What I Offer

Academic careers change considerably over time. The questions facing someone writing their first papers are very different from those facing an established professor considering the next stage of their career.

Old Rectory Academic works with academics at all stages. Many institutions are willing to fund individual academics' career development in a variety of ways. 

Entering the academic job market, or moving from a post-doc to a tenure-track post has never been so competitive as today. You will need all the help you can find, and sound career advice at this stage might be a better destination for your research funds than attending some lesser conferences.

Once you are tenured (or on tenure track), you are responsible for your own research projects. You must find the right portfolio, the perfect sweet spot between being a one-trick pony and a jack of all trades. You must also find the right balance in the number and seniority of your co-authors. You don't want to look the junior partner in too many of your papers, but you must also show that you can speak as an equal to senior people. You don't want to be seen as a loner, but you must show that you can produce single-authored work. And the right balance between too narrow and too wide a focus. I could go on. Most important of all, you must ensure that you continue to enjoy the process of academic work - the proving of theorems, the convincing establishment of causal relations, the delivery of lectures to students - at least as much as you enjoy its measurable outcomes - the acceptance of your papers for publication, or the examination evidence that your students have learnt from your teaching.

Do you feel that you are following an upward path or that you have reached a plateau? Do colleagues see you as someone in the “forgotten middle” of academics of a certain age, of a certain seniority, who are seen as very good at teaching, very good at administration, so it not does not matter if their research agenda drifts a bit? You may be happy with this, but perhaps you would like to see if your path could start going up again? Even leaders who are very supportive of junior researchers may be unaware of the huge potential of mid-career researchers who may have stalled. Your institution may have a career and personal development budget, which you may enquire whether it might be used to fund receiving advice from us.  

There is no fixed formula.

We begin with an initial conversation to understand what you are looking for. If I think I can offer useful advice, we agree how best to proceed.

The emphasis is always on your questions and your circumstances, rather than on following a predetermined coaching programme. Some people need a single conversation about a particular decision. Others find it useful to have several conversations over an extended period, perhaps with yearly catch-ups. Most will be somewhere in between.

The nature of these conversations is very varied: a mock interview for a specific job; a seminar presentation; a detailed discussion of referee reports; line-by-line comments on a draft paper or draft grant application (providing the type of comments that Claude and ChatGPT cannot yet offer); a CV evaluation with a view to entering a specific academic job market; and so on. Most conversations take place online, but sometimes it may be possible to meet in person. This could include a short residency at the Old Rectory.

Unless otherwise requested, I write a summary of our conversation and the academic advice I provide. Its tone and structure are tailored to your needs. This report can be interim or final, and is for your own use, including making it available to third parties if you wish.

Get in touch to arrange an initial conversation.