Promotion

Promotion represents an important milestone on the academic career path. At its most basic, it involves crafting a case that describes applicants’ performance against pre-defined metrics.

But this is rarely enough: Success also relies on a cohesive story that communicates applicants’ vision, the impact of their achievements, the collaborations they have formed, the strategic alignment of their work, and any career disruptions.

Mind Your Way offers a range of services (including workshops) for individuals and groups to help them craft successful promotion stories, both on the page and for the interview.

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Contact us about Promotions

A focus on gender equity

For women and gender-diverse individuals, academic promotion can be complicated by persistent cultural and structural factors.

These might include a gendered concept of merit and research productivity, penalised career breaks and non-linear trajectories, under-recognition of “invisible” contributions, a lack of female or gender-diverse role models, and unconscious bias in mentors, sponsors, and selection panels.

These and other factors have contributed to women and gender-diverse individuals being under-represented in leadership across many academic disciplines. While system-wide measures at the organisational and policy level are required to address systemic bias or fix an entrenched culture with deep historical roots, academic promotion support services can assist women and gender-diverse individuals to mitigate the impact of this system on their career ambitions and help them critically assess the barriers that prevent transitions into more senior roles

What our clients say

  • "The editing of the application was exceptional. The meticulous attention to detail in each section ensured that the content was clear, concise, and compelling. The storytelling was expertly crafted, weaving a coherent and engaging narrative throughout the application. Every piece of information was presented logically and impactfully, making a strong and persuasive case. The language was polished and professional, with seamless transitions that guided the reader smoothly from one section to the next. Overall, the careful editing significantly enhanced the application's quality and effectiveness."

    Level E (Professor) applicant

  • "Writing a promotion application is challenging: the narrative is critical, as is the ability to strongly sell all that you have achieved. Working with Mind Your Way really helped me to change the focus of my story and bring a much stronger voice to all that I have achieved. Importantly, the team work with you to push you outside of your comfort zone and see things from a different perspective while delicately balancing this with what you are comfortable with. I have no doubt that my application is much stronger following their guidance and support."

    Level D (Associate Professor) applicant

OUR SIGNATURE SERVICE

Promotion Edit

Our promotion edit assists clients to unpack their achievements and craft a confident case for promotion based on a compelling narrative of research and/or education impacts (relative to opportunity), innovative thinking and practice, and dissemination and translation activities across university and practical settings.

14-22 hours of editing time; 2-week turnaround.

Best suited for:

  • Well-developed and complete drafts of the application.

  • Near-miss applications from the previous round.

  • New applications that have undergone internal peer review or mentoring within the applicant’s institution.

  • The editor conducts a strategic assessment of the draft's strengths and needs using our curated analytic tools — capturing explicitly what other grant reviewers only do intuitively. Initial feedback and questions identify story components that are present, missing, or underdeveloped.

  • The editor rewrites and restructures the text to strengthen arguments and highlight the significance of the case for promotion. All edits are tracked with explanatory comments, and a clean and tracked version is sent to the applicant.

  • The editor discusses the changes with the applicant, explaining the reasoning behind the key editorial decisions. This ensures the applicant fully understands and confidently owns the final draft before submission.

  • The editor has additional hours available to devote to the editing of the application and/or additional feedback loops. The editor will discuss with the applicant or sponsor how these extra hours are best used for the benefit of the application

STRATEGIC FEEDBACK WITHOUT THE REWRITE

Promotion Review

High-level feedback and recommendations on a complete or near-complete draft — guiding researchers to make the changes themselves. Consists of a Story Analysis followed by a Run-Through discussion.

8-14 hours of reviewing time; 1-2 week turnaround.

Best suited for:

  • Resubmissions that require repositioning.

  • Applicants who have the time and skills to implement the feedback.

  • Tight turn-arounds for single applicants or sponsored cohorts.

TRANSLATING THE WRITTEN WORD INTO A VERBAL ACCOUNT

Interview Coaching

When we coach academics on verbal presentation skills, we take a close look at how they tell their story. Is it engaging, compelling, and memorable? What about body language and voice projection? Can people hear them from the back of the room? Are applicants speaking so fast that no one can follow? To prepare applicants for challenging questions, we help them build proactive response strategies that will get them out of any corner with dignity and charm.

Best suited for:

  • Promotion processes that require an interview.

  • Applicants who wish to improve their presentation skills to convey a persuasive case for promotion.