Category: Faculty Applicant

Writing a Cover Letter for a Letter of Recommendation

Once you’ve identified mentors to write you a letter of recommendation (LOR), the next step is to reach out to them to ask that they write said letter.  In that process, you might want to write a cover letter which provides them with some information to help them write the LOR. Why write a cover

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Significant Other’s Job During Academia

With only 38 accredited veterinary schools in the US and Canada- and many of those in small rural towns- starting vet school, internship, residency, or a faculty position can be a distinct strain on a romantic partner’s ability to get a job.  Within the US, I count about 10 veterinary schools in a decent-sized city

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Top 14 Reasons Academia is Awesome

I am obviously biased, but I think working in veterinary academia is the best thing since sliced bread.  I gather other areas of academia are a dumpster fire, so if you have a PhD in English or Philosophy, I am sorry.  But I feel clinical veterinary academia is a great place to be.  I’ve been

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My Ideal Candidate

I do not represent every veterinary professional.  I think that should be obvious, but I have to make that VERY clear for this particular post.  I have spoken with many veterinary professionals and academics, and I have trained dozens of house officers and thousands of students, and there are numerous ways to approach success in

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Red Flags in Faculty Positions

I think it’s actually quite hard to find out if a job/faculty position will be a poor fit for you until you work there for a while.  I have seen numerous people (including myself) take positions they thought would be good for them, only to discover those positions weren’t good.  Finding red flags before taking

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Red Flags in Faculty Applicants

If I had a fool-proof method to identify good workers before they started a job, I would be a billionaire.  This question haunts hiring managers constantly.  You NEVER know if someone will be good at the job before they get into the thick of it.  Having personally hired faculty who were both outstanding and subpar,

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Red Flags Series

I’ve written a lot about what evaluators look for in candidates and what I look for in particular.  Some people have asked me what I see as a red flag- an indication in an application or during an interview that I would definitely not want this person to move into the position. I think these

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The Art of Pimping

I am NOT talking about managing sex workers.  In 1989, Dr. Brancati published a tongue-in-cheek article in the Journal of the American Medical Association titled “The Art of Pimping”.  It is a true classic which I think anyone bound to be a specialist would enjoy. Pimping is the term used when the senior clinician asks

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Faculty Interview: What to Ask Whom

The faculty interview typically involves meeting the faculty members of the department, the department head, and various other administrators.  These may include the hospital director, the associate deans (typically research and academic affairs), the dean, and various directors (research centers, specific services, etc.).  Beyond the general questions to ask during your interview, I think there

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