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[applied_linguist]

Hi all,

I am a Romanian doing a PhD in Applied Linguistics in the US (and have lived here for 8 years now, got a greencard) who is strongly considering relocating to the UK.  I don't need to be sold on it, I'd leave tomorrow, but the question is: what are my chances of finding (any) academic job in the UK?  Would I need connections to get an interview, or can I just reply to job ads?  Any ideas/ advice greatly appreciated!!   Also, are there any good job search sites other than http://www.jobs.ac.uk/? 

Thanks a bunch!

[qrypt]

Sigh - the fact that a (continental) European asks this question speaks volumes about European universities. 

The UK market is much more open than the market in some other countries in Europe.  Particularly with a PhD from the US, you shouldn't hesitate to apply - many people get jobs without connections.  No doubt some do get jobs because of connections, but it when it's obvious that that's what has happened, it is considered highly unsavoury. 

Go ahead and apply.  Read through some of the threads here first for further advice on applications. 

[applied_linguist]

Thanks so much qrypt!  Yes, there are those types of connections which made me study in the US (and 8 years ago when I started my MA, Western Europe was not looking at Romanian students because we were not part of the EU! :() .  But I guess what I had in mind was more the types of connections that one's adviser has... i.e. among faculty (which I'm sure are common everywhere, not just in Europe).  My adviser does not happen to know anyone in Europe.   Thanks so much again!

[expatinuk]

Relationships that your advisor has with others isn't as important in the UK as in other parts of the world. The major thing that you MUST demonstrate in an UK application is how you meet ALL the essential parts of the job description. As qypt states, go through some of the older threads here to read those discussions.

Good luck

Oh... besides jobs.ac.uk check out the Times Higher
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/jobs_home.asp?navCode=84

[drspouse]

It is possible that you would hear about a job that you had missed because of connections, and I've applied for jobs I've seen through email networks rather than through paid advertisements.

It is also possible that if you apply to a department where someone knows your advisor, and they write you a reference, that the person who knows your advisor might think "Oh, X thinks they are good, that means something". But it could not mean something good...

I don't think there will be places where you have to have a contact to even apply or stand a chance.

[scotia]

I don't think there will be places where you have to have a contact to even apply or stand a chance.

I believe that would be illegal under rules governing public sector employment in the UK - nepotism just ain't allowed.

There are (rare) occasions when jobs are not as widely advertized as they should be - they just have to be advertized somewhere - but I have only ever seen this for temporary lectureships or post-docs and with the advent of jobs.ac.uk the tendency to bury jobs in the vacancies section of a local newspaper seems to have disappeared.

I have been involved in recruitment of several faculty members and have never seen 'who' writes the reference for a candidate have any effect on recruitment; some institutions (my Russell Group employer is one and I don't know if this is universal practice) only use references to check there is nothing untoward about a candidate after interview. It is several years since I have a seen a candidate reference as part of the short-listing process.

[applied_linguist]

Very interesting and useful info, thank you all.  I am used to the 'connections' system in Romania and I found that the US job application process (in general, not necessarily academic) is heavily based on all sorts of connections.  My husband applied for quite a few jobs that were already taken and that were posted because they had to be... but then he got one (in medical research, university setting) he found online on a random website. 

[drspouse]

It is several years since I have a seen a candidate reference as part of the short-listing process.

We always see them for RA/postdoc jobs but I haven't been on the panel for anything higher. I believe they have been attached to the academic job packs though when we've all been asked to peruse them - but I don't think anyone reads those ones except maybe if they know the referee and want to see if their writing style has changed!

[bacardiandlime]

It is several years since I have a seen a candidate reference as part of the short-listing process.

We always see them for RA/postdoc jobs but I haven't been on the panel for anything higher. I believe they have been attached to the academic job packs though when we've all been asked to peruse them - but I don't think anyone reads those ones except maybe if they know the referee and want to see if their writing style has changed!

I was invited for an interview at one uni and my referees were only asked for letters after I had been contacted for interview. So I don't know how much weight the references were given at that stage, or if it was just to check I wasn't a nut.

[drspouse]

I think we receive the references before interview when the candidate says we can ask for them - but since many candidates won't want their employer to know they are applying elsewhere, we won't see all of them (or use them to discriminate) with the applications.