Teresa Amabile, PhD
Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
I got my job in a business school more or less by accident. When I joined the faculty of Harvard Business School as a full professor in 1995, I was one of just a few business school professors in the United States who had a PhD in psychology.
I had spent the first part of my career as a psychology professor at Brandeis University, researching social-environmental influences on creativity. In the course of that work, I got to know the superb industrial-organizational psychologist J. Richard Hackman of Harvard. When I had a sabbatical from Brandeis in 1992, he invited me to visit his university.
Here's the accident: At the time, Richard had a joint appointment in the Harvard psychology department and the Harvard Business School. I assumed I'd be visiting the psych department but, actually, the visit was at HBS. Although I spent some time with psychology colleagues that year, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and collaborating with a number of HBS professors who shared my interests in work motivation, creativity and innovation.
When I returned to Brandeis at the end of that year, the HBS dean called to ask me if I would consider joining the faculty. The decision was not an easy one because I identified as a psychologist and because Brandeis had been such a good home for me. But I knew that I could more effectively pursue my growing interest in the psychology of everyday work life with the resources, access to companies, and community of scholars at HBS.
If you're a graduate student in psychology who is interested in research questions relevant to business or organizations, I urge you to begin addressing those questions in grad school, ideally in collaboration with faculty or doctoral students in business schools. Present your research not only at APA, but also at the annual conference of the Academy of Management. If you can connect your dissertation research to topics of interest in business schools, you stand a reasonable chance of getting job interviews there — and, potentially, having a career as challenging and rewarding as mine has been.
Patricia A. Arean, PhD
Professor in the department of psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
I have been a professor of psychiatry at the university for the last 21 years and tenured since 2001.
I heard about the position as a NIMH postdoctoral fellow at San Francisco General Hospital. The job was looking specifically for a PhD with a track record in depression research. I saw the ad in the APA Monitor and asked my mentor about my chances. She said, "Well, I know if you don't apply there is a 100 percent chance you won't get it. But if you do apply, you have some chance."
So I applied. The process was similar to most searches at the time: I submitted my CV, cover letter and research statement. I was asked to come in and do a job talk and meet the search committee, as well as residents and psychology fellows.
A few weeks later, after the search committee met, I was offered the position.
Jameta N. Barlow, PhD, MPH
Assistant professor in women and health, department of women and gender studies, Towson University
As a community psychologist, I was encouraged to be both inter- and transdisciplinary in my training. As a result, I sought additional coursework and training, such as summer institutes and leadership programs, in both black studies and women's studies.
I knew I wanted to be in either a women's studies, black studies, public health or psychology department. Since my target population of research interest is the health and well-being of African-American women, I knew the preferred methodologies and approaches for this population would be more acceptable in a women's or black studies department than in most public health and psychology departments.
After I defended my proposal, my dissertation chair gave me the green light to start seeking positions. I created a spreadsheet with the positions, due dates, documents required, etc., and I set up alerts via APA's job listing site PsycCareers.com, the Chronicle of Higher Ed and a few other sites.
I also hired an editor to look over my CV, cover letter, teaching statement, research statement and other job materials. Although I thought I was a good writer, she taught me to write for an academic search committee and present myself in the best light possible.
There is definitely an art to finding an academic position. Even if you don't have a lot of publications, emphasize the skills you do have in other areas, such as research skills and teaching.
In total, I applied to about 18 postdoctoral and junior faculty positions and received formal offers from a few. I chose Towson University's department of women and gender studies mostly because they're focused on applied issues, and the school is in a metropolitan area, which is great for my research interests. My perspective as a psychologist is valued in my department, particularly for my strengths as a methodologist and focus on women's health. The beauty of psychology is that we are relevant to every discipline and if articulated effectively, you can make it work for you and your interests.
Rosemary Blieszner, PhD
Alumni distinguished professor, department of human development, Virginia Tech
I found my job through networking. A person on the faculty there told a mutual friend about a one-year temporary instructor opening to be filled over the summer because a faculty member had left the department suddenly and unexpectedly. My friend told me, and I immediately contacted the Virginia Tech person (whom I knew, but not very well) for details about the position and location. My application materials were ready, so I was able to apply quickly. Soon I received a campus interview invitation.
Even though the position was advertised as temporary, I was very interested because there weren't many options in my field that year. Besides, I reasoned if I made a good impression, perhaps I would be a competitive candidate for the permanent position.
Based on my brief visit, I had a very positive impression of the people I met, the university and the town. Much to my surprise, the job offer I received was for a permanent, tenure-track assistant professor appointment. The department head had petitioned the dean to change the position from temporary to tenure-track based on my prior college teaching experience (five years at a small college after I earned my master's degree) and on my research experiences during my doctoral studies.
Thirty-three years later, I am certain I made the right decision to take a chance on an uncertain opportunity. I love Virginia Tech, believe wholeheartedly in its mission, and have enjoyed very collegial and supportive relationships throughout the years.
My advice is to make good use of networking and seek a position that is a comfortable fit whether you plan to stay for a year or a career.
Catherine Bradshaw, PhD, MEd
Professor and associate dean for research & faculty development, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia
I encourage new graduates to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in a field beyond psychology because these mentored opportunities can expose them to different disciplines, give them interdisciplinary training and help them network with senior colleagues in different fields.
