Job Document Resources

Application Documents for Academic Jobs

All academic jobs involve the production and dissemination of knowledge, but the structure of these positions varies widely from institution to institution and discipline to discipline. As a result, application requirements can likewise vary. If you are seeking a tenure-track faculty role, you can anticipate needing a CV and tailored cover letter for each position. You may also encounter requests for teaching statements, teaching portfolios, research statements or proposals, diversity statements, letters of recommendation, writing samples, or transcripts.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

The CV is a centerpiece of your application for an academic position. It provides a snapshot of your academic identity by documenting past research, teaching, mentoring, and service activities. CV formatting and content vary by discipline, so read the CVs of recently hired assistant professors in your field to identify norms and best practices. Keep in mind that the goal is to present information in a way that is clear and easy to digest; you should not overwhelm your readers with information or confuse them with non standard formats.

Cover Letter

Cover letters are required for nearly all academic job applications. Each letter should be a tailored pitch that highlights how your research, teaching, and service fit a hiring institution’s needs. The content and organization of your letters will vary by field and institution type. If research output is of central importance to the hiring department, you should lead with and emphasize your past, present, and future research projects, focusing on the big-picture contributions and outcomes of your work. If teaching seems to be the hiring department’s top priority, lead with and emphasize your teaching philosophy and experience. Throughout the letter, be specific about how you will carry out research, teaching, and service at the hiring institution. Academic cover letters follow the formatting conventions of business correspondence. Your letters should be 2 pages in length (1 page for some STEM research positions). Your language should be concise and easily understood by someone outside your subfield.

Research Statements or Proposals

A research statement provides the search committee with more detailed information about your past, present, and future research. This document is not a narrative of every research project you’ve undertaken; rather, it makes an argument about who you are as a researcher, where you’re headed with your work, and why your work matters. In the humanities and social sciences, this is typically a 2-page document, while in STEM fields, this document may be 3-10 pages in length. Work with your advisor and other scholars in your field to ensure that you are describing your current and future projects in an appropriate and compelling manner. Please note that a research statement differs from the research proposals that you may be asked to write for postdoctoral fellowships in the humanities or social sciences.

Teaching Statements

A teaching statement is a 1-2 page personal reflection on your pedagogy. It demonstrates that you’ve thought deeply about the practice of teaching in your discipline, and it shows that you can apply what you’ve learned to successfully teach a range of students in various settings. The statement is structured as an argument with specific examples that illustrate your approach and its impact on student learning. For further advice on writing an effective teaching statement, consult an advisor at the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning.

Teaching Portfolios (Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness)

A teaching portfolio provides evidence of your effectiveness as an instructor. It may contain a teaching statement, a teaching biography (i.e. list of courses taught, with descriptions), 1-2 syllabi, sample assignments, course evaluations and feedback, and a list of completed pedagogical trainings. More than a loose compilation of documents, the teaching portfolio is an argument about your teaching, supported by compelling evidence. Consider using a cover sheet with a table of contents to assist readers in finding information. For further advice on teaching portfolios and evidence of teaching effectiveness, consult an advisor at the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning.

Diversity Statements

Diversity Statements are 1- to 2-page documents that address your past or potential contributions to academic diversity, inclusion, and equity. These statements typically address both your own learning and development related to diversity as well as others’ learning and development (achieved as a result of your research, teaching, or service). Diversity statements are typically written in first-person point of view, and they provide evidence of reflection as well as concrete examples.

Reference Letters

Many job openings request that 3 letters of recommendation be sent in support of the application. These letters are typically written by scholars or researchers in your field who can speak to your intellectual capabilities and the merits of your research and teaching. Speak with potential recommenders far in advance of applications, preferably the spring or summer before you plan to apply to academic jobs. When you ask for letters, you should also ask how your recommender prefers to handle the logistics of submission. Some faculty members prefer to submit all letters themselves (perhaps using a shared Google Sheet to track deadlines). Other recommenders prefer that you use a dossier service such as Interfolio, which collects, manages, and submits letters at your command.

Writing Samples and Article Reprints

To evaluate your research, search committees in the humanities and social sciences may request writing samples or sample publications. If you need to supply a writing sample, you should provide the best, most polished example of your scholarship. When possible, ensure that the sample you provide aligns thematically with the requirements of the position. ABD candidates should be prepared to provide all completed dissertation chapters, as some committees wish to assess your progress toward degree. STEM applicants usually are not asked to supply these materials, as scientific papers are readily available online.

Transcripts

You may be asked to provide transcripts from all of your graduate institutions. These transcripts are usually used to verify your credentials, not to evaluate your candidacy.

Other Materials

Applicants for faculty positions in music composition or the visual arts should prepare an artist’s statement and a portfolio of your work. Applicants for positions at faith-based institutions may need to prepare a faith statement.

