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Etiquette in job application materials post-PhD?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

When I applied for jobs when finishing my PhD, I used my institutional email address and institutional letterhead in my job applications.

Now that I am in a TT position, I am not sure what email address to use (personal or institutional), nor whether to use my institutional letterhead, in my job applications.

What is the general etiquette for application materials when applying out of a professional appointment rather than a PhD program?

Apologies if this has already been answered and I've overlooked it. I can only seem to find a couple of posts addressing this, but from ~10 years ago.

Hmm… not sure I see any issues here. If you'd like to use your institution's letterhead and your professional email address, go for it. If not, then don't! Or am I missing something? 

What do readers think?

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6 responses to “Etiquette in job application materials post-PhD?”

  1. academic migrant

    I always now apply with my gmail, and then get responses from HR to gmail but from philosophers to my institutional email…
    gmail because I anticipate to loose my institutional email when I leave.

    Reply
  2. Trevor Hedberg

    I agree with Marcus — I don’t see an issue here either way. I always used the institution’s letterhead. At all institutions I have been affiliated with, they has been freely available for any current faculty or graduate students to use.

    Reply
  3. Christa Johnson

    I don’t have an answer necessarily, but I have a guess at the OP’s concern: optics.
    Using your current institution’s email/letterhead has an awkward feel when you are trying to get a job so you can leave that institution.
    Not using any has an unprofessional or “I don’t have a current affiliation” feel to it that might also lead to some bias.
    Personally, when I applied to jobs while in one, I chose to use my current letterhead. I think none of this probably raises any real flags, but I suspect people are more likely to notice a lack of letterhead than read anything into any particular letterhead.

    Reply
  4. WL

    Does letterhead really matter? I’ve never used it, and I don’t even know how to get my institution’s letterhead. I write plenty of rec letters for students and never bother to use letterhead. Maybe I should, though.

    Reply
  5. LB

    Since letterhead is for official university business, I think it is inappropriate to use for a job application. I know of others who think it should be used to instantly signal current institutional affiliation, but that information is pretty readily available elsewhere–i.e., in the body of the letter and in the C.V.
    I always used my personal email for the same reason–I was reaching out not on behalf of my university but as an individual looking for another job. While I can’t say whether these practices ever hurt my chances at any of the places I applied, I did receive multiple job offers using this strategy.
    That said: I do not hold it against applicants when they use university letterhead or email addresses, and I have never heard of others having strong opinions either way. So I don’t think that OP should worry too much about this.

    Reply
  6. Bill V.

    My experience on the search committee side in recent searches is that most candidates are using non-institutional email addresses when they are applying from TT or T roles to new ones. There’s a worry that institutional emails could in principle be read by folks at the current institution (though I think that almost never happens). From a propriety point of view, I can see an argument for not using the current institution’s resources and marketing symbols while trying to leave. But I can’t say I’ve ever noticed whether someone is using letterhead or not; it just doesn’t make a difference these days, I think.

    Reply

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