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December 8, 2008
The Academic Job Search - hints for the Candidate I
I'm on sabbatical, but I feel the duty to serve on one of our searches this year. I read a bunch of the completed folders this afternoon.
Candidates: please, please, read the advertisement. Apply for the job advertised. I marked a bunch of NO columns on rubrics sheets because the candidates were not applying for the job we're offering. That's different from the people whose folders you have read and reread to see which parts they do and don't seem to have; no, some people are missing the basics. Some people's folders make you wonder if they read the advertisement other than to get the mailing address.
Another quick hint - if you're going to write a single cover letter for all jobs on the market, don't mention your eagerness to teach graduate-level courses. Just say you are eager to teach. That way you'll cover both graduate institutions and places like this. Two people I've already read got the NO mark because once I read that line in the cover letter I looked for any evidence of actual interest in teaching undergraduates at a small liberal arts college and didn't find a lot. I might have read more generously at this stage if you hadn't annoyed me on page 1 of your file.
Finally, be sure to use the correct name for the institution. We're Hobart and William Smith Colleges, not Hobart Smith College. There's no need for you to learn about the complicated history of the coordinate colleges unless we hire you, but don't make the committee wonder about your reading skills. That leads to a NO on the ol' rubric sheet.
All that said, good luck! Because luck is a lot of what it takes.
Here's the second piece of advice.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at December 8, 2008 3:24 PM