Academic Job Boot Camp – History UK

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Date / time
11/12/2024, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

History UK is pleased to be running the Academic Job Boot Camp again this year on 11 December 2024, 12-4pm online. All early career historians are encouraged to apply, with preference being given to those who have already completed or submitted their PhDs.

  • Are you thinking about applying for your first lectureship in history?
  • Submitting applications and never hearing back?
  • Wishing you could have a ‘test run’ for job applications and interviews?

The Academic Job Boot Camp is a free half-day event for early career historians, sponsored by History UK and supported by History Lab Plus. It will help you to structure your academic CV, hone your cover letter, rehearse your job presentation, and undergo a mock interview, as well as demystifying some of the processes around academic recruitment. The experience, feedback, and advice that you receive at the event is intended to improve your chances the next time you apply for an academic job.

How will the boot camp work?

This event simulates all stages of the job application process, up to and including being interviewed as a shortlisted candidate. You will be interviewed by experienced academics drawn from universities nationwide. You will also deliver a job presentation to other early career historians.

You will receive feedback on your academic CV and cover letter, interview, and presentation. You will also have the opportunity to observe how others approach the job application process, providing peer feedback and support. The event will end with a roundtable discussion, offering the chance to ask questions of academics who have been involved in university recruitment – as well as chatting and networking with others in similar positions to you.

This year, the event will take place entirely online to promote accessibility for as many participants as possible. Many universities have already been moving towards introducing online elements to the job application, so this experience is likely to be useful for the future as well.

You can read posts about the job boot camps from previous years hereherehere and here.

To participate for the History UK Academic Jobs Bootcamp, you will need to apply for an imaginary lectureship in a real history programme. Please read the job advert for the Imaginary Lectureship in History here.

In response to this advertisement, please submit a CV and cover letter to Liz Egan (HUK Early Career Representative):

  • Your CV should include your most recent employment experience, any other relevant experience, and education history.
  • Your cover letter should detail, as far as possible, how you meet each of the essential and desirable criteria found in the Job Description document below.
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