L Jean Camp

Stuff Your Mentor Will Tell You

Get Involved Now

IEEE-USA addresses a broad range of science and policy issues. Select the correct committee and get involved. The Computer Society is the oldest computing society in the US.
USACM addresses the issues most cloesly related to computing and public policy.
AAAS has public policy fellowship, an amazing annual meeting, and along-standing commitment to policy.

Where to Look

CRA has jobs http://www.cra.org/ads/
Academic Keys has a mailing list http://www.academickeys.com/
ACM has a decent listing http://jobs.acm.org.
Everyone knows to look at The Chronicle, http://chronicle.com/ but not everyone knows that it is too expensive to post jobs there for postdocs, lecturers, and other faculty entry options. So in any faculty search it is important to be on all the relevant mailing lists.
In security, look for postdocs on IAS Opportunitites http://groups.google.com/group/ias-opportunities; the PETS mailing list http://lists.links.org/mailman/listinfo/pet; IACR http://www.iacr.org/news/index.php?p=mailreg; and if usable security is your thing make sure you are on the hcisec@yahoogroups.com the little list and CHI-ANNOUNCEMENTS@listserv.acm.org the big list.
For industry, in general, do NOT begin with human resources for an opportunity. Use social networking. Use Linked In both to find opportunities and to connect with people in the company. HR departments, as far as I can tell, exist to keep companies from being sued when telling people, "no". If they want to work with you an actual person (not a "human resource") will contact you.

What to Ask For the Academic

Appointment unit including when the appointment is shared, adjunct, or courtesy
Service expectations for joint appointments.
Evaluation or tenure for joint appointments who does annual reviews? mentors in both departments?
Tenure standards documents and processes
Starting date amazingly negotiable
Start-up ask what has been given in the past. If you know people who graduated 2-3 years before you, ask them.
Living expenses moving cost, housing allowances. Usually moving requires three quotes from three movers, but sometimes there is a cap. Even if the secretary is clueless, get three quotes.
Benefits What are they and what percentage is paid by the university?
Retirement Benefits Under what conditions does the University contribute (e.g., matching, vested, etc.)? When are you vested?
Leaves Fulbrights, sabaticals, invited leaves, pre-tenure research leaves.
Tuition benefits for family for those with or planning kids.
Travel budget and travel policies for when that budget runs out.
Two body problem help as needed, but this may also be an indicator of culture.
Facilities/space if you do not ask for it during the negotiation stage you will never get it.
Computers and updates on the computers - after the first do you have to raise your own money?
Office furniture yep, some places take it out of start-up.
Staff support you can only get theory on this but the theory is an important starting place.
Salary options twelve month payments for ten months need to start immediately.
Normal teaching duties not only yours to negotiate, but what is the baseline?
Teaching relief given how often and under what conditions? Is it common?
Teaching distributions In particular, will you get the grad class you need to recruit good students?
Teaching assistants Can you choose your own TA? Can you use the TA support for your classes to support your students or does the department distribute them all as aid?
Service What would be considered average, minimal and excellent service? Are junior faculty encouraged to seek excellence in service?
A nice pdf that sums up the issues Negotiable

For the Company

I would welcome comments, improvement, advice.

Appointment title or titles in business titles are never permanent but they do have profound organizational complexity.
Appointment unit are there five dotted lines?
Evaluation who actually decides your salary and resource requests?
Starting date amazingly variable to the degree to which they are negotiable.
Living expenses moving cost, housing allowances. Usually moving requires three quotes from three movers, but sometimes there is a cap.
Benefits dental, spousal, and if there exist any choice?
Leaves Fulbrights can be for professionals too, but also to work in the academy or in government.
Travel policies Corporate travel budgets appear strangely inexhaustable to the academic.
Two body problem help again ask as needed, but this may also be an indicator of culture.
Facilities/space if you do not ask for it during the negotiation stage you will never get it.
Staff support you can only get theory on this but the theory is an important starting place.
Research support Can you fund students? Hire post-docs? What is the budget and who decides?

Other lists From the employer perspective, short and kind of obvious, http://www.yourpeoplemanager.com/YahbQ9ZoivVsHw.html

And how your publications are likely to be evaulated, here are three lists:

This is a nice blog post that has some recommendations on how to prepare a package. I particularly like the cover letter recommendations: http://mommyscientist.blogspot.com/2006/08/faculty-packages.html

Also for scientists,with a focus on negotiationg salary http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2006_06_16/tooling_up_salary_negotiation_part_1. (it wasn't my naming scheme, blame me not.)