{"doi":"10.1016/j.tcb.2022.01.008","title":"The postdoctoral blueprint part two: the faculty application","abstract":"To prepare for an academic career requires a postdoctoral position that provides an advanced research experience, which leads to increasing independence. However, it is critical to develop other parts of your academic portfolio to create a robust application. Here, we discuss the critical steps in preparing a competitive faculty application. To prepare for an academic career requires a postdoctoral position that provides an advanced research experience, which leads to increasing independence. However, it is critical to develop other parts of your academic portfolio to create a robust application. Here, we discuss the critical steps in preparing a competitive faculty application. The process of acquiring an academic job is hard work and requires months of ceaseless effort. The faculty application usually consists of five components: your curriculum vitae, a cover letter, a research statement, a teaching statement, and a statement of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In addition, faculty applicants must provide letters of recommendation (Figures 1 and 2) .Figure 2The circus: a myriad of moving parts that never look the same during the pursuit of faculty positions.Show full captionMost academic settings are like a circus with players improvising their acts as the show evolves. This cartoon is depicting what postdocs have to do to obtain a faculty position at a research-intensive institution. Abbreviation: DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT) Most academic settings are like a circus with players improvising their acts as the show evolves. This cartoon is depicting what postdocs have to do to obtain a faculty position at a research-intensive institution. Abbreviation: DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Do not wait until the last moment to start preparing your application. Allocate from 6 months to 1 year to give yourself time. The following steps will facilitate your faculty search:•Peruse faculty job openings and read what the qualifications and requirements entail.•Consider your research direction and how you can brand yourself.•Start working on any missing pieces in your profile months or years in advance.•Ponder the implications, impact, and future direction of your research.•Get involved in various teaching and outreach opportunities.•Highlight the information that is essential for the specific position.•Build your network by attending conferences and workshops. All of these documents are important but the research statement is the most complex aspect of the application. Your research statement is intended to serve three purposes: (i) to provide a narrative summary of your research contributions, especially how they all tie together; (ii) to identify the important issues and research areas you intend to work on in the future; and (iii) to give an indication of your future funding probability. This document is usually about three to four pagesi and should be a clear and succinct description of your specific research niche, the need for that research area, your track record, and your future research vision. It is not a personal essayi. Eliminate phrases like ‘when I was a child, computers always fascinated me’. Although it is important to articulate a clear direction for your future research, it is not expected that you will work on everything you describe. However, you should articulate a clear vision of the research and problems you plan to study in your laboratory as a new faculty memberi. Hiring committees do not make job offers based solely on your track record, they make their decisions based on your potential to be an excellent researcher, your potential fit in the department, and the possibility of becoming a life-long colleague. They want to see your independent, compelling, and fundable vision for at least the first 5 years during your faculty tenure and, if possible, 10 years. If you only envision studies leading to the next few papers to ex","journal":"Trends in Cell Biology","year":2022,"id":262919,"datarank":0.3958585994422889,"base_score":2.639057329615259,"endowment":2.639057329615259,"self_citation_contribution":0.3958585994422889,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.3958585994422889,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":13,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9547,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2022-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":815540,"name":"Elsie C. 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