Deliver a powerful & memorable academic job talk
A special package just for the most enigmatic, anxiety-producing, beast of a presentation you’ll probably ever have to give: an academic job talk
There are 3 realities of job talks you have to navigate.
They are weird.
You’ve never given a presentation like this before, so your past experience has not actually been good practice.
There are hidden, unstated rules to follow.
They are not (really) about proving your competence (you’ve already done that). I made a video about this.
You need to (a) prove you are an engaging, accessible communicator, while also (b) marketing yourself as valuable to the department.
You have never had to give a presentation quite like it, and will never have to give another presentation quite like it. It’s a one-time thing.
Your job talk cannot fall flat with the committee.
This is about as “high stakes” as it gets, and you’ve likely never had to do something this high stakes before.
You already know how competitive academia is right now…
It’s safe to assume the committee is looking for easy reasons to eliminate candidates so their decision is easier…
Well, delivering a job talk that falls flat makes it easy for them to choose someone else.
Academia has literally trained you to create mediocre (at best) presentations.
You have been trained to deliver a boring, confusing, or inaccessible job talk.
You’ve been taught backwards strategies:
It’s possible to put together an acceptable presentation, even if you procrastinate.
Put slide design skills training on the backburner.
Scripting is a weakness and only people who are bad at public speaking do it.
The audience should meet you halfway.
Professional audiences want to see lots of text and ALL THE DATA.
Spend as little time as possible on your presentations, literally everything else is more important and honestly it still comes out okay.
Don’t practice “too much” or have a script, because then you’ll sound like a robot
Saying that creating a successful academic job talk is an “uphill battle” for you is an annoying understatement.
It’s more like you’ve been told to ski uphill (after being trained to snowboard).
I made a whole video screaming into the void about this.
That’s literally why I’ve put together this special package I call the Job Talk Escalator (because I actually want this to be as easy as possible for you).
I’ve been helping (mostly women) deliver powerful job talks for 8+ years now
(and YES, they are receiving offers)
I understand the assignment.
I know how important this is for you.
I know there are different realities for people based on their identity.
I will take this seriously.
I am invested in your success.
(And I really want you to get multiple job offers)
Client case study
Dr. Isabel García Valdivia
Dr. García Valdivia first completed my online professional development program and a 1-and-1 session as a graduate student.
She had been implementing her new presentation design skills for a while…
…Then, when it was time for her academic job talk, she reached out and we did four 1-and-1 sessions.
She did four campus visit interviews and received three offers!
Here is what the Job Talk Escalator includes
You will get a little bit of every service I offer (and more)
When purchased separately, these services are $3,500 USD +
8 hours of collaborative zoom sessions: $1,600
Storyboarding/scripting interview: $300
4 hours of design services: $800
12 months access to presentation skills masterclass: $799
(Slack access is not even available as separate purchase)
8 hours of collaborative zoom sessions
4 hours of my done for you design service
12 months access to my presentation skills masterclass (you choose the start date)
Plus, as part of this package you get:
(1) A 60- or 90-minute storyboarding/scripting interview. This is so I can do a deep dive and learn about your research, career story, and strengths (so we can tell that story & highlight your unique strengths in the talk)
(2) 2 weeks* in a private Slack channel to get quick feedback and questions.
Additional fee required if I need to become a vendor
You are fully supported every step of the way, and I will help you create an unforgettable job talk.
8 hours of collaborative zoom sessions
These can be split up in whatever way works for you and with your timeline.
We can do a combination of 1-2 hour sessions, and then a half-day intensive.
Or, we could do a 90-minute prep session, and then a full-day intensive.
About 2 weeks before your job talk, I’ll activate a private Slack channel for us to use.
If you’ve never used it before, don’t worry — it’s super, super easy and works basically like a private chatroom.
I can show you how to use it during one of our sessions (and it won’t count as session time).
4 hours of my done for you design service
I will spend a half day designing your job talk or working on your script.
We do this after we’ve already met and I understand your needs and personality (but with enough collaborative time left to make any final tweaks to my design).
12 months access to my presentation skills masterclass
You will receive a coupon code to enroll in my entire presentation skills program.
The coupon code expires 12 months after the date you purchase the Job Talk Escalator.
You can enroll right away and complete courses 1-3 before we meet.
Or, you can enroll later. That’s up to you.
Plus, you get 2 weeks* in a private Slack channel to get quick feedback and questions.
You can use this to send screenshots of slides you’ve worked on to get feedback.
Or, you can use it to ask questions, etc.
Slack is ideal for this type of communication, which is why we use this instead of Voxxer, Email, or Discord.
