Overview

SPRITE+ Director Emma Barrett (Professor of Psychology, Security, and Trust, University of Manchester) hosted an online workshop with support from Stacey Conchie (SPRITE+ Co-Director, University of Lancaster) catered to Early Career Researchers offering ‘Top Tips’ on ‘Applying for Academic Jobs’. We were delighted to welcome attendees from across our network and the wider academic community to provide ECRs with a toolbox for the application and interview processes that will punctuate their future careers.

The workshop offered insider hints and tips from the perspective of Emma Barrett, who is very familiar with these processes, with 20 years’ experience in recruitment, sifting through approximately 1500 applications. She elaborated on helpful tactics from ‘Thinking like a Recruiter’ to the process from the perspective of appointing panels, to an insider look at the importance of essential and desirable criteria to a successful candidate. Emma also shared her knowledge on what comprises a successful interview for an academic job, detailing the importance of preparation, specificity and confidence. This two-part discussion was followed by a thorough Q&A where all queries were answered in depth by Emma and Stacey, addressing the specific needs of the current and future ECR’s.