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Published byAmbrose Jones Modified over 9 years ago
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How To Find a Job: Step One Crafting your CV and Cover Letter
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Prior to Step One…. When do you start crafting your CV? At least three years before you start applying What are you doing during this time? Looking at job ads Presenting at conferences Attempting to get one or two high quality publications Applying for internal and external fellowships Getting limited teaching experience Preparing Future Faculty E-learning Certificate Taking advantage of every free or low-cost program at MU Pursuing career-related or interest-related graduate student activities YOU HAVE TO HAVE STUFF TO PUT ON YOUR CV AND TO MAKE IT INTERESTING!
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Job Ads? Chronicle of Higher Education (free) Chronicle of Higher Education AAR website (not free but pay up!) AAR website SBL website (free) SBL website Other discipline specific websites (e.g., SCE) Jobs at MU (free) Jobs at MU
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What kinds of jobs? Everything for which you are even a slight fit! Now is not the time to be picky or snooty There is no job that is “beneath you” There is no job that is “above you” Why? Good practice You never know It’s easier to get a job when you have a job
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What kinds of jobs? Be open to novel possibilities Non-academic Non-US Post docs One, two, or three year positions? Academics are itinerants DO NOT PREMATURELY FORECLOSE OPTIONS. CAST THE NET WIDE!
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Set Up Your Credential File Cynthia Howard $4.00/dossier (plus $5.00 for transcripts from registrar) Three to five letters of recommendation Anything else?
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Crafting your CV Good white space Not too many words Clean horizontal lines Clean vertical lines Consistent intelligent font usage MAKE IT EASY FOR THE READER TO FIND YOUR KEY INFORMATION LEAVE THE EXPLAINING FOR THE COVER LETTER
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Crafting your Cover Letter Create a template “Five paragraph essay” Intro: why I want to work at your college/university: end with a ‘thesis statement’ if possible P2: my academic/career path P3: me and research/presentations/pubs P4: me and my dissertation P5: my teaching experience and philosophy (in brief) P6: anything else cool/relevant that I have done P7: conclusion: why I would be a great fit for your university (based on the foregoing)
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Crafting your Cover Letter Yes, it’s longer than one page You are too interesting to fit on one page You are not interesting enough to spill onto page 3 This is a persuasive essay – you are making an argument Fit in key details where you can, without too much elaboration Have other people read it for typos, grammar, syntax, style Tailor your template for each job Make sure you take out all references to other job applications
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Additional Items Writing sample Published article is best Interesting conference presentation Dissertation chapter Teaching philosophy Ugh Consult with Center for Teaching and Learning What you try to achieve in class and why How you try to achieve it and why Techniques that have worked for you and why
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