Well, I have been in my new job for one week now and I wanted to share some of my experiences so that you would know what to expect when starting a new academic job. As well as coping with a new job, I am also buying a house and I got married on Saturday, so this really is an exciting month for me! Thank goodness I haven’t been thrown into the deep end at work, there’s still ten days until teaching starts (only ten days…hmmm!) and so I have been able to acclimatize myself slowly to my new work surroundings.
What should you expect on starting a lectureship? As with any job, much of the first few days will be taken up with official administration, proving who you are, getting your new ID card, setting up an email account and perhaps settling in to your new office. Academics are very proud of their offices, often decorating them to reflect their interests and personality. Others’ rooms are organized chaos, perhaps unintentionally reflecting their personality! As an historian I have to decide which books I am going to take to my university office and which to leave at home. Those of you in other disciplines may have to take much more complex equipment, so plan carefully.
One thing I have found incredibly useful in my first week is a tour of the library. This is something given to all students on arrival and in my opinion ought to be given to all staff too. How else are we to recommend resources to our students if we are not familiar with them ourselves? So if you are about to start a new role, make sure you take advantage of all the tours that you are offered, they will be most useful in the coming term.
Next week I shall be helping out with student inductions: now that really will be the blind leading the blind! So I am trying to learn as much as possible about my new work environment this week: I’ll let you know how I get on with student inductions as they happen.
Do you have any staff induction experiences to share? What do you think should be best practice when it comes to easing new staff into their roles?
Wow, it’s all happening at once for you! Congratulations and best of luck with everything.
You’re right, it’s staff as well as students who will be using the library, even if it’s only to guide students where to go and advise them on books they have in stock that you recommend. Such an essential part of university life should be learned by everyone involved as a matter of course.
When it comes to decorating rooms, how important do you think it is to make that room welcoming to students too?
Hi Martin,
I absolutely agree that all rooms should be made welcoming for students, from tutor’s offices to the seminar and lecture halls. It’s a real dilemma as a lecturer whether to have a door-open policy and have students and colleagues always popping in, or whether to hide behind a closed door and risk alienating the more shy students.
And for those tutors who hold seminars in their offices, it’s even more important. After all, students who don’t feel 100% comfortable won’t contribute to the discussion. And overhearing students’ comments on the (how to say it diplomatically?) less clean and tidy offices made me realize that making a good impression is important too!
Catherine
Oh yes, I remember tutor’s rooms ranging from totally minimalist, right through to chaos factor 5 (i.e. nowhere to sit, floor not visible for papers, etc.).
I always felt happier when a tutor encouraged visits, regardless of their door policy, because they were automatically showing more enthusiasm for students than others. They generally got more students than the other lecturers, so it can’t have just been me appreciating their requests.
Hi Martin,
I think you raise a very important point here. As well as being good teaching practice to be available (and be seen to be available) to your students, these lecturers also get more students signing up for their own courses and so get to teach their areas of specialism more often. So it’s a win-win situation!
Catherine