Job markets, plural

  • Government jobs
  • Private sector / Tech / Data Science
  • Non-academic research (think tanks, IOs, central banks)
  • Academic research

So What is This Job Market?

Standardized hiring system, coordinated around:

  • Timing

  • Applications

  • Staging

The Job Market Timeline

I want to go on the market, now what?

  • By end of September:
    • Have Job Market Paper ready;
    • Personal website up and running (GitHub Pages, Quarto, Hugo);
    • Register on EconJobMarket.org and JOE Network;
    • Ask for reference letters;
  • By end of November:
    • Have presented your JMP multiple times (internal seminars, nearby departments, conferences)

Job Openings: where

Job Openings: when

Source: Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham’s JOE Tracker — data & code on GitHub

Job Applications: How many?

Source: AEA webinar on job market; see also Cawley (2025) for recent data

My Job Market

The European Market (EJME)

Timing (fixed through 2028):

  • Virtual interviews: mid-December (Dec 14-17, 2026 for your cohort)
  • Flyouts: January-March (some UK/Belgian depts host multiple candidates on fixed dates)
  • Offers: no deadline earlier than Feb 1; exploding offers (<7 days) are unacceptable

How it differs from the US market (Schindler):

  • European depts have large within-department quality variation across fields. Compare faculty in your area, not department rankings.
  • Cover letters matter more. Departments worry you are not genuinely interested. Customize, even if just one or two sentences.
  • Networks matter. Ask your supervisors to contact colleagues at departments you applied to.

Resources:

The Application Package

  • The most important piece of your application;
  • Generally single-authored (increasingly co-authored; if so, clearly signal your contribution);
  • Showcases your best effort;
  • Recommendations:
    • Work on your introduction again, and again, and again…and then some more.
    • Ask for feedback on it from anyone you can.
  • Recommendations:
    • Pick a clear, clean template, no matter what format (e.g. .tex/.doc/.rmd).
    • Ask someone to go through it to check for clarity.
    • Carefully select the information to include.
    • Go for relevance, not length.
  • Generally 2/3
  • Your main advisor is expected to be one of them
  • Only academic referees
  • Recommendations:
    • Give ample time to letter writers
    • Ask people who know your work well
    • If you can, get a letter from someone outside U.S.E.
  • 1-page letter where you substantiate your interest in the position
  • Arguably not the most important piece of the package
  • Recommendations:
    • Do not repeat the CV
    • Fine to have a standard template (but please change Institution and recipient’s names)
    • Tailor only when you have something specific to say about that specific application
  • Course evaluations
  • Research statement
  • Teaching statement
  • Diversity statement (increasingly requested, especially by US institutions)

Some Tips

  • Discuss the implications of going on the market with your partner.
  • Seriously think through the implications of going on the market.
  • Talk to recent graduates from U.S.E. who went through the market.
  • Consider a dual strategy: both US/international and European markets (EJME + ASSA cycles overlap but are manageable).
  • The market can be brutal. Look after yourself and let others do the same.
  • The market can also be exhilarating!
  • Do not let it define your worth.
  • Check with us about what we can do for you!

Useful Resources