Overview
In the US, most tenure-track searches in many fields advertise from late summer to autumn, hold first-round interviews (now often by video) in late autumn or winter, invite a shortlist to campus visits in winter and early spring, and make offers from winter onward. Economics runs a more centralized market around the AEA's JOE listings, with a signaling system, first-round interviews around the ASSA meetings in January, then flyouts. Timelines vary by field, and many searches run off-cycle, so we build your calendar from the actual postings in your discipline.
UK lectureships and similar posts are advertised throughout the year with shorter windows between advertisement, shortlisting and interview. Interviews are often a single day that combines a research or teaching presentation, a formal panel interview and sometimes meetings with students or staff. The panel usually scores you against the same person specification used at shortlisting.
Our coaching combines planning (where to apply, how to pace documents, how to handle overlapping timelines and offers) with realistic rehearsal. Mock interviews use questions typical of your field and institution type, and we give structured, written feedback afterwards.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Doctoral candidates entering the faculty job market for the first time
- Postdocs returning to the market after a previous unsuccessful cycle
- Economics job market candidates preparing for JOE applications, signaling and first-round interviews
- International researchers applying to US, UK or European posts for the first time
- Faculty moving institutions, including to leadership roles
Common problems we help with
- You do not know how many applications to submit or how to prioritize them
- Your job talk runs long, and the key contribution appears in the last ten minutes
- You freeze on the question "What will your first grant be?" or "How would you teach our intro course?"
- You have a campus visit next week and do not know what the two days will involve
- You have one offer with a short deadline and another interview pending
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Job search plan: target list by institution type, application calendar and document checklist
- Review of the application package for coherence across CV, cover letter, research and teaching statements
- Mock first-round interviews by video, with questions on research, teaching, fit and future plans
- Job talk rehearsal with feedback on structure, timing, slides and handling questions
- Chalk talk preparation for lab-science and similar searches: research program, aims, funding and resources, discussed without slides
- Teaching demonstration rehearsal pitched to the level the department specifies
- Campus visit and UK interview day preparation: meetings with deans and students, dinners, panel format and presentation
- Guidance on handling offers, timelines and questions to ask before accepting (we do not give legal or contract advice)
Not included
- Contacting search committees or references on your behalf
- Legal, immigration or contract advice; we point you to your institution and official sources
- Preparing answers that misrepresent your experience or plans
- Any promise of interviews, offers or particular salary outcomes
What you receive
- Season plan
- A calendar of target postings and deadlines, document versions required and preparation milestones.
- Mock interview feedback
- Written notes after each mock session covering content, clarity, timing and follow-up practice questions.
- Job talk or chalk talk feedback
- Slide-by-slide or section-by-section comments, a timing breakdown and a list of likely audience questions.
- Visit briefing
- A checklist of who you are likely to meet, what each meeting is for and questions to prepare for and to ask.
How it works
Market review
We discuss your field, target countries and institution types, and review your current materials.
Plan
Together we build a list and calendar, and agree which documents need work first.
Rehearse
Mock interviews and talk rehearsals are scheduled around your actual invitations, with written feedback after each.
Debrief and adjust
After each real interview, we review what went well and adjust preparation for the next stage.
Stages and formats we prepare you for
- First-round interviews
- Typically 20–45 minutes by video with part of the search committee: research summary, teaching, fit, and questions for them.
- Economics market specifics
- Applications through JOE, the AEA signaling service (a small number of signals sent in late autumn), first-round interviews in the period around the January ASSA meetings, then flyouts. Check the AEA's current guidance each year.
- Job talk
- A research presentation, commonly 45–60 minutes including questions, to a mixed audience. We focus on a clear question, contribution and a narrative that non-specialists in the department can follow.
- Chalk talk
- Common in biomedical and some STEM searches: an informal, often slide-free discussion of your future research program, funding strategy, lab needs and how you would respond when an aim fails.
- Teaching demonstration
- A short class or mini-lecture, sometimes to real students. We rehearse pacing, interaction and level.
- UK interview day
- Presentation (research, teaching or vision for the post), formal panel interview often scored against the person specification, and sometimes informal meetings or a student panel.
Planning the season
Strategy starts with realistic targets. We help you sort postings into institution types, weigh how closely each matches your research and teaching, and plan when to prepare each document variant so that deadlines in the same week do not collide. For economics candidates, we also discuss how to think about signals and the timing of first-round interviews and flyouts.
We also plan for the parallel track: postdocs, fellowships, non-tenure-track posts and roles outside academia. Keeping options open is a sensible part of any strategy, not a sign of weak commitment.
Job talks and chalk talks
A job talk has to show that you are a strong specialist and a good future colleague. Most talks improve when the research question and contribution are stated within the first five minutes, methods are explained at the level of the whole department, and the final section points toward your next projects.
A chalk talk tests something different: whether you can run an independent research program. We help you prepare a short list of aims, explain how they connect, show what resources and funding sources you would pursue, and practice answering pointed questions without slides.
- Rehearse with a strict timer, leaving room for questions
- Prepare backup slides for predictable technical questions
- Practice short answers to hostile or off-topic questions
Campus visits and UK interview days
US campus visits often last one to two days: meetings with faculty, the chair and a dean, a job talk, sometimes a teaching demonstration, meals with faculty and students. Every conversation is part of the evaluation. UK interview days are shorter and more formal, with a structured panel. For both, we rehearse the recurring questions — your five-year plan, grant strategy, courses you would teach, supervision approach and contribution to the department — and help you prepare genuine questions of your own.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Illustrative mock interview feedback summary
A fictional public health candidate completes a 30-minute mock first-round interview for a US assistant professor post at a research-intensive school of public health.
Strengths
Clear two-minute research summary; specific example of mentoring master's students; good question to the committee about the department's community partnerships.
To work on
Answer to "What is your first grant?" named the funder but not the aims or the preliminary data. Teaching answer did not mention any course in the department's current offering.
Practice set
Rehearse a 60-second grant answer (aims, data, mechanism); prepare two course names from the catalog with a sentence on how you would teach each.
Illustrative example; the candidate and feedback are invented to show the format of our notes.
What you’ll need to provide
- Current CV, cover letter and statements
- Your field, target countries and list of postings or interview invitations
- Job talk slides or chalk talk notes for rehearsal
- Any information the department has sent about the interview schedule
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Number of mock interviews and rehearsal sessions
- Whether application document review is included
- Number of countries or institution types in your search
- Timing: sessions booked around short-notice invitations
Turnaround depends on
- Notice between interview invitation and interview date, sometimes only days
- Availability of slides and materials ahead of rehearsal
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Can you tell me whether I will get a job?
No. Academic hiring depends on factors outside anyone's control, including the number of posts in your field and a department's internal priorities. We help you present your record clearly and prepare thoroughly.
How many applications should I submit?
It depends on your field, geographic flexibility and the number of genuinely suitable postings. We help you choose based on fit and the time you have to tailor materials well, rather than a fixed number.
Can you help with the economics job market specifically?
Yes. We help you plan around JOE listings, AEA signaling and first-round interviews, and we rehearse job market paper presentations. Dates change each year, so we work from the AEA's current guidance.
Do you give advice on negotiating an offer?
We can help you think through questions to ask — startup support, teaching load, timelines — and how to communicate professionally. We do not give legal or contract advice.
Is coaching confidential?
Yes. Your materials and the names of institutions you apply to are used only for your coaching.
What about diversity statements?
Requirements have changed at many US institutions since 2025 and differ by state and institution. We help with whatever a posting currently asks for, such as statements on mentoring, community engagement or student success, based on your real experience.