Academic Job Market Success Series PART 1

One of the more recent additions to candidates' job market dossiers is the diversity statement. While not every institution requests one, more and more are. This is because colleges and universities are trying to ensure that any candidate hired is committed to diversity. This does not mean that if you identify as a cis-gendered, heterosexual, white male that you are exempt from this document; it equally does not mean that those of us whose identity markers compose common notions of diversity can simply talk about our backgrounds here. No, the diversity statement is where all candidates explain why diversity matters to them and how it fits into their academic goals. This means that everyone has something to say on the subject.

To conclude our summer's Academic Job Market Writing Success Series, we will explore diversity statements: what they are, what they look like, and how to make yours relevant to who you are. Participants will learn how to write about themselves, their research, and their teaching in relation to diversity, regardless of how participants personally view themselves along the diversity spectrum. Should time permit, we will also workshop our documents with each other, so bring a draft of your diversity statement if you have one!

You are almost there! The hiring committee thinks that you are an accomplished scholar and researcher, and they are impressed by the trajectory of your career and how you see diversity fitting into that equation. But this is a teaching-heavy position, so as wonderful as your next book or article sounds, that does not mean much if you cannot convince the hiring committee that you are also a wonderful presence in the classroom. How do you do that--especially if your exposure to teaching has been as a T.A. with no instructor of record experience? A strong teaching philosophy will go a long way to prove your mettle in a classroom.

To continue our Academic Job Market Writing Success Series, we will explore teaching philosophies: what they are, what they look like, and how to make yours shine. Participants will learn how to convey their previous teaching experiences in pedagogical terms and how to incorporate applicable examples from their teaching careers. Should time permit, we will also workshop our documents with each other, so bring a draft of your teaching philosophy if you have one!

You have convinced the hiring committee that you are a strong candidate for your dream job through a strong cover letter that conveyed why you are a match for the position. Then your polished C.V. demonstrated that you have the key experiences to be successful. But what about the core of your scholarship? What about where you see your research in five years? The hiring committee wants to have a good sense of what your research interests are, what projects you are looking to undertake, and how it is you see yourself meeting the disciplinary standards for tenure. After all, they are not hiring you as is: they are hiring the scholar that they think you will become. How do you achieve this goal? With a research statement/five-year plan.

Continuing our Academic Job Market Writing Success Series, we will explore the research statement and the five-year plan: what they are, what they look like, and which one is right for you. Participants will learn how to write about their research and draft a projection of ways to meet their discipline's publishing standards. Should time permit, we will also workshop our documents with each other, so bring a draft of your research statement or five-year plan if you have one!

How do you distill your entire academic and professional career into one document? You may be the best candidate for a job, but if you do not have a well-organized C.V., then you're likely to get lost in the application pile. This is just as true for other academic contexts (grants!, grants!, grants!) where a C.V. is requested to determine your qualifications. So how do you distill your entire academic and professional career into one document?

Come to this workshop and learn what the major sections of a C.V. include and how to tailor your C.V. to specific positions (e.g., a teaching-focused position versus a research-oriented one). Should time permit, we will also workshop our C.V.s with each other, so bring a draft of C.V. if you have one!

Arguably the most important document when applying for any academic job is the cover letter. Why? Because it is the first thing that the hiring committee reads. Based on that document alone, people will decide whether to consider the rest of your application and further you in the various job rounds. So important is this document that merely having it formatted incorrectly could cost you the position.

We begin out Academic Job Market Series with cover letters: what they are, what they look like, and how to write them for the job that you are applying for. Participants will learn what the major sections of a cover letter entail and how to tailor a cover letter to specific positions (e.g., a teaching-focused position versus a research-oriented one). Should time permit, we will also workshop our cover letters with each other, so bring a draft of your letter if you have one!