In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks:
What are some must knows regarding applying for a tenure-track job when one is already in a tenure-track position?
For example, what should one do about letter writers? Should one minimize talk about their dissertation?
Any helpful tips from readers?
Yes, minimize dissertation talk – the more you can make yourself seem like an active, mature researcher, the better. This also goes for letter writers – if you can, branch out beyond your dissertation committee.
The other big thing I would say is that your cover letter needs to do two things well: 1) Address your reasons for wanting to switch jobs and do it plausibly. You don’t want hiring departments to think you are just fishing for a retention offer and wouldn’t actually come. 2) Do (1) without seeming like you might be a jerk. It’s totally fine to say that you want to leave because you want to work with grad students, or your current institution is in a precarious financial situation, or whatever. DO NOT say anything that might look at all like talking shit about your current colleagues. There’s a very real chance that this will come across as you being hard to work with, even if your current colleagues are in fact horrific and you are in fact lovely. They will be getting applications from tons of great candidates, and they’ll be looking for reasons to reject people as much as anything else. Don’t give them one.
Good luck!
Leave a Reply