Sitting down with a young and brilliant mathematician, I asked what he thought were his biggest problems in working toward tenure. Instead of describing difficulties with his equations or his software programs, he lamented that (a) his graduate assistant wasn’t completing his tasks on time, (b) his department chair didn’t seem to care if junior faculty obtained grants, and © a senior professor kept glaring at him in faculty meetings. He knew he could handle the intellectual side of being an academic-but what about the people side? ‘Why didn’t they offer Being a Professor 101 in graduate school?’ he wondered.

Promotion and Tenure Confidential provides that course in an astute and practical book, which shows that P&T is not just about research, teaching, and service but also about human relations and political good sense. Drawing on research and extensive interviews with junior and senior faculty across many institutions, David D. Perlmutter provides clear-sighted guidance on planning and managing an academic career, from graduate school to tenure and beyond.

Topics include:making the transformation from student and protege to teacher and mentorseeking out and holding onto lifelong allieshow to manage your online reputation and avoid death by Google what to say and what not to say to deans and department chairshow meeting deadlines wins points with everyone in your lifehow, when, and to whom to say no when and how to look for a new job when you have a jobhow (and whom) to ask for letters of recommendationwhat to do if you know you’re not going to get tenure