by Verena Hutter and Karen Kelsky Now that we’ve talked about the intro paragraph of your cover letter, let’s move on to the next paras, the current research and contribution. In a research-oriented Cover Letter, this is going to be … Continue reading
Co-authored with TPII editor, Verena Hutter Almost every section of the CL has its own intricacies and pitfalls. The tailoring para for example can easily become a place where self-aggrandizing and desperation meet (“I’ll be a great asset to you, … Continue reading
One of the writing problems that stands out the most in this Fall’s job documents is the “painful repetition” problem. This is when someone writes, “My dissertation, ‘A Study of Elephants,’ is a study of elephants.” Here are some more: … Continue reading
For Fall 2016 I am reposting the top 25 posts on academic job applications. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the past month a client wrote in his tailoring section that he was excited to apply to a position at the University of Chicago, … Continue reading
During Fall 2016 I am reposting the top 25 blog posts about the academic job market. Today’s post is yet another post on job letters. This one is on that object of contention: the fit sentence. You know the one—it’s … Continue reading
Every season I note a new batch of trite, overused words cropping up in job and grant documents. I’ve already written about some of the most critical to banish from your vocabulary here, and here. Here is the newest set … Continue reading
An expanded and updated version of this post can now be found in Chapter 22 of my new book, The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job. I am keeping a shortened version here, … Continue reading
In my two+ gratifying and enjoyable years of writing for Chronicle Vitae, I’ve only had one column rejected by them, and it is this one, which I submitted late in December as an end-of-year compendium of all my columns, organized … Continue reading
This is a guest post, volunteered by a tenured reader. Also check out her previous post. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I and my fellow committee members work in a somewhat technical field at a mid-tier state university. While every institution and department is … Continue reading
One of my pet peeves in job documents is when the job candidate coyly gestures toward a research conclusion, without actually coming out and saying what the conclusion is. I have no idea why so many job seekers are so … Continue reading