In eighteenth-century novels, it seems that all a
character needs to get a job is a good reputation and a personal recommendation—a
letter from a lord, count, or other patriarch who will vouch for him or her.
Unfortunately, today’s process of applying for jobs in academia is increasingly
arcane, complex, and rife with opportunities for mistakes. The job market in
the fall is fast and furious, with schools advertising as early as August 1st
for the following year, followed by a steady trickle until the flood gates open
on the MLA list on September 15th (at least in literary studies).
Many schools have a November 1st deadline, but some have started to
put out October 15th and even October 1st deadlines, so
it is imperative that you start working on your documents over the summer.
Below is my guide to the key documents you will need for
the fall market, keeping in mind that jobs advertised in the fall are mostly
tenure-track positions (the spring and summer markets are much more mixed) and
visiting assistant professor positions. My own experience is of the English lit
job market, so that will define my slant on things. There are many other good
sources out there, however, that cover similar ground and are worth checking
out for additional help. See my list at the end of this post.
1. CV: Every job you will apply for will
ask for an academic CV. This is the one constant. I used Dr. Karen’s Rules of the Academic CV, so I highly recommend it. Some jobs will require you to fill
out an online job application where you must list all the same information that
is on your CV in addition to asking for a regular CV. Why is this? I can only
surmise that it is because at some universities, HR departments screen all the
candidates first before forwarding on their credentials to the search
committee. The HR people use the website form & the committees look at the
actual CV, so just be prepared for lots of redundancy. This is also a good
reason to have the following on hand:
a.
A list of past & current jobs, plus titles,
addresses of the main office, name of your supervisor and a phone number (good
idea to contact past supervisors and let them know you’re listing them on
applications!)
b.
A list of places you have lived in the past 10
years, including addresses (this has come up for me on several applications!)
c.
A list of the universities/colleges where you
received your degrees, the credit hours logged for those degrees, the date of
graduation
2. Cover Letter: Another constant. Every
job will require one. For the fall market, you don’t really need to worry about
a teaching oriented letter; focus on the research letter (on letterhead if
possible). Again, I’m going to direct you to Dr. Karen (aka “The Professor is
In”) for her words of wisdom on how to avoid sounding like a graduate student
in your letters. There are plenty of example academic letters floating around,
so I am not going to belabor the minutiae of the letter. However, it is
relevant to emphasize that you need to:
a.
use the word “dissertation” as infrequently as
possible (unless you are still working on it & are ABD at time of
application); focus instead on your book project or simply “the project”
b.
don’t talk about what you’re “going to” do;
discuss everything in the past or present tense. Even if technically you haven’t
started working on the book; choose phrases such as “this project explores….”
rather than “I plan on exploring” or “this project will explore…” You want to
sound like you are already a scholar rather than a student.
c.
don’t overly flatter the school you are applying
to but do try to tailor your letter at least a little bit—especially if the ad
mentions certain preferred qualities (interdisciplinarity, for example)
d.
create a “master template” letter—or 2 or 3.
Look at last year’s job list and figure out which kinds of jobs you might apply
to and then make your master template—a cover letter with the spots for the
address of the school, the name of the chair & university, and anything
else school-specific left empty. This way when you want to improve your letters
mid-stream, you just update the template. When you apply to each school, you
save it as a new file with the name of the school. This method will save you a
lot of time!
3. Teaching Philosophy or Statement of Teaching: Not all
schools will ask for this, but enough will that it is worth your time to create
one over the summer. This can be anywhere from 1 to 2 pages single-spaced,
though some schools may be more specific about this requirement. Basically, the
teaching statement should showcase the variety of courses you have taught,
whatever methods you use that set you apart from other instructors, and
specific examples of interesting things you have done in the classroom. The
best case scenario for the teaching statement is that someone will read it and
say, “Wow, I want to try that in my classroom, too!” You also need to emphasize
how your teaching methods relate to your research methods. If you are a
feminist scholar, then how does this methodology affect your teaching style?
Avoid lists; focus on specific examples of classroom activities and try to
include a key word or two that define your teaching style.
4. Research Statement or Research Interests:
While this is not frequently required, it might be a good exercise anyway to
help you figure out your teaching philosophy and maybe even help you formulate
parts of you cover letter. And of course some schools do require it. This is
the place where you can discuss past, current and a little bit of future
research. You can mention conference presentations, articles, and discuss the
book project in more depth. If you are involved in larger research projects
(like digitization projects) or if you have organized conferences, panels or
writing groups with other scholars, this would also be the place to mention it.
Again, avoid listing; try to sound put together by focusing on your key terms
that define you as a researcher.
5. Transcripts: Some schools will ask for
official; most will ask for unofficial. It is important, however, to get this
all figured out as soon as possible. A portfolio service like Interfolio will
get official transcripts for you (for a price of course) and keep them on hand
to send out whenever you need, so get the ball moving on that asap. Getting
your unofficial transcripts and scanning them is also a good idea.
Additionally, I recommend using PDF Merge to merge all your transcripts into 1
PDF for schools that desire them this way. If you just got your PhD, you may need
to wait a bit for your doctoral degree to appear on your transcript. It can
take up to 8 weeks after you actually graduate toyou’re your transcript updated,
so keep an eye on it!
6. Letters: DO NOT WAIT to ask your
recommenders for letters of recommendation. Be aggressive; people will tell you
they don’t have time over the summer, but don’t ask anyway. Some great school
might have an October 1st deadline, and you don’t want to miss out
because they want letters and yours aren’t ready. Start bugging your committee (nicely)
for those letters over the summer; send them your cover letter, CV and whatever
else they ask for. Don’t just focus on your committee, either. Get a teaching
letter from someone you worked for who has seen you teach or get someone to
observe you. Get a letter from an outside reader. Just don’t wait; and after
asking, bug them every 2 weeks in the summer, and every week as the semester
gets closer.
7. Student Evaluations: Yes, some schools
are going to ask you for student evaluations from courses you have taught. Get
your hands on them, scan the best ones, get a variety if possible. Save them
both separately and as a merged PDF. Then merge that with your teaching
philosophy. Then merge that document with corresponding syllabuses. Have any
many different versions of these documents on hand, because some schools will
want a “teaching portfolio” while
others will want just the evaluations. Still others will ask for “evidence of teaching excellence,” so
you might want to send the whole thing—or maybe just the evaluations and
syllabuses.
8. Dissertation abstract: Many job applications
don’t require this, but if you have some extra time at the end of the summer,
it might not be a bad idea to whip one up. Again, try to minimize the word “dissertation”
and focus on the main arguments and what you are contributing to the field with
this project. Usually about 1.5-2pp. single-spaced.
Wow, long post today…well, this should give you an idea
of how much work it is to be “on the market.” The more you can do over the
summer, the happier you will be come September. Everyone is going to try to
give you advice; my advice is take their advice for a while (with a grain of
salt, as you will undoubtedly get conflicting advice), and then do what works
for you. Your letters and statements of
teaching will no doubt change and get updated as time goes by, and so will your
CV as you have more things to add to it. Having somewhere to start, however,
will make everything much easier. Remember also to make time for proofreading
and copy-editing. Any time you change the content of your documents,
double-check that there are no typos or other editorial issues.
Here are some more resources. Good luck!
“Preparing NOW for Next Year’s Job Market” from ProfHacker
Dr. Karen’s Page on Academic Cover Letters
More Useful Resources for the Academic Job Market on the Chronicle
Brown University list of Job Market Resources
UCSD Academic Job Search Survival Handbook for Graduate Students
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