Page 48 - Through the gate of the neoliberal academy • Herschberg

46 CHAPTER 2
generally only offer fixed-term employment. Therefore, the investment from both the side of the employer and the employee is only for a limited time, which causes PIs to particularly focus on short-term objectives rather than a candidate’s suitability and quality for a longer-term academic career. Our findings reveal that this induces PIs throughout the various countries to focus more on criteria related to project execution than job content because a flawless process reduces the risk of project failure. This illustrates once more how the need for a successful completion of the project shapes selection criteria.
Also, respondents in the various countries argue that a candidate’s motivation is important in the selection process. A Dutch respondent illustrates: “I really like a kind of intrinsic motivation. I want to work with people who are happy to be paid for studying something they already wanted to know” (NL, SSH, F). This respondent, but also respondents from other countries, argue that they assess a candidate’s motivation on the research topic of the project. They indicate that this can demonstrate if a candidate is really interested in the content. Similar to commitment, this implies that PIs aim for selecting a candidate who has a high chance of completing the project and therefore they want to hire a postdoc who is motivated to do the project.
The criterion of autonomy
The need for a smooth execution of the project also generates the criterion of autonomy. Respondents in all four countries argue that they want to hire postdocs who are quickly operational when the project starts because “projects have to be carried out with the promised results or outcomes” (NL, STEM, M). We find that because of this, most respondents in the four countries look for candidates who are capable of independent research, who do not need too much support.
Other more general competences are autonomy at work. [...] Autonomy that involves both the development of the specific question to be researched, developed, and then to bring it to a publication, because by now this is what we do. What is needed is a very output oriented person, most of all if s/he must work in projects. (IT, SSH, F)
The respondent argues that autonomous work behaviour is a selection criterion because she requires that postdocs independently develop research questions and write publications. She refers to the importance for postdocs of producing publications. Also in the other countries postdocs are expected to conduct research independently and to publish based on the project’s findings. Respondents argue that