May for a January start, but there are still jobs being advertised for September even now. I  suspect the reality is that some of them might say September but will agree to January, if you see what I mean. Hope some of this helps.

[moom]

Teaching usually starts in October.

[GEL]

I think teaching will start September 26th this autumn at my 'uni'.

[US Ph.D. candidate]

I will keep all of these things in mind.
Thanks to you all.

[UKtoUS]

Green Eyed Lady wrote:

"Unfortunately, I think that being American is a big strike against us, since it means they would have to request a work permit. But I figure it's worth us trying, anyway."

This isn't always true.  I think it really depends on the discipline and the department.  About a third of my department (RAE 5 rating) are expat Americans (including myself), and we just hired another one.  The only concern here is whether or not an American can adapt quickly to the UK academic system: tutorials, more team-teaching, etc., and loads of double-marking, moderating, and working with external examiners.  There was some mention here of preferring someone who'd had at least a bit of their own education in the UK for that reason.  But like I said, we just hired another American, so even that obviously wasn't a huge problem.  There's a great story one of our long-time American colleagues likes to tell about his first week teaching in the UK.  A student walked up to him and said, "Aren't you Dr. X?  Don't we have a tutorial with you right now?"  And he said, "Yes I am, but what's a 'tutorial'?"!  

The concern about work permits is similar to the States.  It certainly makes it a lot easier if you are a UK / EU citizen, but if you're the right person for the job, it's not difficult for a department to justify to the Home Office why they want you.  I was granted a work permit fairly quickly.  

Did someone mention how the job interviews differ in an earlier post?  If so, I apologise for this repetition... (And this is really based on my own experience.  Surely there is variation on the theme).  In the UK, they tend to do all of the job interviews in one day.  All of the candidates are thrown together unlike the US system where they're kept from meeting each other.  Usually all of the candidates go out for drinks in the evening even to compare notes.  It's very wierd coming from the US.  The interview consists of a "job talk" which is a presentation (45 minutes or an hour maybe?) where you 'sell yourself' in terms of teaching and research.  That's different from the "teaching demo" in the US in the sense that here they primarily want to know about your research and publications (again, maybe this a a bias from a 5 RAE department?).  They can pick up your presentation style from the job talk however, so you do want to be dynamic.  You don't want to simply reiterate your CV though.  You want to paint a broad picture of your whole research trajectory and where you are going with it next (but of course, *subtly* plug your publications in there somewhere for good measure).  They want to know that you'll be able to contribute future publications to their RAE rating.  Almost everyone I've seen uses powerpoint for these job talks, but I hardly think this is necessary (I've seen more poorly done PP than anything).  Then there's the formal interview where they ask you the typical questions.  It's all over in a day, and usually they make a decision within a day or two.  Be prepared for the question: "If we offered you the job, would you take it".  That's a standard one that throws many Americans off because they don't expect it.

[%sig%]

[GEL]

Thank you so much for sharing that. Definitely has the ring of truth to it and the work permit part was very encouraging. GEL

[JC]

Sometimes the interview panel will put all the candidates together in a room after they have all been interviewed, will go away and deliberate, then call in the successful candidate.

On one occasion I was less than 40 miles from the campus on my way home when I got the call to say that I hadn't got the job!  

One should also be aware that there is little in the way of salary negociation for anybody other than full professors. This is because there is a national pay scale.

[%sig%]

[sportyspice]

To disagree with the last poster, there is leeway to negotiate for salary.  There is a standardized national salary scale (actually, two different scales for "new" and "old" universities), but you might be able to negotiate where you start on the scale.  I found that the same negotiating strategies I would have used in the US worked just fine here.  Although I have also heard that there is generally less room for negotiation.

[%sig%]