Preparing for the Academic Job Search: Writing the Perfect Cover Letter

Annual SCMS Conference, March 2006
Vancouver

Preparing for the Academic Job Search: Writing the Perfect Cover Letter

Workshop Panelists:

Dr. Marsha Kinder, Associate Vice Provost for Research in the Humanities and University Professor of Critical Studies in the School of Cinema/TV at the University of Southern California

Dr. Oliver Gaycken, Assistant Professor in the Dept. of English at Temple University

Dr. Amelie Hastie – Associate Professor of Film and Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz

Dr. Kaveh Askari, currently finishing a post-doc in the Film Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Charles Keil, Associate Professor in the Center for the Study of Drama and the Dept. of History at the University of Toronto

Dr. Jennifer Peterson, Assistant Professor in the Art Dept. at the University of Colorado, Boulder


** these are notes taken during the workshop, this is not a verbatim transcription, it is meant to give you a sense of what was discussed**

Marsha Kinder:

The letter does count, it demonstrates that you can write well, it is read but you need to remember to be concise

3 main suggestions for your letter

1) Do your homework, know about the department you are applying to and what classes are regularly taught, stress your versatility, what you have taught and what you are capable of teaching, courses you think would enrich their dept.

2) It should contain what fields your dissertation masters, how your research furthers the field, be honest about when you will defend (make sure your Chair knows this date), describe your next projects

3) Be confident, speak in your own voice, be concise 2-3 pages max, use letterhead from the department where your did your dissertation, don’t be defensive, bitter or insecure and don’t forget to include your CV

Kaveh Askari:

I spent most of my time revising the description of my dissertation – to make it
compelling to search committees

I looked up the basic service courses in each dept. and matched my own experience and
offered courses that I alone could do

I made sure to keep the length at about a page and a half

I had others from outside my field read the letter before sending it out

The most difficult aspect to the job application was managing time to make sure
everything got done.

Amelie Hastie:

Your letter should provide a sense of yourself without being too intimate or self
aggrandizing, it should display confidence without arrogance.

Avoid adjectives for yourself and your work, i.e. interesting, revolutionary, etc. instead
show examples

Provide a coherent description of your work and its place in the field

Don’t reiterate your CV, make larger claims and comments -discuss what the relationship
is between the classes you have taught and your research projects

Jennifer Peterson:

You should prepare various versions of your dissertation – 7 page version, 2 page version
and 1 paragraph for your cover letter, have everyone look at it

That one piece of your letter can stay the same but the other portions will change

Look at other people’s letters, to get a sense of what is acceptable, what works and what
doesn’t

I constructed my letter in 4 simple parts

1) Introduction – who I am, what I am doing know

2) Work – dissertation summary

3) Teaching – individually researched and tailored for each job

4) Logistics – contact info

I strove for brevity

If you have done something non-traditional, don’t be afraid to mention it

Charlie Keil:

What ever you do - BE HONEST!

Feel free to be creative, but make sure you are honest, if you haven’t done something, say
“I welcome the opportunity to ……”

Be aware if the position you are applying to is a shared appointment or if film is just one
small section of a larger dept., it will affect how you position yourself

Be aware of how you pitch your work, relate how it is important and what it does rather than
relying on institutional crutches, i.e. who you worked with or where you did your work

Nobody wants a form letter

Make things seem like opportunities – you want to look like a good colleague

Don’t be afraid to be a little idiosyncratic (depending on the job)

Oliver Gaycken:

I made sure to include a few sentences about collegial activities and some of the program
building that was interested in

Budgeting your time wisely is KEY – don’t underestimate how much time it will take or
how emotionally strenuous it can be

General Comments from the Group:

• Emphasized Oliver’s point about interests in collegial activities

• There is a lot of luck involved in the job process

• Include courses you are prepared to teach and contextualize your work

• Be able to rationalize what you are doing, your methodology

• Be prepared to talk about future projects

• Organize or take part in mock job talks about 30 minutes, with both grads and faculty

• Remember your opinion matters; don’t be afraid to become a peer.

• It is good not to narrate yourself as a grad student, but as a colleague

• Your on-campus visit will be stressful and exhausting, get sleep because you will need to maintain the same attitude on each day of the interview

• Don’t be afraid to take 10 minutes for yourself in a quiet place, it will help you gather your thoughts and re-vamp your energy

• It is important to have a sense of humor and perspective – Don’t give up.

• Don’t count on the committee knowing what it is supposed to be doing, be proactive and don’t be afraid to take control of things in a positive way

• When answering questions try not to be too concise or too wordy

• Have questions – be prepared, know the dept and feel comfortable asking questions about the dept, the school, the area, etc…