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Putting declined fellowships on job-market CV?

In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

I was offered several temporary jobs, but for personal reasons I have decided to stay in my current institutions. Two of these were very good fellowships. Is it ok to put on my CV that I have declined them? This is just to show that I'm competitive.

This was followed by two polar opposite responses. 'M' wrote:

I think it is NOT good to list fellowships declined. It may lead people to think you have bad judgment, especially if you stayed at a place that looks objectively worse than where the fellowships are.

However, Amanda then wrote:

If they are prestigious fellowships, I would put them on. I think the benefits would outweighs the risks. You could put on the CV (declined due to exceptional personal circumstances.) Anyone who assumed you had bad judgment rather than a special situation is, well, not charitable.

Can anyone who has served on a search committee weigh in with their thoughts? Who do you side with: M or Amanda?

Posted in ,

9 responses to “Putting declined fellowships on job-market CV?”

  1. Ed

    M’s response tells us that some people will look upon including the declined fellowships uncharitably, Amanda’s response tells us that other people won’t. We can’t know whether more search committee members are like M or Amanda. What else is there to add?

    Reply
  2. Marcus Arvan

    Well, I take it that in a comments section, one can gather whether more people appear to side with M or Amanda.If most search-committee members who chime in side with M, and only a few (or no) people side with Amanda, then that’s some reason to believe M’s view is more common. And conversely…
    This would of course anecdotal evidence at best. But it seems to me better than the alternative (not having any clue either way).

    Reply
  3. One Guy who was Just on a Search Committee

    I was just on a search committee. I saw this—listings of turned down post docs and fellowships—quite frequently. I think people were using declined fellowships to show they can secure research funding. I didn’t weigh these for or against a candidate’s case. I found it a little odd only because listing these was not common practice when I was on the market. I don’t see the harm in it, but I’m just One Guy who was Just on a Search Committee.
    M’s response seems unreasonable, but there are going to be people on search committees who see things that way. How many? Nobody knows. A poll might help.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous search committee member

    A lot of people put these on their CVs. I think I’d go with putting them on; there’s a well-enough established enough norm/pattern that it won’t stick out in a bad way, and it might help you. I just can’t see it looking really bad to a search committee, at least not without other bad signs of desperation/angst in the application. (That is: it might hurt you if it’s part of a package deal with a cover letter that makes you seem insecure or desperate in some way, or something like that. I just really can’t see it hurting you on its own since it is fairly standard.)

    Reply
  5. Former Chair, Regional State U

    I wouldn’t think OP has bad judgment, but they are drawing some kind of line, and I would wonder which side my institution is on. Candidates often say their application indicates their interest in working somewhere, but this isn’t clearly the case for OP. I’d have to decide whether I could afford to wait 2-4 weeks and get turned down. I might think it best (or my dean might think it best) for me to go to the next name on the list. Amanda’s advice seems helpful, but would not remove my concerns.

    Reply
  6. Amanda

    I think turning down a fellowship and turning down a TT job are very different things. I know two friends who refused to take temporary positions for the sake of their family, but both did end up getting, taking, and moving for, TT jobs.

    Reply
  7. Raoul

    I know a quite prominent philosopher who finds it important to list on his CV a couple endowed chairs that he has declined

    Reply
  8. M

    Perhaps I should clarify my position on this issue. Certainly, as Amanda notes, TT jobs are different from fellowships. Can you imagine someone listing the TT jobs they were offered and turned down on their c.v.? You would think they were crazy! (Well, I would). I know lots of people list fellowships, grants, etc. they were offered and did not take. I have also seen people list papers accepted for competitive conferences that they did not attend in the end (for one reason or another) on their c.v. Really!? People are missing the point of a c.v. Of course it show cases your accomplishments, but it is not meant to be a list of opportunities not taken.

    Reply
  9. eye roll

    FWIW, I just find it kind of tacky. I understand mentioning it in a cover letter, if relevant (e.g., why you stayed at your current job). But not everything in your cover letter belongs on your CV.
    I don’t think it’d be a deal-breaker, but it might subconsciously be in certain circumstances.

    Reply

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