Penn State Graduate Student Career Guide - Biomedical Sciences ...

FINDING A TEACHING POSITION IN ACADEME 15
5. Conferences/Conventions: This
is an opportunity to not only meet
future colleagues; but it is also a
forum for you to keep abreast of
current issues as they relate to your
discipline. Many conferences have
job interviewing services available
as well.
6. Professional Activity: An
excellent way to learn more about
your discipline is to become
actively involved in professional
activities. Through this involvement,
you not only enhance your
knowledge, but you will also be
viewed by others as an active, committed
professional. Publish and/
or present research at professional
meetings. If finances permit, attend
summer symposia and special training
sponsored by organizations
related to your discipline.
7. Campus Committees: If given
the opportunity get involved in
on-campus graduate student committees
(departmental or university
curriculum, administrative and/or
advisory committees).
Application Materials
Even in this electronic age, there is still
a need for “paper”—providing the individuals
involved in searching for candidates
with the materials they will need
to understand who you are in a professional
context. Your application may
consist of your curriculum vita, a cover
letter, and reference letters. Candidates
under serious consideration may also be
asked for writing samples, lesson plans,
student evaluations, or even teaching
videos. You do not send these materials
initially, unless your discipline has specific
expectations for you to do so.
Curriculum Vita
One of the most critical components
of your application packet is your curriculum
vita (CV). It is often the piece
most readers read first when assessing
applications. Your training and experience
must favorably impress readers.
Therefore it is imperative that your CV
be an accurate, clear, and concise, yet,
comprehensive representation of your
qualifications and interests. Give serious
consideration to the format as well
as the content, as you want to enable the
reader to find this critical information
quickly and easily.
In Job Search in Academe: Strategic
Rhetoric for Faculty Job Candidates,
Formo and Reed offer the questions that
search committee members most often
report having in mind as they peruse
vitae:
• Does the candidate have the Ph.D. in
hand? If not, how close is she/he?
• What is his/her area of specialization?
• How will this candidate’s research
interests enrich my own research, or
lessen the teaching load of faculty in
this institution?
• Does this candidate have a fair
chance of producing tenurable work,
so we don’t have to go through the
search process again, soon?
• Has this person taught students like
ours before, either under supervision
or, better yet, as the sole instructor/
creator of the course?
• How can this candidate lessen my
own workload?
• Do I know of anyone she/he has
worked with? Has she/he had good
mentoring? What kinds of people are
willing to support this applicant’s
work record?
These questions may present themselves
in a different order depending on the
institution or department as well as the
job itself. As such, your choice of order
for the various categories in your vitae
may change depending on what you see
in the job description or through your
research into the institution.
Please refer to the section in this Guide
(pp. 31) to learn about the contents and
formatting of Curriculum Vitae. You
may want to have your curriculum vita
reviewed by a Drop-In Counselor who
is available between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00
p.m. weekdays, and until 7:00 p.m. on
Tuesdays during the fall and spring
semesters.
Credentials/Dossier
Another supporting component of your
search is the credential file, also known
as a dossier. The dossier generally
includes letters of recommendation, and
transcript(s), but it may also include a
writing sample, certificates of achievement,
or any other relevant, supporting
materials.
Please refer to the Education
Credentials Services (ECS) section of
this Guide on page 5 to learn more.
Whom Should You Get to Write
Letters of Recommendation?
Consider those who are most familiar
with your academic background, work
experiences and career interests as
the best choices for writers of letters of
recommendation. They may be faculty
and/or administrators at your current
institution or other employers from past
positions. Be sure to extend your pool
of letter writers beyond your committee
members. Select those who can write
about you in the most specific terms.
For example, it would be better to have
a junior faculty member write specifics
as opposed to a senior faculty member
who doesn’t know you well and would
write more generally. Letters that are
most informative and helpful are those
who know different aspects of your
work and who are willing to support
your candidacy enthusiastically and
knowledgeably.
It is to your advantage to spend some
time discussing your specific career
interests and goals with these individuals
prior to their writing your letters.
This will enable them to address your
qualifications more specifically as they
relate to the types of positions for which
you will be applying.
Cover Letters
The letter to accompany your curriculum
vita should not merely summarize
your vita; it should synthesize it, expand