When I made the decision to apply for a tenure-track position last summer, I was frankly not sure where to start or what to expect. What I did know was that I needed someone to help me—someone who could help me advocate for myself and be honest when I needed to change course or adjust. Below are some parts of mentor selection and the mentorship process that you may not be aware of, in hopes that it can help you find the right mentor when it is time for you to apply for a faculty position.[1]

• Researching. This part probably took the longest time in the mentor selection process because I was trying to decide between a couple of professors I respect and who I knew would support me in this endeavor. The good news, though, is that whoever you have on your “short list” of mentors will likely be good references for you for the position. As you start to develop that list, make sure that you add people who would be supportive of your transition to faculty, especially if you are applying at schools that you do not presently work at. Of course, your mentor does not have to be from your school, as we have many fine faculty mentors in the ASP/BP community, too.

I would also recommend that you find out whether the mentor you are requesting has participated on a faculty search committee. Having a mentor who is familiar with the faculty search process from developing the job description and metrics to how to give a good job talk presentation are all key things that will help you find a mentor whose background will help in your search[2].

• Asking. Was I ever nervous when I called up this professor to ask them to serve as my mentor. Looking back, I would definitely have practiced this conversation an extra time or two, so I didn’t repeat myself or sound as nervous as I was. Luckily, I had chosen a mentor who I know well and who knows my quirks—so I imagine she was rather forgiving of my nerves.

When asking someone to be your mentor for this process, you should explain your interest in seeking a faculty position, why you are a good fit for the position that you are applying for, and what you hope your mentor will support you with. I suspect that if you did the research phase correctly and outlined your goals, your mentor will be delighted to help you advance your career to the next step after you ask. If they decline the offer, re-evaluate your research phase and try again.

• Learning. Once I selected my faculty mentor—and she’d agreed—, the hard stuff started. Your mentor should help guide you as they review your resume/CV, cover letter, and any other supporting documents required in your application.

After I worked on my resume/CV and cover letter and thought about what my scholarly agenda should include, I sent them over to my mentor. Here, I learned a lot from my mentor over several Zoom calls discussing what was and wasn’t working. This particular process of pulling my initial application materials together took several iterations, so give yourself enough lead time. In fact, as I noted in an earlier blog, I had such a hard time making my cover letter sing until it was pointed out to me that I needed to do legal analysis with it.

Finding a mentor who can give you the hard facts on the materials you have prepared is so important. Hearing “This cover letter just seems very general and doesn’t really make you stand out,” can make you feel deflated—as it did me (even if just for a moment). But my mentor was so patient with me; we started just talking about the things I had done and what made me shine in my current role, and as we talked, the pieces really started to come together. So not only should your mentor be able to tell you what you (maybe) don’t want to hear, but they should also be patient and supportive of your learning in this process, just like we are with our students.

• Practicing. If after all of the hard work on the front end—finding a mentor, writing application materials, and submitting your application—you find yourself with the fantastic opportunity for interviews, your mentor can also provide valuable support for interviewing and job talks. They can give you insight into the types of questions you might see, input on how to structure your job talk (especially if you need to balance ASP/BP topics with your scholarly agenda), and they will likely offer to moot your job talk.

I found getting advice on my job talk from my mentor (and others I ended up listing as references) very helpful. While this is perhaps a story for a later blog post, I will briefly share that for my first job talk moot, I made such very bland slides because I thought that I should. When my mentor saw this, she pushed back because she knew it was not my style—so I changed my deck to be more engaging (which was the right decision). As you work with your mentor and other references to prepare for your job talk, make sure to get feedback on the whole process—presentation style, timing, slide style, language on the slides, ability to answer questions, and demeanor.  

The advice and guidance my mentor provided me truly made me a better applicant and I could not be more grateful to her. I hope that in your upcoming job search, you can find my experience searching for and working with my mentor helpful—and that you find your own supportive mentor to help you reach your goals!

(Erica M. Lux)

[1] A huge resource that also helped me get started in the process, with some example materials, was the AALS “Becoming a Law Teacher” website—highly recommend you also get familiar with it.

[2] For obvious reasons, you will probably want to speak with your faculty mentor and/or your Dean and administrative leadership if you are applying in house. There could be some key conflict of interest issues regarding mentors and references that you need to work through, or they may alert you to other factors to be aware of.