PhD/PsyD Academic and Research Postdoc Job App Questions

[blakjak12]

Hello,

I am currently on internship and am beginning to prepare my materials to apply for academic faculty and postdoctoral positions (some of the latter which could be at my internship site). As far as faculty jobs are concerned, I ideally would want something that is research-focused, but will also apply for other faculty jobs that while not predominately research-focused, have at least some research emphasis. I would want a postdoc focused on research if I go that route as well. As I am starting to prepare materials, a few questions have come up:

1. It looks like pretty much every application requests a CV, cover letter, and teaching and research statements. What are the suggested lengths for these? I have seen both a page and two pages for a cover letter, so is any length better than the other? As for teaching statements, I've seen both one and two page examples, so again, is either better? For the research statements, I've seen examples ranging from 2-3 pages.

2. Many job postings ask for "evidence of teaching effectiveness" or something similar. Is this just a way of saying they want to see formal feedback from student course/instructor ratings, or is this language for requesting a full teaching portfolio?

3. It looks like three letters of rec also are requested (this seems to be the magic number for just about everything). Should you ever submit more than three, or does this come off as needy/trying to mask something?

4. Furthermore, should you ever submit more than what is requested (e.g., if a diversity statement or teaching portfolio is not requested, would you ever submit one)? I am guessing that the answer here is no, but just wanted to check.

Thank you very much for any help you can provide!

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[Justanothergrad]

I just got finished with the faculty application cycle last year- it's tiring, so make sure to work in lots of time to manage stress during the process. Its a marathon.

1. The length of my cover letter depended greatly on if they requested some of the other materials. If they did, I would cut the cover letter shorter (just over a page-ish for most, depending on what the call was). If they didn't request other things then I would make sure to work key areas into my cover letter, some of the cover letters were around 2.5 pages or so. Each statement (teaching philosophy, research, etc.) was a little over a page, or there about.

2. They would like to see formal teaching evaluations. This was a bit of a challenge for me when I applied since as a graduate student my time was mostly spent in research positions and not teaching ones. Anything that fills that gap is good- formal evals, supervisor evaluations for being a TA if you were lecturing and such, etc. They're aware you dont have a strong history of it because of where you are in your training, just do your best to show what you have done and explain how you will approach pedagogy.

3. Submit what they ask was always the advice I was given.

Some other advice,

 

[deleted343839]

Submit what they ask for, no more and no less.

For research and teaching statements, to some extent this will depend on the type of position you're applying for. But I have not seen a good case for making a teaching statement longer than one page. In general I'd try to keep the research statement to two pages for a candidate just out of training, but I think 2-3 is the normal range.

You will probably want to restructure your CV a bit for different types of positions also.

 

[SLB-CO]

Congrats on making it to this stage! I went out on the market during internship as well this past year - a bit on a whim because a couple of 'dream jobs' opened up.

I agree with what all of the other posters have shared about application materials. Both my research and teaching statements were around 2 pages; the research one was longer than the teaching (due to the institutions/positions of interest). They will want to see formal teaching evaluations - best if you have ones from all of the students in your sections, but any of the other ways to demonstrate effectiveness outlined above also work well. Teaching materials are going to be far more important for primarily teaching positions than at R1s.

I was also told to submit no more than what was requested, but demonstrating research effectiveness can mean a lot of things. I ended up submitting three first author pubs that demonstrated the breadth of my research topics and methods after consulting with some folks around my department.

Finally, one you haven't asked about, but you'll want to be prepared for: interviews take up a lot of time in your life. Most faculty interviews will consist of two full days on site, so up to 3 days away from internship depending on the distance and your travel plans. Say you have 4 campus interviews - depending on travel, that's 12 days off. Plan accordingly! Postdocs usually account for how much time you need away; many internships do not since so many folks go the postdoc route.

Enjoy internship and this next step!

 

[calimich]

Agree with what's been already said, especially the SLB-CO's point about the vagueness of "demonstrating effectiveness." Some places I applied to had an "other" category available when uploading materials. Upon inquiry, search chairs said it was to be used for "supplemental" materials which helped "demonstrate effectiveness." So, similar to SLB-CO, I included publications for some applications and a syllabus/rubric for others. I made sure to mention these materials in the appropriate statement; something like -- research: "As you'll see from my included publications, I'm skilled at both qualitative and quantitative analysis." teaching: "As you'll see in my (course name) syllabus, I incorporate both formative and summative assessment when evaluating students.

Also my research & teaching statements were each 2 pages. I was advised to make them either one or two full pages; no 1.5 pagers. And as MamaPhD says, definitely restructure your CV (and cover letters) according to the position.

 

[blakjak12]

Thank you to everyone for your helpful and thorough responses. Great information about the materials and the process. All good things to know!

 

[blakjak12]

Another follow-up question to this: One posting I saw asked for a "teaching outline" to be submitted. When I think of "teaching outline," I think of an outline for one specific/day class session of a course, but it makes more sense that they would want a syllabus rather than something like that, right?

In this case, is it appropriate to send an email asking for clarification? I don't want to be perceived as annoying, but I also want to be sure that I submit the correct materials. Thank you again for your help.

 

[blakjak12]

Another follow-up question to this: One posting I saw asked for a "teaching outline" to be submitted. When I think of "teaching outline," I think of an outline for one specific/day class session of a course, but it makes more sense that they would want a syllabus rather than something like that, right?

In this case, is it appropriate to send an email asking for clarification? I don't want to be perceived as annoying, but I also want to be sure that I submit the correct materials. Thank you again for your help.

And one other point of clarification: They also ask for a teaching statement, so I do not believe that that is what they are asking for here with a "teaching outline."

 

[calimich]

Another follow-up question to this: One posting I saw asked for a "teaching outline" to be submitted. When I think of "teaching outline," I think of an outline for one specific/day class session of a course, but it makes more sense that they would want a syllabus rather than something like that, right?

In this case, is it appropriate to send an email asking for clarification? I don't want to be perceived as annoying, but I also want to be sure that I submit the correct materials. Thank you again for your help.

Yes, totally appropriate to ask for clarification. Keep your question short and sweet. Not too sweet though; concise and professional.

IMO, they are asking for a syllabus-like document and a teaching philosophy. Good luck!

 

[blakjak12]

That's what I thought too, but wanted to get others' opinions. Thanks for the quick response and for the good luck!