Neuropsychology postdoc cover letter - resources?

[NoPonsIntended]

Hi everyone,

Despite internship beginning a little over a month ago, I am already preparing for dreaded postdoc applications. I have always had a difficult time writing cover letters and the internet does not appear to yield much, especially re: postdoc. I am looking back at the letters I wrote for internship and I am cringing. Is anyone willing to share examples/resources for postdoc cover letters? Bonus points if it pertains to a postdoc in clinical neuropsychology, but I'm not picky as I believe anything would help my writer's block at this point

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[bcliff]

My suggestions: Talk to your internship supervisors. Look into mentorship opportunities through various neuropsychology professional organizations. Reach out to friends from your graduate program who are a little further in their training with similar interests and ask for guidance. Read through your internship cover letters and think about what you like and dislike and make edits as indicated.

 

[psych.meout]

Hi everyone,

Despite internship beginning a little over a month ago, I am already preparing for dreaded postdoc applications. I have always had a difficult time writing cover letters and the internet does not appear to yield much, especially re: postdoc. I am looking back at the letters I wrote for internship and I am cringing. Is anyone willing to share examples/resources for postdoc cover letters? Bonus points if it pertains to a postdoc in clinical neuropsychology, but I'm not picky as I believe anything would help my writer's block at this point

Are you doing a neuropsych internship or have neuropsych rotations? Did you do neuropsych practica?

Why not ask current and former supervisors for help?

 

[WisNeuro]

We never really read cover letters in reviewing apps. Just re-purpose your internship letters, make sure you don't mention rotations/info that aren't for that site, and make sure your other materials are good. Cover letters are next to useless. almost as bad as those stupid internship essays.

 

[RxPsych]

almost as bad as those stupid internship essays.

Thank you for this validation as I write those essays

 

[psych.meout]

Thank you for this validation as I write those essays

Some people do skim them for any red flags, so put at least some effort into them.

 

[Pragma]

We never really read cover letters in reviewing apps. Just re-purpose your internship letters, make sure you don't mention rotations/info that aren't for that site, and make sure your other materials are good. Cover letters are next to useless. almost as bad as those stupid internship essays.

I actually value the cover letter a bit. It’s the best chance to see how they write and fit.

 

[WisNeuro]

I actually value the cover letter a bit. It’s the best chance to see how they write and fit.

For a quick hit, yes, but these are usually so similar and basic that it's hard to differentiate. It only really picked up on people who made many careless mistakes or were terrible in general for me. And, in almost every case, the rest of the application was equally terrible, so it didn't really give any incremental info.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I agree that I wouldn't worry too much about the cover letter; there's really only so much you can say and only so many different ways to say it. Just try to be sure it's free of typos and sounds professional. Whatever you used for internship is probably a good starting point, and you can then replace some of the more generalist statements (if applicable) to more neuropsych-centric stuff.

The internship essays were a bit more helpful in trying to get some type of feel for the applicant.

 

[Pragma]

For a quick hit, yes, but these are usually so similar and basic that it's hard to differentiate. It only really picked up on people who made many careless mistakes or were terrible in general for me. And, in almost every case, the rest of the application was equally terrible, so it didn't really give any incremental info.

There’s a huge difference between a great cover letter and most cover letters. If its a regurgitation of a CV then yes it is pretty useless. But I have seen some that clearly articulate beyond that - and tell me much more than any other form of writing sample.