kim schmidt

cover letters. the cv (similar to a resume). teaching philosophy. letters of recommendations. transcripts.

just a few of the tedious bits that Anthony has been gathering for the many job applications. each school has different requirements, most allow you to use Interfolio to submit the application, but there are schools that still want you to mail in a hard copy of each item or they have their own online system. when applying to well over 25 jobs, it’s basically a full time job trying to get everything lined up just so.

every cover letter has to be tailor made for each school and the needs they are hoping to fulfill. you have to fine tune each, making sure there are zero grammatical errors. since the great recession hit, most higher ed schools put a hiring freeze on professors. we are talking about hundreds and hundreds (who knows, it’s probably thousands by now) of PhD degree holders not being able to find jobs. that means that A is not only competing against his fellow peers, but the past 3 – 5 year graduates. one mistake or error in a cover letter could easily have your application thrown in the trash, no matter how amazing of a professor you’d be at that given school.

the pressure is on. when anyone asks how I am doing, it’s hard to be honest with people – when most ask out of courtesy only. this has been a tough year for us. while we’ve spent a good portion of 2013 traveling, we’ve also spent a lot of it inside our home, vegging on the sofa, masking the stressors, and trying to come to grips with our future.

if you see one of us walking along and maybe slightly dazed, it’s because we are (1) sleep-deprived, (2) blurry eyed from staring at a computer screen or (3) mentally drained from this job hunting business.

is there anyone else out there going through the same thing we are? if so, let me know and we’ll grab a drink!