A 5th year PhD student asks—

I know about all the things I need to do for my job search but realistically I don’t know when I’m going to do it. I think I can handle each part when I think about it in a vacuum, but in addition to my ongoing research, I have to start writing my dissertation, plus I’m doing revisions on my paper, I’m going to a conference in the summer, and I have a vacation planned while I’m out there. How do I fit all this stuff in?

That's a lot to tackle all at once! In general, tasks like job searching always need to be balanced against other demands on your time, whether you are pressured by multiple writing commitments and travel plans, or just negotiating how to fit things in around the typical requirements of daily life like laundry, eating, shopping, sleeping, etc. My recommendation when you are very busy (which you obviously are!) is to focus whatever time you do set aside for job searching (even if it is only 20 minutes per week) on staying informed enough to know whether you need to change your priorities. If you see a job that’s a perfect fit for you, you may want to temporarily reallocate time from other responsibilities to make sure you can apply. To make this possible, I’d start by generating a list of organizations you’re most interested in working at, organized in a way where you can check them all for new job listings every couple of weeks without too much time or effort. The next step would be to enlist as much help as you can, notifying people in your network of what you are looking for, and, of course, connecting with the team in our office.

-David Blancha, Assistant Director, Career Development Team for Researchers