Joining Listservs and searching job postings by professional organizations in another field can expose students to a wider range of academic positions. I have found that many fields are more open to interdisciplinary hires than psychology because they value the solid theoretical and methodological training that most psychology doctorate programs provide.
Both independent and university-based research centers are another viable option for those who are interested in conducting research and pursuing grant funding. It pays to stay on top of who is getting funded or submitting grants in your area and letting them know you would be interested in working with them on a proposal or funded project.
Attending and presenting at a conference in another field can also provide opportunities to meet potential employers and participate in a job exchange; in some cases, there may even be on-site interviews at the conference. Presenting at these conferences illustrates your ability to connect with researchers from different fields. While I was in graduate school, I always presented at a "wild-card" conference each year (i.e., a field outside my own). This exposed me to different perspectives and expanded my network of colleagues.
David A. Hofmann, PhD
Hugh McColl Distinguished Professor of Organizational Behavior, University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School
With an undergraduate degree in business and then a master's and PhD in industrial and organizational psychology, I always have been a bit of a hybrid between business and psychology. Several years into my first academic position in psychology, it became clear to me that I would be a better fit in a business school. I wanted closer connections to business, managers and working professionals. So, I initiated a three-year process to build a network and credibility with business schools. I continued to publish papers in top journals valued by both disciplines and marketed my elective courses to students in the business school to gain some teaching experience with business school students. I also continued to build my relationships with people in the business school at my then current institution.
After working this plan for a couple of years, I went on the market the year before I was to go up for tenure in psychology. I knew that after receiving tenure, it would be substantially more difficult to transition to a business school given that there were some questions (e.g., could I teach MBA students) that business schools could not answer until after I was there. So, being hired untenured would give them the opportunity to answer these questions prior to my tenure review. I believe this lowered the risk for the business school associated with hiring someone coming from psychology with limited teaching experience in their world.
I made my transition from a psychology department to a business school 17 years ago and although I still identify with my psychological roots, I am glad to be deploying that knowledge in a business school context.
Michele Knox, PhD
Professor of psychiatry and director, ACT Great Lakes Regional Center, University of Toledo College of Medicine
My internship in a consortium program exposed me to many different settings. One was a child and adolescent psychiatry rotation that gave me both inpatient and outpatient experiences. I enjoyed working as part of a multidisciplinary team. Since my internship was in a large university setting, I was able to see patients who came from a broad range of rural and urban contexts and socioeconomic backgrounds, with a variety of presenting problems. I left for postdoctoral training in another state, but stayed in touch with my colleagues and supervisors there.
A year later, when a faculty position opened in the child and adolescent psychiatry division at the university, my former supervisor called me, and I applied for the position. I have been there ever since. My responsibilities as a professor of psychiatry are diverse and never monotonous; I get to teach medical students and residents, conduct research, implement community-based prevention, publish, lecture about topics within my areas of expertise, and conduct assessments and therapy with children, adolescents and families.
This is a great career path for someone who likes and works well with other professions, loves teaching, and enjoys work characterized by a variety of roles and responsibilities.
Tonya M. Palermo, PhD
Professor of anesthesiology, adjunct professor of pediatrics and psychiatry, University of Washington
I was fortunate to have early opportunities to participate in research in the area of pediatric pain management in my undergraduate and graduate education. Pain is a symptom and condition that cuts across many disciplines including psychology, medicine, anesthesiology and nursing, among others.
My participation on research teams connected me to pediatric anesthesiologists and I learned about the importance of pain management in anesthesia care. During my doctoral training, my clinical experiences with children and adolescents with chronic pain confirmed my desire to focus my career in pediatric pain. I continued to prioritize interdisciplinary collaborations during my fellowship training and first faculty position in a department of pediatrics. In a niche area such as pediatric pain, networking and building relationships is perhaps even more critical for interprofessional collaboration.
Networking can be achieved through finding ways to interact with the other profession, such as by attending scientific meetings hosted by other disciplines, grand rounds and research seminars. There were few trained pediatric pain psychologists at the time that I entered my faculty position, and I was shortly thereafter recruited to help develop a new pediatric pain management center at Oregon Health and Science University, and to work with a pediatric anesthesiologist whom I had collaborated with early in my research training.
While working within an outside department such as anesthesiology has its own unique challenges, it can also have tremendous opportunities and benefits. I have now spent over 10 years in anesthesiology departments.
It is critically important for psychology students to spend time with other health professionals in research, clinical and service activities early in their training. Such relationships can lead to future job opportunities and lifelong collaborations.
Karen Wyche, MSW, PhD
Research professor at the School of Nursing, George Washington University
Here are some things that helped me have a career as an academic psychologist with only one academic appointment in a psychology department:
- As an early career psychologist, I joined APA divisions of interest that were not defined by a type of degree in psychology. Both Div. 9 (Society of the Psychological Study of Social Issues) and Div. 35 (Society for the Psychology of Women) fit that for me. From there I developed a network of colleagues who were interested in multidisciplinary work.
- My research focus on women across sociocultural contexts means that I collaborate with researchers in other disciplines who are focused on a specific problem, such as HIV/AIDS. Becoming part of a research center will help early career psychologists find avenues for pursuing a career in other academic units.
- I have been a fellow at several multidisciplinary academic institutes. This is an excellent way to forge new relationships that may lead to new career paths.