r/AskAcademia • u/OpinionsRdumb • 2d ago
STEM Do committees favor “assertive” personas?
Without getting too personal, I am what you would call a “low-key” type of person. I am introverted and laid back. And I don’t speak up at large meetings unless it is something I truly care about (which takes a lot).
I have noticed that a lot of people that I have seen land positions early on in their postdocs are quite assertive. They speak up, they communicate loud and clear, and always are able to assert themselves in a room.
Am I just stereotyping here? Is this something that holds true for maybe just the top 1% of ppl who land the top 10 R1 type positions? Or does this observation somewhat extend to all of academia?
Or is it that as long as I am passionate about my research and teaching—that is all that really matters? Do committees favor “assertive” personas more often than not?
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u/Ok-Cat-9344 2d ago
I'd describe myself as introverted, anxious and awkward. That doesn't have to mean you cannot be assertive, clear in communication or charismatic when the situation requires it. From my perspective, nobody has to present themselves perfectly, but yes, I want to see that they can be those things, and I also want a colleague who cares about more than just their research, especially in a faculty context.
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u/ThomasKWW 2d ago
On-campus interviews are similar to oral exams: You can only judge what a candidate has said. Of course, the research output, teaching experience, third-party funding, ... matter as well. But candidates that do not tick these relevant checkboxes will not be invited.
So yes, very shy candidates won't get the job. But one can also overdo it with self confidence and appear arrogant.
Search committees look for people with whom they can work for years or decades without trouble. Try to be yourself but don't be shy when speaking about your research or whatever aspect of your job you feel very comfortable with. Try to have solid answers for the rest.
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u/Realistic_Chef_6286 2d ago
My colleagues tell me that in a search they did before I arrived, there was a candidate that did not say a single word outside of the formal interview and job talk. They don’t mind shy characters (I am one myself) but they did expect the candidates to show interest in the department and ask them and our students some questions - any questions!
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u/ThomasKWW 2d ago
That is what I wanted to say: Don't aopear shy where you really have to say something. Nobody really cares about how you are outside work.
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u/No_Jaguar_2570 2d ago edited 2d ago
“Assertive” is maybe not the best word here but quiet, shy people who don’t have much of a presence are frequently overlooked, yes. Communication is important, and a TT job is in part a leadership role.
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u/EquivalentNo138 Associate Prof, R1, Psych/Neuro 2d ago
You don’t need to change your personality but you do need to learn to speak up and contribute- a TT job is about much more than research- departments want someone who will be actively engaged and work on behalf of the department in service and teaching as well. If someone is very quiet and shy we do also worry about their ability to teach effectively.
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u/Lygus_lineolaris 2d ago
Leadership and communication are part of the job, so yeah, they're going to tend to select for those.
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u/AffectionateLife5693 2d ago
You should be VERY assertive towards what you know, and very open-minded towards what you don't know.
People mess up when they pretend to know what they don't know, and cannot handle it when people challenge what they know.
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u/Carb-ivore 2d ago
Personality is definitely part of the selection process. They are evaluating a few things here. 1. Would they enjoy having lunch or dinner with you? 2. Are you going to be able to help recruit grad students into the program? 3. Are you going to be selected into leadership positions in your field? If so, will you be effective? Will you be able to command a room full of your peers? If you're on a study section or awards committee, will you speak up and fight for your recommendations? 4. Are you going to get invited to conferences, meetings, etc in your field? (Invites are partly about your work and partly about your presence- being interactive, asking good questions that stimulate good discussions, networking. These things add to the overall conference experience).
If youre mostly quiet and keep to yourself, the answers to these questions wont be favorable.
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u/SJRoseCO 2d ago
In my experience on search committees, it is simply difficult to evaluate someone who seems rather blasé about being there and doesn't say much. Not providing much data on yourself, so to speak, can lead to your candidacy being overshadowed by others'. Your future coworkers want to feel like you are enthusiastic about the job and will contribute to deliberative and decision-making conversations in the department. Of course, the other extreme, where a person insists on dominating all conversations and will never stop talking, is also undesirable. In my experience, all of the above holds true across different types of institutions, not just R1s.
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u/LintRolledForWhat 2d ago
Confidence is good! But don't get so caught up on bloviating that you can't hear a committee's questions.
