Navigating the competitive landscape of the academic job market requires a strategic approach, a polished professional narrative, and access to the right opportunities. This resource hub is designed for postdocs at UNC-CH who are preparing to transition into faculty roles. Whether you are just beginning to scout openings on global job boards, drafting your first teaching philosophy, or preparing for the high-stakes environment of a chalk talk, these recruitment platforms, application guides, and institutional programs can help support you during your transition to a faculty career.

Job Boards

Academic Keys This site serves as a comprehensive career resource for higher education, featuring job listings for faculty, administrative, and executive positions across various academic disciplines worldwide.

Chronicle of Higher Education The job board for one of academia’s primary news publications, this site hosts a vast array of faculty and staff openings along with career advice and industry-specific hiring trends.

The EDU Ledger Managed by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, this platform provides research-informed journalism, data analysis, and news coverage focused on the experiences of students and professionals across the higher education landscape.

HigherEdJobs This popular recruitment site specializes in the higher education sector, offering a searchable database of thousands of faculty, administrative, and executive positions at colleges and universities.

HERC – Higher Ed Recruitment Consortium This non-profit consortium provides a centralized job board and resources specifically designed to support diverse hiring and dual-career couples seeking employment within member institutions.

HERC Jobs of the Carolinas A regional branch of the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, this site focuses specifically on academic and staff opportunities within colleges and universities located in North and South Carolina.

Inside Higher Ed The career portal for the prominent news outlet Inside Higher Ed, it offers a robust database of job postings, employer profiles, and professional development resources for the academic community.

Academic Positions This international career network connects researchers and academics with job opportunities, PhD fellowships, and postdoctoral positions at top universities and research institutions globally.

LinkedIn Faculty Jobs This section of the professional networking site uses LinkedIn’s global database to aggregate faculty-specific job postings, allowing users to apply using their professional profiles and see connections at hiring institutions.

ProfessorPositions This platform is a specialized search engine and job board dedicated to listing open professor, lecturer, and researcher roles at higher education institutions around the world.

Application Materials

Teaching Philosophy Statements

• Chronicle of Higher Education
• Cornell University

 Research Statements

• Writing the research plan for your academic job application (American Chemical Society)

Diversity Statements

• The effective diversity statement (Inside Higher Ed)
• Breaking down diversity statements (Inside Higher Ed)
• Developing and writing a diversity statement (Vanderbilt University)

Job/Chalk Talks

• Preparing for your academic chalk talk (American Society for Cell Biology)
• Preparing a chalk talk for a faculty position (You Tube)
• What exactly is a chalk talk? (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
• How to design a chalk talk: The million dollar sales pitch (American Society for Cell Biology)
• How to give an amazing academic job talk or teaching demo: Dr. Echo Rivera (You Tube)

Teaching Demonstrations

• The teaching demonstration: What faculty expect and how to prepare for this aspect of the job interview (CBE Life Sci Educ)
• Giving a teacher demo (Inside Higher Ed)

Interviewing and Negotiation

• Chronicle Data: Search and explore faculty, staff, and adjunct salary data at thousands of colleges (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
• Negotiating offers for faculty positions (UNC OPA Handout)
• Yes, you should negotiate (Inside Higher Ed)

Professional Development

UNC Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Whether you’re contemplating a university faculty career and/or currently teaching a course, CFE offers resources, programs and workshops of value to postdocs, including:

• Resources for mentors and mentees
• Leadership development plans
• Faculty professional leadership skills series
• Resources for diversity and inclusion
• Course Design Institute
• Equity in Teaching Institute
• Teach with technology
• Survey and classroom management software

National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity

NCFDD is an independent faculty development center dedicated to providing external mentoring, professional development, and a supportive community for advanced graduate students, postdocs, and faculty members across institutions. Visit the website and register as an Institutional Sub-Account Member. You must use your UNC email address for registration.

• The Monday Motivator – A weekly message that reinforces core ideas presented in webinars and provides support for individuals making the transition to a faculty position
• Webinars – Monthly 60-90 minute Guest Expert professional development sessions
• Multi-Week Courses – Intensive workshop series guided by expert facilitators
• Discussion Forum – A place for members to connect, share information, peer-mentor, problem solve, and celebrate each others’ success
• The Library – A resource that provides transcripts, slides, and audio recordings of past webinars.
• Career Center – Search job openings, subscribe to new posting notifications in your field, and learn more about the job search process
• Resources – Recommended readings, writing clubs, productivity we apps and more