How to Give a Killer Job Talk (guest post)

“Talks are not merely communication: they are also a performance… So many talks that could have been successful end up flopping because they’re not serious performances.” That’s one observation about job talks from Daniel Muñoz. Dr. Muñoz is a senior lecturer at the Australian National University. Before that, he was associate professor of philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In the following guest post, he shares various tips about crafting and delivering job talk. Others are, of course, welcome to add their own advice in the comments. (A version of this post first appeared at Dr. Muñoz’s newsletter, Big Iff True.) Original photos by Alastair Norcross. How to Give a Killer Job Talk by Daniel Muñoz The job talk—typically on campus, sometimes on Zoom—is the final boss of the academic job market. Don’t underestimate the challenge. You can’t just coast on the rest of your materials: unless you’re already world famous, you probably need a strong job talk. You can’t…