The ABC of research across career stages - Early career
Second of four posts on navigating the sometimes choppy waters of research (and academia) across career stages
So, what are the key issues early on in your career? This is the stage where you prepare the ground for your future career and learn what being researcher is all about. This means you need to take every opportunity to learn and experiment.
A - Ask for advice: learn as much as you can
First, ask, ask, ask. You can do this in many ways. You can ask more senior academics, a mentor, a co-author, a colleague. Or you can simply go online, there are many dozens of websites dedicated to advice for researchers on any imaginable topic. You could also participate in peer networks aligned to your area of interest. And why not consider representing your ECR colleagues in university or professional fora? We often learn more when we represent others.
Remember, even though most of us think we are unique, we really aren’t, at least not in terms of the problems we are experiencing in academia. Whatever you experience in academia, someone else will have experienced this before. So, please don’t struggle alone!
B – Believe in yourself: don’t give up on your ideals and research passion
Don’t listen to people saying you need to “spot a gap in the literature”. This often results in doing research that leaves you completely cold and is just an exercise in publishing. You might be able to do this for a few years, but ultimately it will destroy your intrinsic motivation. And without intrinsic motivation your academic soul dies.
Don’t listen to those saying you can’t do research on gender issues if you are female or on ethnicity if you are non-white. You are uniquely suited to study these topics. They are not minority topics: there are as many women as men; non-whites are the global majority. Remember, nobody ever blamed white male academics for studying white male managers.
If you have a big idea, pursue it. Many academics have made ground-breaking contributions early on in their career. Do listen though when a senior academic tells you your topic really isn’t novel enough, they have a better grasp of what has already been studied than you do.
Finally, don’t measure yourself up against others. We all have different research and career paths. We have all had our own struggles. And remember …, even senior academics get rejections all the time. In fact, they probably get more rejections than you do as they are working on a larger number of projects. Of my last three papers, two took three or four journals and more than 5 years to get published. As I explained earlier, resilience is key! (see also: Be proactive, resilient & realistic!)
C – Cultivate the ground for the future
At the early career stage, you need to cultivate the ground to ensure it is fertile once you start branching out your research career. So now is the time to try out many different things, different journals, different formats, working with different people. See a rejection as an opportunity to learn about another journal outlet. But do remember you need a research portfolio to balance your investments over different projects!
Finally, although your focus early on in your career will be mostly on publishing, start learning a bit about funding and impact. It is also a good idea to start building a network NOW! You can’t start publicising your publications, participate in a grant application, or diffuse your research to practice if you don’t know anyone. Building up relationships takes time!
Early Career Keyword: Survival!
We can summarize this career stage with one word: Survival! Don’t expect too much of yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others all the time. A baby elephant doesn’t expect to be able to run as fast or as far as their parent. Focus on survival. If you survive your early career stage, you have done well!
And remember: take every opportunity to ask questions. When you are an ECR, no question is stupid. Everyone knows you are still learning, so it is great time to ask questions. Of course, you can still ask questions later on in your career. But you may be a bit more guarded and embarrassed about doing so, feeling you should already know the answer. It is a bit like asking how to pronounce someone’s name, perfectly normal the first time you meet them, but rather awkward after knowing them longer.
All posts in this series
- The ABC of research across career stages - Introduction
- The ABC of research across career stages - Early career
- The ABC of research across career stages - Mid career
- The ABC of research across career stages - Late career
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- How to prevent burn-out? About staying sane in academia
- How to create a successful academic career: AIB - Ask, Invest & Believe
- CV of failures
- CYGNA: Passion and Purpose: Navigating the Meaning of Academic Careers
- How to enjoy a large conference
- On how to be a good co-author – and finding even better ones
- Seven signs it’s time to get out: spotting toxic collaborations in academia
- Be proactive, resilient & realistic!
- On academic life: collaborations and active engagement
- CYGNA: Work intensification, well-being and career advancement
- IB Frontline interview: mentoring section
- CYGNA: One size doesn't fit all - Diversity of academic career paths
- CYGNA: climbing up the academic career ladder
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Copyright © 2025 Anne-Wil Harzing. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Sat 26 Apr 2025 12:00
Anne-Wil Harzing is Emerita Professor of International Management at Middlesex University, London. She is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, a select group of distinguished AIB members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the scholarly development of the field of international business. In addition to her academic duties, she also maintains the Journal Quality List and is the driving force behind the popular Publish or Perish software program.
