SSHRC Postdoc 2023-2024

[brert]

On 2/19/2023 at 8:00 AM, SSHRCDreams said:

What type of fallback plans do you all have?

I was pretty targeted in post-doc apps and keep coming up the runner-up!

I am currently doing a post-doc in Europe, and the institution has said they may be able to extend me for a few months if I don't get the SSHRC, but otherwise... I simply don't know what's next. My family and I are really ready to move back to Canada, so I didn't apply to any other positions in Europe or the States this year and really put all my eggs in one basket. Basically, the fallback plan is to reassess my whole life in a week or two if need be!

[SSHRCDreams]

On 2/21/2023 at 3:34 PM, brert said:

I am currently doing a post-doc in Europe, and the institution has said they may be able to extend me for a few months if I don't get the SSHRC, but otherwise... I simply don't know what's next. My family and I are really ready to move back to Canada, so I didn't apply to any other positions in Europe or the States this year and really put all my eggs in one basket. Basically, the fallback plan is to reassess my whole life in a week or two if need be!

I'm relieved to have gotten a back-up postdoc just the other day. But it doesn't start until the fall. I'd much rather start in May with SSHRC, which is also much more flexible regarding time in the "office". Only perk of the back-up is an office.

[UC-23]

Congrats, @SSHRCDreamson getting a backup! That must be a relief to have something in your pocket. 

I don't know what I'll do as a back-up plan. If I get a TT job offer I might take that. But I'm also lucky that my spouse has a real job that pays bills, so I can afford to be mostly unemployed for a while, and apply for jobs and postdocs again next fall, once I've actually graduated. 

[1Q84]

On 2/17/2023 at 3:28 AM, SSHRCDreams said:

@UC-23 

Exactly! I have a family. My current contracts dry up at the end of the semester. I need to know sooner rather than later how I'm going to pay the bills when May rolls around. Will I be doing a post-doc in a different country? Will I have to find summer work? I was just informed I was runner-up on an institutional post-doc, so there's a possibility someone will reject that offer, but I'm really holding my breath. 

How many years post-PhD are you looking at TT jobs? My supervisor told me to teach a few years, get a post-doc, and then apply for TT jobs, but I also hear that adjunct teaching jobs don't do much to improve an application. 

So much this. I'm freaking out because my visa expires in May meaning I may have to pack up my entire life, say goodbye to my friends of 10 years and move back to Canada with very little notice so I'd really like to have the next few months of my life figured out. 

I honestly don't see a reason why SSHRC should take nearly 6 MONTHS to judge? This thing was due September 15, 2022!!

[PhDOG,ESQ]

@UC-23 @SSHRCDreams

 

The good news: SSHRC is not as fickle as hiring committees, who tend to select the candidate that is no one’s top choice but everyone concedes is a good compromise. 

 The committee is largely evaluating the relevance and viability of your project. Journal publications matter, yes, but SSHRC is increasingly fixating on “public scholarship,” so they are turning greater attention to if/how your work can engage the public. Even for scholarship in very niche areas, they want to see that you are able to connect what you’re doing to public debate and (yup) media engagement. Remember SSHRC is an arm of the Canadian government, so the more exposure your work can get – the more your work can promote the govmt’s image as progressive and community-oriented - the more they want in. Since the postdoc is a career bridge, and there are fewer academic careers and more academics entering the private sector, they also want to see that your project is something that can get you employed, simply put.

 Reviewers also favour applications that have a little “pizzaz” – a unique voice and confidence. They are not well-inclined to applications that harp on oppression and are more-and-more interested in projects that speak to empowerment and possibility. 

 The CLEAR organization of the POW is key. Reviewers favour applications with very explicit subheads. 

 If relevant they also want to see that you have contingency plans in case there’s another pandemic or the like.

 With all of this said! Every application is different and there is no single recipe for success. The committee also needs to spread awards across a range of disciplines, fields, and themes, and some projects are slam dunks simply for being nothing like the others. 

And I agree - six months is an INSANE amount of time to wait. Four days left in February........ARGHHH

  

Edited February 24, 2023 by PhDOG,ESQ
repeated sentence

[lleto]

On 2/24/2023 at 10:36 AM, PhDOG,ESQ said:

@UC-23 @SSHRCDreams

 

The good news: SSHRC is not as fickle as hiring committees, who tend to select the candidate that is no one’s top choice but everyone concedes is a good compromise. 

 The committee is largely evaluating the relevance and viability of your project. Journal publications matter, yes, but SSHRC is increasingly fixating on “public scholarship,” so they are turning greater attention to if/how your work can engage the public. Even for scholarship in very niche areas, they want to see that you are able to connect what you’re doing to public debate and (yup) media engagement. Remember SSHRC is an arm of the Canadian government, so the more exposure your work can get – the more your work can promote the govmt’s image as progressive and community-oriented - the more they want in. Since the postdoc is a career bridge, and there are fewer academic careers and more academics entering the private sector, they also want to see that your project is something that can get you employed, simply put.

