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wavelength
Joined: 27 Jan 2015
Posts: 151
Location: The Feel Good River of a Celestial Rainbow
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 Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:58 pm Post subject: Redundant comment |
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Deleted.
Last edited by wavelength on Sat Feb 14, 2015 12:03 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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wavelength
Joined: 27 Jan 2015
Posts: 151
Location: The Feel Good River of a Celestial Rainbow
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| Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:01 pm Post subject: |
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| esl_prof wrote: |
| May the odds be ever in your favor! |
Ah, if you're talking probabilities, that I can come to terms with! |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2015 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| wavelength wrote: |
| esl_prof wrote: |
| May the odds be ever in your favor! |
Ah, if you're talking probabilities, that I can come to terms with! |
You've gotten good advice from some of the most experienced teachers on these forums. I'm sure your odds will increase significantly with your next round of applications. 
Last edited by esl_prof on Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:48 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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wavelength
Joined: 27 Jan 2015
Posts: 151
Location: The Feel Good River of a Celestial Rainbow
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:30 am Post subject: Right |
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You're right, and I really apreciate it. I hope this also helps other people struggling with a lack of genuine inspiration.  |
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peripatetic_soul
Joined: 20 Oct 2013
Posts: 303
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:28 pm Post subject: Very Low Response Rate |
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WL,
Another tip about your cover letter -- My sister was an HR manager and told me this: When screening prospective candidates, they highlight the phrases in the cover letter that correspond to the qualifications they are seeking. If that individual's letter does NOT address those particular skills, the letter and c.v. go in the trash. Thus, if a university specifies experience with the iPad and collaborative activities + 3 or more years of relevant tertiary experience, you will want to respond to each of those. This conveys to the prospective employer that you are genuinely interested and match the skills they are seeking. As others here have posted, each letter should be tailored to a particular institution. A generic letter does not make one stand out among the hundreds of eager applicants. You will yield more prospects this way. Good luck. PS |
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wavelength
Joined: 27 Jan 2015
Posts: 151
Location: The Feel Good River of a Celestial Rainbow
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:37 pm Post subject: Thanks |
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| Really appreciate the input. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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| wavelength wrote: |
| I'm already looking into why my CV is not getting the attention I hoped for, and now I can enable my cover letter. To tell you the truth, I am using the same cover letter for all job applications. The reason being that there are conflicting opinions on if they get read or not. Also, I fall short on cover letters because I usually don't know what to say. |
Which is odd since you have a BA in Writing. Plus, at some point, didn't your degree program cover business writing? |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| Which is odd since you have a BA in Writing. Plus, at some point, didn't your degree program cover business writing? |
Quite possibly not. Research shows that the types of writing emphasized and taught in university-English classes are typically not the types of writing expected by content-area instructors and employers. In other words, English departments do a great job of teaching things like creative writing, narrative, etc., but not so much in the genres of formulaic academic or business writing. Cover letter writing, in any case, is a very narrow, specialized genre that most of us have had to learn on our own. Thankfully, there are a lot of job websites out there with helpful tips and samples for the autodidactic. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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| esl_prof wrote: |
| English departments do a great job of teaching things like creative writing, narrative, etc., but not so much in the genres of formulaic academic or business writing. Cover letter writing, in any case, is a very narrow, specialized genre that most of us have had to learn on our own. Thankfully, there are a lot of job websites out there with helpful tips and samples for the autodidactic. |
That's unfortunate, Prof. I always interject a bit of creativity and personality into my cover letters in order to stand out. Something for the OP to think about. |
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wavelength
Joined: 27 Jan 2015
Posts: 151
Location: The Feel Good River of a Celestial Rainbow
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:38 pm Post subject: Exactly |
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| Quote: |
| Quite possibly not. Research shows that the types of writing emphasized and taught in university-English classes are typically not the types of writing expected by content-area instructors and employers. In other words, English departments do a great job of teaching things like creative writing, narrative, etc., but not so much in the genres of formulaic academic or business writing. Cover letter writing, in any case, is a very narrow, specialized genre that most of us have had to learn on our own. Thankfully, there are a lot of job websites out there with helpful tips and samples for the autodidactic. |
We covered everything from Haiku, sonnets, script writing, book publishing, Chinese brushstroke, expository essay, academic research, thesis writing, the evils of Hegelian Dialectics, somatic dance and other "That makes me feel weird" stuff, threw in a little Tai Chi, and hung out at the top of the Flat Irons marvelling over the stars wondering among ourselves if Carlos Castaneda was for real.
I could writing you a lovely yarn at any time. I was a little upset after entering the work force, because we weren't given a lot of things. For example, technical or grant writing. Another one was basic entrepreneurial skills, since most of us were artist that would eventually need to market ourselves.
It was a fantastic writing program, but they fell short in a few areas.
(What can you expect from a school started by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, chaired by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, and named after Jack Kerouac?)
Most of what I've learned about the working work was through a different university called The Graduate School of Hard Knocks.
Sign, but I can still writer a killer story for you if you'd like.
Seriously, I just needed a bit on encouragement, because I'm tired of roaming from one entry level ESL position to the next.
I really do appreciate all the help that's been given in this thread. It's made a big difference. |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 9:37 pm Post subject: |
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Jack Kerouac? Flat Irons? Tai Chi?
Yes, I'm familiar with that school. I live within an hour's drive and teach alongside several graduates of their MFA program. I agree that it's a fantastic program and am not surprised by the areas you identified as falling short. I think most of us with degrees in the humanities are lacking a bit in some of the so called "practical" areas that would enhance our ability to find employment, but we also have the critical thinking skills it takes to survive and even thrive in the Graduate School of Hard Knocks. |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| That's unfortunate, Prof. I always interject a bit of creativity and personality into my cover letters in order to stand out. Something for the OP to think about. |
Nothing wrong with creativity and personality, so long as you master the basics of the genre first. |
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wavelength
Joined: 27 Jan 2015
Posts: 151
Location: The Feel Good River of a Celestial Rainbow
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:16 pm Post subject: MFA |
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| esl_prof wrote: |
| ...but we also have the critical thinking skills it takes to survive and even thrive... |
You can say that again. It's been a wild, wild ride, and I wouldn't swap it for anything else.
It's funny you mentioned MFA. After writing that last post, I was going over what I said in my head, and I realized an MFA in Creative Writing is exactly what I want. That's great to know... to have it solidify.
This thread has been helpful in more ways than one. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 11:39 pm Post subject: Re: MFA |
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| esl_prof wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| I always interject a bit of creativity and personality into my cover letters in order to stand out. Something for the OP to think about. |
Nothing wrong with creativity and personality, so long as you master the basics of the genre first. |
Agreed. But it's not difficult for anyone to do once the base of their cover letter is written.
| wavelength wrote: |
| I was going over what I said in my head, and I realized an MFA in Creative Writing is exactly what I want. That's great to know... to have it solidify. |
If creative writing is your passion, then why not pursue an MFA instead of mulling over the idea of getting a Delta or MA TESOL? |
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wavelength
Joined: 27 Jan 2015
Posts: 151
Location: The Feel Good River of a Celestial Rainbow
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| Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 10:19 am Post subject: Re: MFA |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| instead of mulling over the idea of getting a Delta or MA TESOL |
I agree. I think that's probably why I've never committed to a masters on an intention level... I didn't really want to do it. This next year is going to be about saving money and writing source material. |
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