This post is part of a series about the academic job search and application process. Find all posts here.
So at this point you sent your application package: your CV, your cover letter, your research statement, your teaching statement, your diversity statement, your references, filled up a bazillion questionnaires about your disabilities, ethnicity, immigration status, … And now you’re sitting tight waiting to receive, hopefully, a bunch of invitations for an initial online interview.
When I went through my job search it was the end of 2019, and the online interviews spanned from October (my first disastrous one) to the…
Arguably, the part of the job interview where most of us mess up
This post is part of a series about the academic job search and application process. Find all posts here.
In a previous post I tried to give you an overview of how my application package looked like. It was definitely a lot of work but somehow enjoyable. I like writing, and I love to shape my ideas and philosophy on paper which I think helped to go through the whole process with relative graciousness.
Or maybe I didn’t dread it so much because the part that I was truly terrified of was the infamous “chalk talk”.
To be honest with…
Applications are as unique as the applicant.
This is part of a series of posts tackling the academic job search from my recent experience. Read the rest here.
It was August 2019, and I was in a social event after a conference — remember when we were still doing those in person?
I usually get a bit anxious on those kinds of settings. I’m terrible at chit chatting, and I’m usually exhausted from an entire day wandering among posters, listening to talks, and having great ideas that I dismiss a second later.
But there I was, talking to other postdocs who were also planning on diving in…
6 Things that Helped my First Time in the Academic Job Market
This is part of a series tackling the academic job search from my own experience. Other posts in the series: The Application, The On-line Interview, The Invitation (In-Person Interviews) (coming), and The Chalk Talk.
In the middle of the most difficult year of my life, because of reasons that affect us all and personal reasons that make me feel like drowning, I signed the contract for my dream job.
Exactly one year ago, I was frantically finishing my package to send it to a professor who told me they were going to be looking for someone like me for an…
Since I was little, I’ve found comfort in writing.
I distinctively remember the time when I was gifted my first journal. I was very young, probably seven. The journal was purple and had the face of Mickey Mouse on the cover. The thing that puzzled me was the fact that the little notebook came with a lock. “Why would someone need a lock on a notebook?” I asked my mom. She explained to me that journals are notebooks where we write our thoughts, our most intimate feelings that we don’t want anyone else to see, and so we need a…
I always enjoyed telling stories. When I was little I liked the feeling of having people interested in whatever I was telling. I used to entertain my classmates every morning telling them about whatever dreams I had the night before. And now, I enjoy telling my research to everyone who wants to listen.
I study a special cell type in the brain, called astrocytes, who were for a very long time considered to be there playing not-so-important roles. But as it turns out, after many years and many brilliant scientists before me looking closer, we discovered that they are doing…
Most of us, especially those with an interest in technology, are fascinated by all that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and neurotechnologies are achieving. We use it on a daily basis, more than we even realize. For instance, I use Google’s AI-powered predictions pretty much every day to figure out how I can get to work in the fastest way possible, avoiding sitting in traffic and getting increasingly mad at every single human around me. I bet you have used ride-shares at some point. Guess what? Those apps are also AI-powered. Same as your spam filters, or the online check…
In the US alone, 3 million new moms suffer from postpartum depression, or PPD.
Most moms agree that, despite the discomfort during pregnancy and the pain during labor, childbirth is a joyful experience. And I imagine that must be true as many women around the world have more than one child.
However, postpartum depression or PPD may take away some of the joy of seeing the face of your child.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PPD is characterized by overwhelming feelings of sadness and anxiety experienced by a new mom, which may compromise her ability to take…
Cognitive abilities (working memory, digit span and verbal fluency) seem to be fully developed at age 16 or 17. Emotional and social skills need to be developed to reach prosocial adulthood. However, everyone knows that teenagers (being considered between 13 and 17 years of age) are irrational, make poor decisions and take unnecessary risks. But is this true?
The Teenage Brain
Usually, we think that teenagers are irrational and have a difficult time making good decisions, or that they have no self-control. However, this is not completely true. …
There is a difference between loneliness (the imposition of social isolation) and aloneness (the choice of being alone), and thus the brain reacts in very different ways. Loneliness, or social isolation, affecting a large part of the population as it became an epidemic in the last few years, is known to cause changes in the brain, possibly leading to more serious consequences such as depression and other mood disorders. However, some of those changes can be reversed if the appropriate social interactions are re-established and the person reengages in social activities.
But what if the person doesn’t have that option?
…
Elena Blanco-Suarez, Ph.D.
Neuroscientist, science communicator, ukelele player. I write about brains and sometimes other stuff.
