Behind the Scenes
Job Market Debriefs
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CET, 12 June 2026
What does the academic job market actually look like from the inside?
In this final session of the Behind the Scenes webinar series, we take a candid look at the full job market journey – from the decision to go on the market, to developing a job market paper, to interviews, fly-outs, and final offers.
Rather than focusing on idealised timelines or generic advice, this conversation is grounded in lived experience. Our speakers will reflect on how key decisions were made, what surprised them most, and how they navigated uncertainty throughout the process.
📅 Date: June 12th
🕓 Time: 4:00 p.m. CET
Speakers: Wajeeha Ahmad (Stanford University), Fabrizio Dell’Acqua (Harvard University)
This session follows the arc of the academic job market experience, including:
- When candidates begin thinking seriously about the job market and how they decide when to go on the market
- Choosing, developing, and refining a job market paper (JMP)
- The application process, including how departments and roles are identified
- Interviews, fly-outs, and what these experiences are really like in practice
- Offers, negotiations, and the realities of decision-making under uncertainty
- The role of networks – advisors, peers, and broader professional connections
Across these topics, the discussion will highlight how expectations compare to reality, and what participants would approach differently in hindsight.
Why Attend?
This session is designed for PhD students and early-career researchers preparing for the academic job market, as well as anyone interested in understanding how academic hiring actually unfolds.
As the final session in the series, it brings together reflection and practical insight to demystify one of the most important transitions in academic careers.