Job Market Tentative Timeline

This is a tentative timeline of the job market. For the specific deadlines, please consult materials distributed by the Placement Director. 

Summer:

• Work on your job market paper! The earlier you have a standalone draft, the more time you'll have to circulate it, get feedback, and make improvements before November.

• Keep your advisors informed on your progress.

• Secure letter writers.

• Form a group of friends and colleagues who are willing to read parts of your job market paper, attend your practice talks, and ask you questions.

• Sign up to present your paper in a Fall workshop (the presentation must happen by the third week of October); you should also present at least once during the summer, in 708-lite or 709-lite and/or at conferences.  

• Begin reading Job Openings for Economists and compiling a list of jobs to which you can apply.  

• Be aware of job-market opportunities that have early deadlines (e.g., World Bank)

• Start monitoring econ-adjacent and AEA-adjacent platforms such as

  • American Marketing Association (AMA) Academic Placement Hiring Event and Job Board: https://www.ama.org/ 

  • American Finance Association: https://careers.afajof.org/ 

  • American Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting & Jobs Postings: https://apsanet.org/careers/ejobs/ 

  • Canadian Economics Association: https://www.economics.ca/jobs-employment-exchange

  • China Job Market for Economists: http://www.cicecon.org.cn/

  • European Job Market for Economists: https://www.europeanjobmarketofeconomists.org/

September:

• Attend placement meeting and other placement-related events.

• Prepare a CV, carefully following the Department's template. E-mail your CV and draft of job market paper to your advisor for feedback.

• Have your advisor send an e-mail to Placement Directors and the placement coordinator authorizing you to go on the market.  

• Set up and publish your website with a professional portrait, CV, list of papers and list of courses taught/TA'd.  

• Start assembling application materials (research and teaching statements, cover letters, other papers).

• Having a CV, a completed draft of the job market paper, your advisor's authorization, and a website running as specified above are NECESSARY conditions to be included in the official placement list.

October:

• Present in 708/709

• Generate a list of all the places you wish to apply and discuss with your advisors. Solicit their advice on your suitability for these jobs. All of your letter writers should know where you plan to apply.

• Remind your letter writers of the Department's deadline for submitting letters of recommendation.

• Apply for positions, polish spiel.

• Attend employer presentations.

November:

• Confirm that the placement coordinator has received all of your letters of reference.

• Continue to apply for positions, polish spiel and slides, practice answering interview questions. 90% of jobs will have been posted by now. 

• Do practice interviews with other job market candidates, faculty, and external coaches.

December: start of interviews & flyouts

• As potential employers contact you to schedule interviews, respond to all communications (from employers, placement directors, advisors) within at most 24 hours. 

• Practice your mock interview speech and job market seminar until you have them both down cold.

• Keep us posted on how your job market is going.

• Continue submitting applications to new job postings. 

January & February:

• Continue interviewing, polishing spiel and slides, practicing answers to questions. 

• Continue submitting applications to new job postings.  

March:

• If you don't have a job yet, keep sending out applications and don't be discouraged! Also, participate in the Job Market Scramble, which AEA established to help facilitate communication between employers and job market candidates at this point in the job market.