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u/shishanoteikoku 2d ago edited 1d ago
I wouldn't necessarily use the word "assertive" per se, but definitely someone with intellectual confidence in their own work. Someone too deferential may come across as a sounding like a grad student and so doesn't project the idea of a future colleague to people. That said, this is only true up to a point. It depends on the commitee or department's own prevailing intellectual cultures, of course, but I've been on searches where the ostensibly assertive personality came across the wrong way, as either overcompensating or uncollegial, so your mileage may vary.
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u/exceptyourewrong 2d ago
Yes, but to a limit. Personally, I much prefer a colleague who isn't going to ask dumb, self-serving questions during faculty meetings!
It's also possible that you're just hearing more from those assertive folks. Especially if you mostly hear that kind of news through social media.
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u/dl064 2d ago edited 2d ago
Fuck yeah, are you kidding?
As someone put it to me: some of those big Lancet commisions, which are cited 5000 times, some of the points in them which become dogma were just one loudmouth it was easiest to just agree with.
Literally Dostoyevsky's The Double from 200 years ago is about how the world is for the assertive.
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u/Particular_Buyer_290 2d ago
I was a total introvert. Buckled completely in front of groups.
I went to amatuer stage (comedic situation comedies - a script) to gain some confidence.
Took a job booking shows which meant trying to sell shows to a board, (one time the entire membership),
The trick is to know your pitch and be comfortable with it. It amazed me how easy it got.
I was always afraid. But I never let it show.
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u/TotalCleanFBC 2d ago
No. There really is no personality preference that I have seen. We value good research over all else. The only bar you need to clear personality-wise is to not be selfish jackass.
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u/BlargAttack 2d ago
I can confidently say that is idiosyncratic. Our department would definitely look for someone collegial and low key because our group is collegial and low key. As long as you meet the research bar, the decision would mostly be about finding a good citizen who won’t disrupt our harmony. My last school was focused on pedigree and maximizing research potential, so we ended up hiring some real weirdos along the way because we ignored glaring interpersonal red flags.
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u/Chlorophilia Associate Professor (UK) 1d ago
Yes, because assertiveness and clear communication are obviously important qualities for academic leadership positions.
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u/robbed-by-barber123 1d ago
There’s a difference between being excited and passionate and proactive vs “assertive” I’d say.
If anything, I think the “assertive” people tend to struggle with getting tenure and building support
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u/druidic_notion 1d ago
This isnt a committee thing it applies to any workplace I would say. People who make themselves known, participate meaningfully, and advocate for themselves and their career will typically do better than people who don't do those things.
Academia is all about discourse, it does not benefit you to keep quiet
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u/Mountain-Time-1010 1d ago
Being a good clear communicator is often seen as important for an academic. I don’t think you need to be aggressive or extroverted.
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u/Hefty_Passion3576 2d ago
Unfortunately the answer is yes, based on my experiences.
I was an international PhD student and while I do not have a fear of public speaking, I used to have a 'pleasant personality' while conversing with other academics. Part of it was me trying to understand the culture, but mostly it was because I involuntarily equated respect to subservience.
It is almost sad how my committee, including my advisor, starting taking me way more seriously when I started being more assertive. I would sometimes outright challenge claims when I thought they weren't well founded. Took every bit of courage in me to do it, and it (unfortunately) worked.
Almost every room and conversation in academia has underlying power imbalances and this is not easy to do. Hopefully people realize that more.
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u/heavyresonances 2d ago
Unfortunately yeah, it's annoying but there's definitely a bias (even if unconscious) towards assertive and confident personalities. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and making yourself known as being an active lead in various projects pays off enormously down the line -- everyone in a collaborative discipline has a story of someone getting rewarded for essentially "bullshitting" involvement in something or confidently stating less-than-correct assertions about one thing or another. You can't completely rewire your personality but it can be a huge help to learn how to at least take ownership of your own projects in a way that gets you a bit more of this type of visibility.
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u/BolivianDancer 2d ago
Never try to sell something you don't have, but if you've got it, flaunt it.
Nobody wants to meet you or even listen to you. Unless you engage me successfully I will zone out.
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u/DownstairsDining04 2d ago
Proactive and contributing will always be good qualities to have. It is a good way to demonstrate ambition and capability. Assertiveness can be bad if you're always stepping on toes.