This fall, Mykola Babiak (PhD candidate, expected graduation 2019) will take up a tenure track position as an Assistant Professor in Finance at Lancaster University Management School.  Read more about his job market experience below.

• Mykola, congratulations on your new job offer. Can you briefly describe the process you went through in order to get this job?

Thank you, I am happy to share my experience. My job market search started in early fall when the universities, central banks, and other institutions began posting their job vacancies online. I submitted my application packages in November and then I was waiting for calls to schedule interviews either at the European Job Market Meeting in Naples on December 6-7, 2018 and at the American Economic Association Meeting in Atlanta on January 4-6, 2019. After the interviews, I was invited to give a presentation at the campuses in January and February (so called fly outs). While I was visiting some places at the end of January and the beginning of February, I was receiving offers from the places where I had already had the fly outs before. I was given very little time (from a couple of days to two weeks) to make up my mind and to make the decisions.

• When will you start in this position?

I will join Lancaster University Management School at the beginning of next fall.

• Students are often interested in hearing about the job market experience. How was it for you?

I applied for positions mostly in Europe due to geographical preferences. But I also sent my package to a few places in the US, Canada and Australia. Surprisingly, the interviews were probably the easiest part of my job market process. In contrast, the fly outs were physically very exhausting since I traveled long distances from Europe to the US and I had a scheduled fly out in Australia. I suffered badly from jet lag and got very sick at some point. Combined with the huge amount of stress, it was a hectic period in my life. Nevertheless, I believe it was a rewarding experience.

• How do you think your CERGE-EI experience has helped prepare you for such a job?   

CERGE-EI gave me an amazing opportunity to develop my research ideas. The rigorous coursework focusing mainly on financial markets and macro topics built a strong foundation for my future research in the areas of macro-finance and asset pricing. I took advantage of faculty members and guest speakers at CERGE-EI as well as great mobility stays at Columbia Business School and Warwick Business School that allowed me to cooperate with top researchers in my field. 

• What tips would you give to other students when preparing for the job market?

They should leverage support from advisors and the department, and work extremely hard on the quality of the job market paper.