Written Materials for the Academic Job Search

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Written Materials for the Academic Job Search
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What documents do you need?

• A CV
• A cover letter
• Announcements might ask for a wide range of other
  material, including
• A statement of teaching philosophy
• A research statement
• A writing sample
• A teaching portfolio
• Evidence of teaching excellence

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An important point for all of these documents

• No matter what field you are in, you must show
  that you do compelling, forward-looking research
  that is both original and helps to advance your
  field

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Your CV

• A CV is an thorough list of ALL of your academic
  achievements
• A CVs purpose is to get you a personal interview
  at an academic institution.
• A CV might vary slightly from discipline to
  discipline. You should make sure to look at the
  CVs of others in your field or show your CV to
  your advisor.

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The First Draft of your CV

• List everything that could possibly be included
  teaching, publication, research experience,
  academic service. You can always go back and
  delete the less important information.
• Take a look at the Chronicle of Higher
  Educations Job webpage (http//chronicle.com/jobs
  ). They have an archive of career advice that
  includes information about writing job search
  materials.

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Content suggestions

• Organize each section in reverse chronological
  order
• Put most important information on the first page
• Use clear, easy-to-understand language
• Tailor to your audience

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Format suggestions

• Dont list dates on the left side
• Use formatting techniques such as indenting,
  uppercase, bold and italics, consistently.
• Keep format simple
• Avoid font sizes under 10 point
• Include your name on every page
• Length

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Standard C.V. Categories

• Name and contact information
• Education
• Honors and Awards
• Experience
• Publications/Presentations
• Scholarly/Professional Memberships
• Research Interests
• Teaching Competencies

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Additional C.V. Categories

• Professional Experience
• Licensing/Registration/Certification
• Grants
• University Service/Leadership
• Additional Information
• References

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Name and Contact Info

• This category is pretty straightforward.
• Caveat only give one email address. You dont
  want to confuse them.
• Caveat only give phone numbers at which you
  would like the institution to contact you.

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Education

• Most Ph.D. candidates will want to have this as
  their first category. (Degree Expected)
• Some postdocs might want to have Current
  Research Experience as a first category.
• You want to give some detail field of
  concentration, name of dissertation, name of
  advisor, etc.
• You can include university service here, or put
  it in a separate category

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Honors and Awards

• You can make this a separate category, or include
  these under the relevant degree
• Put recognizable, significant awards
• If you are a international student, you may need
  to do a little explaining

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Experience

• Some people divide this category into two
  sections Research Experience and Teaching
  Experience, especially if they have a lot of
  experience in both fields
• If you have relevant professional experience
  outside the academy, you might have a section
  entitled Professional Experience

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Publications/Presentations

• If you have a long list, divide and then
  subdivide by topics (peer reviewed papers,
  reviews or posters, invited talks)
• If you have short list, you might make this one
  field
• You can list a few articles that are in
  preparation and will (realistically) be
  published.

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Scholarly/Professional Memberships

• List your memberships (MLA, AHA, etc.). This
  category is very discipline specific
• If you have been active in the scholarly
  community, you should included this information
  here. Panel moderation would be a good example
  of something that might fit under this heading.

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Research Interests

• A brief answer to the questions, whats next
• This must be credible
• You should absolutely be prepared to elaborate on
  this if you get an interview

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Teaching Competencies

• This must also be credible
• Another part of your CV should justify this
  assertion.

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Additional Information

• Unrelated employment
• Knowledge of foreign languages unrelated to your
  research
• A positive statement about your visa status
• DO NOT PUT YOUR MARITIAL STATUS

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References

• Give the contact information and titles of the
  individuals who will be writing letters of
  recommendation for you.

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Grants

• Use this category only if you have received
  significant funding. Dissertation and fellowship
  support are usually listed in Honors and Awards
• List the funding agency and the projects that
  were funded
• The work supported by the grant can be discussed
  in detail under Experience

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Cover Letter

• Highlights your experience and expertise relevant
  to the specific position and institution
• Send with your c.v.

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Elements of a Cover Letter

• Salutation Dear Prof. So and So or Dear
  Committee Members
• 1st paragraph mention how you learned about the
  job
• Body use the structure of the ad to guide you in
  your discussion of your qualifications
• Final paragraph offer to submit additional
  information. Let them know how to meet with you

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Research Statement

• Use the language to guide youdo they want a
  Statement of Research Plans or a Summary of
  Current Research
• You might include it to strengthen your
  application
• What do you plan to do with your dissertation?
• Provide a context for your research interests.
  Your future research should follow logically from
  what youve done
• If you require facilities and funding, mention
  this
• Decide what research belongs to your lab/advisor
  and what belongs to you

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Writing Sample

• This can be an off-print of an article
• This can be an edited chapter of a dissertation
• Ask your advisor

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Teaching Portfolio

• This is usually asked for after the first
  screening of candidates
• This can include syllabi, proposals for courses
  etc.
• It is important that anything you propose have
  realistic goals as concerns your target group of
  students (grads/undergrads, majors/non-majors)

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Teaching Philosophy

• This is sometimes included in a teaching
  portfolio, sometimes sent in along with your
  cover letter and CV
• It is a document that details your experience of
  teaching why you do it, what good teaching is
  for you, your experiences with undergrads, etc.

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Evidence of teaching excellence

• Your teaching excellence should be discussed by
  one of the people recommending you
• If you have student evaluations, give copies of
  them to your recommender he or she should
  discuss them, and provide the context in which to
  interpret them.