Academy Coaching

My upcoming presentation at the Annual Conference of the Michigan ACE Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education in Lansing , Mi June 9^th is Getting into the Academy; Successfully Negotiating an Academic Job Offer will cover practical tips of how to create an offer worth accepting http://ace.cmich.edu/sessions.shtml

You have the best negotiation position before accepting an offer, and vice-versa. That being said, there is negotiation “etiquette” worth following to ensure the process is as productive as the outcome. This blog will run until June 9^th and is intended to focus on the negotiation process by offering a few helpful “principals for negotiation”. Jump in with examples of what has worked for you or questions about how to use these principles.

1) Know what you need for tenure

Come to the discussions with a clear understanding of what you will need to be successful in the field/institution. Talk to your committee chair, talk to several tenured faculty members in your field at institutions consistent with rankings where you see yourself in the future. What did they secure in their offer that enabled them to be productive and successful in achieving tenure? In retrospect, is there anything they wish they would have asked for but didn’t? How might it have made a difference?

2) Couch your requests in “QUALITY OR PRODUCTIVITY” as the rationale of why you need what you are asking for. Deans will respect you even if your requests seem a bit much if the underlying goal is to do a better job and ultimately be successful in that College – which is ultimately what you both want. So talk to your audience in a way that makes them want to listen (e.g., seed grants, RA, computer, and a more manageable initial teaching commitment could significantly enhance productivity; a higher salary, moving expenses, or housing assistance could enable you to focus on your job rather than seek extraneous summer teaching or consulting income).

3) Be informed about the average salary range for your type of academic institution, region of the country, and academic rank and negotiate within this range. Here’s how to find out what a typical assistant professor makes, wherever you are interviewing…. Keep in mind that the “average” assistant professor has been teaching for a few years and that salaries do vary by field.

· Use the National Education Association’s annual faculty salary report, published in the NEA almanac, to find out what the average assistant professor was making a couple of years ago at the institution where you are interviewing.

· Use the Chronicle of Higher Education’s AAUP Faculty Salary Survey to find out what the average assistant professor makes at the institution where you’re interviewing. The survey is based on six years of data from more than 1,400 colleges and universities. Here’s their data for 2006-2007.

4) Communicate clearly – To the right people

Avoid casual conversation about salary or fringe benefits, unless you are talking to the person who will be making the offer (e.g., the dean or department head). One possible exception - often it is appropriate to communicate some of your non-monetary objectives and concerns to your “host” (typically a member of the Search Committee) especially if they involve getting your work done (e.g., space, equipment, research and teaching assistants - but not salary).

5) Keep the conversation going

Negotiating an academic job offer is a process not a onetime conversation. Don’t try and speed it up with confrontational requests or all or nothing demands or tight deadlines (which is tempting when you feel anxious and your juggling multiple different offers and just want to make a decision). Keep talking, use open ended questions (perhaps we might find a creative solution to the teaching load that allows us to both meet the departments short term teaching needs and the long term success of my research agenda?) and the desire to keep talking (I feel optimistic we are moving in the right direction, can we touch base at the end of the week?).