*This is intended for sending me updates and for you to get quick feedback (e.g., about 1 hour total per week).
I will check Slack Mon-Thurs from 11am-2pm, and please allow at least 24 business hours to respond.
You might be asking: When should I book this service?
Reason #1: You WILL NOT be given enough time by the committee to create a powerful job talk.
Again…I made a whole video screaming into the void about this.
It takes about 4-6 weeks to develop a solid base job talk that you can tailor for each campus visit.
But you’re probably only going to get 1-2 weeks’ notice!
That’s barely enough time to create an engaging conference talk, let alone a JOB talk?!
My goal will be to get you in a position where you have a mind blowing “base” job talk finished before you get your first invite.
Then, all you have to do is make some minor tweaks to tailor your job talk when you get the invite.
I recommend we start before you get your first campus visit invite.
Reason #2: It takes 60-90 days to move through the vendor and invoicing process.
Payment is required in advance before we begin working together.
If you need me to become a vendor (additional fee), that adds a delay of about 60-90 days before we can even begin.
Best case it only adds a 30-day delay (and see reason #1 for why that’s still not fast enough if you wait until you get an invite).
We really really don’t want processing delays to be the reason we can’t work together on time for your first or second job talk. I can provide you with a detailed and customized receipt if needed.
Reason #3: I believe in you, please believe in yourself.
The main hesitation people have is they just don’t know if they’ll get an invite.
I get it. It doesn’t make sense to purchase a service if you don’t even end up getting that talk.
But which will you regret more? Not believing in yourself, and then bombing your job talk as a result? Or, believing in yourself and investing in your skills, regardless of what happens? Because either way, the Job Talk Escalator is going to be an investment in yourself.
I have a backup plan for us to still work together and make sure this is a solid investment in yourself, no matter what.
Ready to book the Job Talk Escalator?
Start the process now and reserve your spot in advance:
Ok but…what if I don’t get a job talk invite ever?
I find that highly unlikely, but I also know that your anxiety is not letting me (or you) off the hook.
No prob. I’ll chat with your anxiety for a sec.
Look. You are going to get a job. It’s going to happen. You’re way too qualified, have too much experience, and are too driven for that to not be the case. I know this because you’re here reading this page caring VERY deeply about things and being proactive about your career.
So you’re the type who will make something happen, no matter what.
That means you are still going to give presentations in your career. At this point, it’s almost inevitable because just about any path that makes sense for PhDs is a professional career that involves communication.
And guess what’s going to help you succeed in those careers (literally all of them)?
The answer is NOT publications.
The answer is having the skills to be an accessible, visually-engaging communicator.
But most PhDs are not that (let’s be real). So you still stand out as an invaluable, irreplaceable team member if you can.
And that will be true no matter where you land.
So, if you really don’t get a job talk within the timeframe of our package, then we’ll switch gears and focus on developing those skills.
You cannot go wrong by investing in your ability to be an accessible, visually-engaging communicator.
AI will never be able to replace it. Few people have it. Everyone wants it. It’s one of the few actually future-proof skills you can have.
Ok but…what if I already have an invite, and it’s REALLY SOON!
Don’t panic!
I’ve got your back.
We can still try to do this!
There will not be enough time to do the vendor process, but as long as that’s okay then we can just try to cram this into a one-day intensive.
So you won’t be the only one who needs urgent help, and I work well under pressure.
And uh yeah. Sorry, I know that this whole page is kind of doom and gloom in a lot of ways…
…but that’s only because I’ve experienced years of having to turn away PhDs who are pleading for urgent, last-second help with their job talk.
I’ve had to turn down way too many women academics — who I desperately want to succeed in academia because it’s entirely too white male, even today.
And I’m frustrated. Because it’s not their/your fault. It’s academia’s fault for not giving you enough time to put together a good job talk. It’s academia’s fault for training you to create boring data dumps, but then randomly expect you to deliver amazing ones for a job talk (when we all know the entire committee gives #DeathByPowerpoint lol ).
So I wrote this page in hopes of reaching people before they even submit their applications, in hopes of reducing this problem.
Apologies for stressing you out and making you panic!
But yeah — we got this. We can do this.
We’ll just need some extra coffee and snacks.
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I still have options that can help you deliver a powerful job talk!
I have both online courses and single 1:1 sessions. Here are some options to consider:
For less than $500:
Complete Fail-Proof Slide Design ASAP
For budgets between $500-$3,000:
You can complete more courses (courses #2 and #3 will help with a job talk).
You can book more single sessions, or we can talk about a half- or full-day intensive after we do our first session.