 Reviewers also favour applications that have a little “pizzaz” – a unique voice and confidence. They are not well-inclined to applications that harp on oppression and are more-and-more interested in projects that speak to empowerment and possibility. 

 The CLEAR organization of the POW is key. Reviewers favour applications with very explicit subheads. 

 If relevant they also want to see that you have contingency plans in case there’s another pandemic or the like.

 With all of this said! Every application is different and there is no single recipe for success. The committee also needs to spread awards across a range of disciplines, fields, and themes, and some projects are slam dunks simply for being nothing like the others. 

And I agree - six months is an INSANE amount of time to wait. Four days left in February........ARGHHH

  

Thank you for these insights, they are very helpful. I also applied to the FRQSC postdoctoral competition, and in that application, there were questions that explicitly asked about leadership and communicating with the public, as well as whether our project contributes to the UN's Sustainability Development Goals, etc. I feel like I have a better chance with that application (although I have to wait until the end of April!) because of these things. I did show them in the SSHRC application, but I didn't emphasize them as much. If I'm not successful for SSHRC or FRQSC this year, I know how to reframe my application for next year! Thank you!

[SSHRCDreams]

On 2/24/2023 at 5:36 PM, PhDOG,ESQ said:

@UC-23 @SSHRCDreams

 

The good news: SSHRC is not as fickle as hiring committees, who tend to select the candidate that is no one’s top choice but everyone concedes is a good compromise. 

 The committee is largely evaluating the relevance and viability of your project. Journal publications matter, yes, but SSHRC is increasingly fixating on “public scholarship,” so they are turning greater attention to if/how your work can engage the public. Even for scholarship in very niche areas, they want to see that you are able to connect what you’re doing to public debate and (yup) media engagement. Remember SSHRC is an arm of the Canadian government, so the more exposure your work can get – the more your work can promote the govmt’s image as progressive and community-oriented - the more they want in. Since the postdoc is a career bridge, and there are fewer academic careers and more academics entering the private sector, they also want to see that your project is something that can get you employed, simply put.

 Reviewers also favour applications that have a little “pizzaz” – a unique voice and confidence. They are not well-inclined to applications that harp on oppression and are more-and-more interested in projects that speak to empowerment and possibility. 

 The CLEAR organization of the POW is key. Reviewers favour applications with very explicit subheads. 

 If relevant they also want to see that you have contingency plans in case there’s another pandemic or the like.

 With all of this said! Every application is different and there is no single recipe for success. The committee also needs to spread awards across a range of disciplines, fields, and themes, and some projects are slam dunks simply for being nothing like the others. 

And I agree - six months is an INSANE amount of time to wait. Four days left in February........ARGHHH

  

Thank you for the insight! With SSHRC's decision so close, it really is baffling they are so slow. Worse still. They say February 2023, only to push that out to the last possible days. Fine if they want the six months. I'm sure the decisions were made a long time ago and there are technical issues and bureaucracy, but at least give a committee deadline or something! If I hadn't checked when other decisions were sent out, I'd have waited all month for a letter.

[fmlfmlfml]

I promised myself I wouldn't get my hopes up or over-stress about this, but ooooof. Today the stress is hitting hard! I wish we at least knew which day to expect the results... 

Edited February 27, 2023 by fmlfmlfml
clarity

[UC-23]

 @fmlfmlfml yup, the anticipation is so distracting. 

But this is (probably) the week! But they probably won't be sending things out on a Monday. 

Still, I'm limiting myself to checking email twice a day because otherwise I'll get nothing done. 

[PhDOG,ESQ]

I'm also limiting myself to only refreshing this page twice a day to check in on others' experiences and then totally unhelpfully try to extrapolate what this means for my application. SENDING EVERYONE GOOD VIBES! @UC-23 @fmlfmlfml (great username, fml!)

[brert]

In some ways I am blessed to be in Europe so I only need to start panicking and staring at my email starting at 3:00pm when I know things are opening up in Canada, as opposed to losing my whole day like I know I would if I were in North America. But let's hope this doesn't last for too many more days - good luck everyone! 

[SSHRCDreams]

How come if I had a six-month runway on a deadline and I didn't keep it then it's an issue, but when SSHRC does it... 

1 hour ago, brert said:

In some ways I am blessed to be in Europe so I only need to start panicking and staring at my email starting at 3:00pm when I know things are opening up in Canada, as opposed to losing my whole day like I know I would if I were in North America. But let's hope this doesn't last for too many more days - good luck everyone! 