A Note on Online Presence

While it is not likely that a hiring institution will request a scholarly website or online teaching portfolio from job candidates, these forms of online presence are gaining in popularity among job seekers. Search committee members may search for short-listed candidates online, and a professional-looking website or portfolio can be a nice place for them to land. As you prepare your other job materials, reflect on your online presence and determine what forms of digital identity are in line with your values and appropriate for scholars in your field. This could include a personal website, online portfolio, Academia.edu page, ResearchGate profile, LinkedIn profile, departmental website profile, or a combination of these.

Application Documents for Industry and Nonprofit Jobs

Most industry and nonprofit job openings will require applicants to prepare a résumé and cover letter. The résumé is the cornerstone of industry and nonprofit job applications. It is a curated, tailored document highlighting your best—and most applicable—experience for a position. The cover letter gives narrative shape to your résumé, using a few specific examples to demonstrate that you could excel in a given job. While not always required, cover letters are recommended by UChicagoGRAD as a best practice when seeking industry and nonprofit positions.

Tailoring Your Job Documents

To write a strong résumés and cover letters, begin with these steps:

• Read job descriptions with a pen and highlighter. Make note of repeated competencies and qualifications.
• Research the hiring organization’s mission statement. Who do they serve? What is their mission? Can you mirror this language in your materials to show similar commitments?
• Translate your experience and skills into the language of the job ad. It is okay to be overt about this; you can copy key phrases and terms.

Drafting Your Resume

Contact Information. Your contact information appears first on the résumé. Do not waste unnecessary space; this should only take up two lines at the top of the document.

Education Section. For current graduate students, an education section listing earned degrees should occupy the space immediately beneath your contact information. Postdocs can elect to put education at the top of the document, or you can lead with your current role.

Experience Section.  Rather than using a generic heading like “Professional Experience” for this section, turn your headings into an opportunity to show the reader your fit. Example headings include: Leadership and Management Experience, Research and Analytical Experience, Writing and Editing Experience, and Teaching and Mentoring Experience. Populate these experience sections with your past positions (in reverse chronological order), and use bullet points to describe those experiences. Bullet points should be written in the first-person singular point of view (but begin with an action verb, rather than “I”). Use present-tense verbs for current work and past-tense verbs for completed work. Your one-line bullet points should ideally articulate for the reader the kind of project you were engaged in, the purpose of the project, and the impact that resulted from your participation. Quantify when possible.

Skills Section. You can conclude the résumé with a section listing all relevant technical skills and language capabilities. While it is great to list information here, you should also show a reader how you developed or employed particular skills in your experience sections.

Writing Your Cover Letter

Cover letters work in tandem with your résumé by creating narrative context. They give you space to demonstrate interest in and knowledge of a hiring organization, and they provide specific and compelling reasons why you are a strong fit for a specific position.

It can be helpful to think of cover letters as short argumentative essays. To this end, well-written cover letters should have a main claim about your fit to the advertised position (e.g. “I bring writing and communication skills that enable me to effectively serve your clients”), and they should provide evidence to support this claim. You can write an effective cover letter in just four paragraphs.

Paragraph 1. State to which position you are applying, and provide specific reasons for your interest in the organization. Then, offer a thesis statement that mentions two distinct
competencies (A and B) that make you a fit for the job.

Paragraph 2. Make a claim about competency A (e.g. “I have excellent communication skills . . .”) and provide one or two examples that serve as evidence.

Paragraph 3. Make a claim about competency B, and provide one or two examples that serve as evidence for your claim.

Paragraph 4. Express gratitude and look to the future (e.g. “Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to discussing my application in an interview.”)

An effective cover letter should be one page long and single spaced (with double spacing in between paragraphs). You should include your contact information, the date, the employer’s contact information, a formal salutation and closing, and a signature.

Looking for feedback on your résumé or cover letter? Schedule a meeting with a UChicagoGRAD career advisor.

Application Documents for Government Jobs

Application documents for federal, state, and municipal government jobs in the US can vary. While documents for state and municipal roles generally resemble those for positions in industry and nonprofits, federal job documents require a unique format, at least when it comes to the résumé.

Creating a Federal Resume

A federal résumé is required to apply for federal government positions. USAJOBS, the federal hiring website, provides a résumé builder that makes creating this document straightforward. You can get started by creating a USAJOBS account, which will lead you to the résumé tool. The résumé builder will then prompt you to provide your candidate information, work experience, education, and optional information, such as language skills and job-related training.

A typical federal résumé is much longer than an industry resume, ranging from two to five pages, and it provides a much more in-depth look at your qualifications. In general, it is to your advantage to provide as much relevant information as possible.  It is crucial to read job ads closely and to ensure that your résumé addresses all requirements. Incomplete résumés, résumés that do not clearly communicate relevant qualifications, or résumés that do not follow requirements will typically result in your application being rejected.

UChicagoGRAD recommends creating a new federal résumé for each position you seek. To make the tailoring process faster, build a master résumé that contains everything you have done. When you apply for a position, start with this general document, and then edit it according to the duties, qualifications, and requirements of the position. Since USAJOBS allows you to save up to five federal résumés at a time, you may also consider building multiple résumés for the various categories of roles you are targeting. This way, you can work from the “pre-tailored” documents when a position of interest is posted.