Although counseling psychologists have a long history of studying their own professional development, no data exist describing the characteristics of successful academic job applicants. This study describes the demographic and scholarly characteristics of 27 recently hired faculty members in counseling psychology programs, and the nature of the positions that they filled. Consistent with expectations, our results indicate that research productivity is a function of academic rank. Our data also indicate that recent Ph.D. graduates are applying for academic positions with an established history of publications and professional presentations. Almost half of all available faculty positions identified in this study were the result of faculty retirements. Other characteristics of successful academic hires and the positions that they filled are discussed.
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