I feel that! Though, even when I'm not actively thinking about it, I still feel passively distracted by the waiting. It's like I had too much running in the background.

But seriously. It is ridiculous that they say "February 2023" and here we are, on the last day of February.

[slc4a3]

45 minutes ago, SSHRCDreams said:

How come if I had a six-month runway on a deadline and I didn't keep it then it's an issue, but when SSHRC does it... 

they don't accept submissions that are even one minute late for any reason whatsoever, i guess that only applies to us 😅

[Smitten Pears]

Do we have any idea how to expect the results to come through? Reading the last year's thread left me confused about that! **ETA: Like, email, or do we have to set up an online portal, or...?

Edited February 28, 2023 by Smitten Pears
clarity

[PhDOG,ESQ]

GOING NUTS!

[UC-23]

@Smitten Pears

The "application acknowledgement" email in September said that "The result of this competition will be sent by mail to the correspondence address provided in your application." But SURELY we have left the era of physical mail, SSHRC. And anyway, the discussion last year suggests that people were receiving emails that gave them access to results on the SSHRC Extranet (which is also how I was notified of a SSHRC doctoral a few years ago). 

It's probably a waste of my time, but I have been checking the Extranet "applicant library" where I accessed my files for the doctoral fellowship, to see if any new documents pop up there. (https://influence.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/700000/A/default.aspx/# -- I had to reset my password but it did let me in). But probably they create new logins and accounts when people apply for different fellowships. 

[lleto]

17 minutes ago, Smitten Pears said:

Do we have any idea how to expect the results to come through? Reading the last year's thread left me confused about that! **ETA: Like, email, or do we have to set up an online portal, or...?

It's probably through the extranet. If you have an account from previous years, you might be able to sign in. I have one from my PhD award and I was able to sign in. There is a line that says 'Your documents will be displayed shortly. You will be notified once they are available.'  If you don't have an extranet account, you should receive an email at some point with a link to it and instructions on how to access it. Unless the procedure has changed.

[PhDOG,ESQ]

1 hour ago, lleto said:

It's probably through the extranet. If you have an account from previous years, you might be able to sign in. I have one from my PhD award and I was able to sign in. There is a line that says 'Your documents will be displayed shortly. You will be notified once they are available.'  If you don't have an extranet account, you should receive an email at some point with a link to it and instructions on how to access it. Unless the procedure has changed.

Can you explain in more detail how to try this?

And .......... is anyone else paranoid that SSHRC just *lost* their application since it's disappeared from the webapp interface where we submitted it?

[fmlfmlfml]

21 minutes ago, PhDOG,ESQ said:

Can you explain in more detail how to try this?

And .......... is anyone else paranoid that SSHRC just *lost* their application since it's disappeared from the webapp interface where we submitted it?

YES HAHAHA I keep looking back at the email that confirmed my application was received to reassure myself that it's real! This is excruciating 🥲

[1Q84]

Joining in the crazy waiting crew here! I think they operate on EST? It's 1pm EST now.... assuming they will send it out during business hours today?!

[Smitten Pears]

I'm not holding out much hope for it being today, I'm sorry to say! Last year wasn't it something like March 4/5?

[UC-23]

@PhDOG,ESQ

To get onto the Extranet, go here. Or just google "SSHRC Extranet for Applicants." You should see a login page that asks for a username and password. Your email is your username. Use the 'forgot password' feature to get a new password sent to you. Then login and you will see an "Applicant Library" page. 

But again, this might not work for everyone. If you haven't used the Extranet in the past (I think they only introduced this a few years ago) then you might not have an account set up. And for those of us who do already have accounts, maybe they'll just create a fresh one for the postdoc application. But refreshing the page is another way to pass the time! 

[lleto]

1 hour ago, PhDOG,ESQ said:

Can you explain in more detail how to try this?

And .......... is anyone else paranoid that SSHRC just *lost* their application since it's disappeared from the webapp interface where we submitted it?

Here is the link to sign in to the extranet:

https://influence.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/_Layouts/CASD.CustomLogin/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f700000%2fA%2f_layouts%2fAuthenticate.aspx%3fSource%3d%2F700000%2FA%2Fdefault%2Easpx%2F&Source=%2F700000%2FA%2Fdefault.aspx%2F

Username is the email you use with SSHRC. I reset my password and eventually I was able to sign in. At first I kept receiving a 'denied access' message, but then I tried it on Chrome and I was able to access by account.

[PhDOG,ESQ]

@Smitten Pears neither am I.... but that doesn't stop my manic inbox refreshing! 

[SSHRCDreams]

Sorry everyone. SSHRC called. I'm supposed to tell you they misplaced all of our applications. We all would have been funded, but, because they lost them, all of our funding is going to that mean kid who called you stupid in senior kindergarten.