These include the following:
- Teaching (study programme management duties, preparing and teaching class, exam preparation, supervising of students etc.)
- Research (aquisition and implementation of projects, publications, conference engagements, international cooperation etc.)
- Promoting young scientists (management academic staff, supervision of doctoral and postdoctoral candidates etc.)
- Academic self-administration (board and committee activities, research management, management of an institute)
- Service (contract research, scientific communication)
Put yourself in the shoes of someone applying for a professorship and adopt the perspective of an appointments committee. Which of these factors are relevant in your department or to your preferred employer when it comes to appointments? How would one judge your performance, experience and skills from this perspective? Where is it worth investing all your energy? To establish a skills profile, we recommend the following self-study resources:
Mirjam Müller (2014): Promotion – Postdoc – Professur: Karriereplanung in der Wissenschaft. Frankfurt/New York. Campus-Verlag.
But what is it that is really relevant when it comes to being promoted? There are factors that are not performance-related and can only be partly influenced by you. These criteria include:
- The academic reputation of the institution where you are/were working
- The academic reputation of your Ph.D. supervisor or co-author(s)
- The consistency of your academic track record
The only way you can have any influence on the above mentioned is to make smart decisions based on information that you collect from your mentors, more experienced colleagues or your peers.