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wintersweet
Joined: 18 Jan 2005
Posts: 345
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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 Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 2:13 am Post subject: Cover letter for a university job |
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I'm applying for a job (likely out of my reach, but worth a shot) that is part of a joint program between a US university and a Japanese university. Pay and all is handled through the US university, but the position is at the Japanese university. Right now I'm trying to write my cover letter, but I'm not sure how to handle it. I searched the FAQ and ran a search for university cover letters, but I didn't seem to see anything that really applies. Please let me know if I missed anything. 
The example successful US college job cover letters I have are 3-4 page epics with lengthy job and academic histories, personal pedagogical epiphanies, relevant family backgrounds and personal triumphs over the odds, etc. I have a feeling this might not be appropriate, but then again, I don't know. The application is supposed to be sent to the US school, and I don't know whether it's eventually sent to the Japanese side of things or not ... so maybe it IS appropriate. 
(This is compounded by the fact that the job posting is rather vague on what exact kinds of classes are involved. Sigh.)
Anyway, if you have any advice on writing cover letters for a university position, particularly in a joint Japanese-US situation, please share it!
Thanks a bunch. |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:08 am Post subject: |
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The Chronicle maintains an excellent FAQ for job seekers, including links to multiple threads devoted to answering just these kinds of questions. E.g., here's a page of links dedicated to "What should my cover letter say and how long should it be?":
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,34736.0.html
Regarding this:
| Quote: |
| The example successful US college job cover letters I have are 3-4 page epics with lengthy job and academic histories, personal pedagogical epiphanies, relevant family backgrounds and personal triumphs over the odds, etc. I have a feeling this might not be appropriate, but then again, I don't know. The application is supposed to be sent to the US school, and I don't know whether it's eventually sent to the Japanese side of things or not ... so maybe it IS appropriate. |
To be honest with you, those "successful" sample letters sound inappropriate--horribly so--even for a U.S. university job. The bolded parts, especially, would turn off many a U.S. search committee. (Again, see the Chronicle forum for more discussion of this.) Moreover, for Japanese university jobs, unless you're writing in Japanese, you'll want to keep things as brief as possible--I'd argue one page maximum. Along with brevity, clarity would also be key. Follow the general guidelines listed on the Chronicle page, but try to keep things short, simple, friendly, and clear.
Good luck! |
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wintersweet
Joined: 18 Jan 2005
Posts: 345
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:22 am Post subject: |
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| To be honest with you, those "successful" sample letters sound inappropriate--horribly so--even for a U.S. university job. The bolded parts, especially, would get your application canned by many a search committee. |
Yes, I know, but 2 of the 5 letters were that way. They're real, though--each of the 5 letters got its writer a full-time teaching position at a college or university in California. (The personal triumph one was about being a non-native speaker herself, and the family background one was about being the first person in his family to attend college--being written for a college where many of the students are in a similar situation, so it wasn't totally inappropriate.) I know the person who put the packet together, and the letters were all reproduced without modifications except to remove identifying information. Oh well, I'd really rather not write an epic anyway!
At any rate, I'm concerned that a one-page letter may be too brief, since it's to be addressed to the linguistics department of the American university. I suppose it's a good challenge, though. (It really is more difficult to be concise sometimes...as you can tell from how I ramble on.  )
Thanks for the suggestions. |
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wintersweet
Joined: 18 Jan 2005
Posts: 345
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:37 am Post subject: |
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| (oh my god, the AIU thread is still going on over there! ) |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:42 am Post subject: |
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| wintersweet wrote: |
| Yes, I know, but 2 of the 5 letters were that way. They're real, though--each of the 5 letters got its writer a full-time teaching position at a college or university in California. |
Small world--I once had a full-time teaching position at a university in California as well. Indeed, until the recent economy collapse, they weren't that hard to get! 
| Quote: |
| (The personal triumph one was about being a non-native speaker herself, and the family background one was about being the first person in his family to attend college--being written for a college where many of the students are in a similar situation, so it wasn't totally inappropriate.) |
Yeah, that subject matter, in that context, would be extremely appropriate. However, as a sample for your "average joe," I'd still say the letter is a bad choice. Speaking from experience, most letters over two pages, especially when filled with (almost invariably extraneous) personal details, ended up getting rejected pretty darn quickly! Again, read the Chronicle threads for more information.
| Quote: |
| At any rate, I'm concerned that a one-page letter may be too brief, since it's to be addressed to the linguistics department of the American university. I suppose it's a good challenge, though. (It really is more difficult to be concise sometimes...as you can tell from how I ramble on. ) |
Can't you ask the American university for more information--including who will make the hiring decision? Generally, you'll want to be at around two pages for a position in the U.S., but a search committee composed of busy non native speakers will not be interested in reading an "epic" discussion of you, your life and your work. Heck, I've been on Search Committees in Japan where my colleagues stopped reading after the first paragraph! |
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wintersweet
Joined: 18 Jan 2005
Posts: 345
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 6:30 am Post subject: |
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| Can't you ask the American university for more information--including who will make the hiring decision? |
Well, honestly, I wasn't sure if that was appropriate. Maybe I'll do that.
I'm the kind of person who would really rather not put in personal details at all, so I'm fine there! Leave it out! I want to talk about the job and my skills.
Thanks again! |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| wintersweet wrote: |
| Well, honestly, I wasn't sure if that was appropriate. Maybe I'll do that. |
If you're worried about somehow leaving a bad impression, send them an email from wintersweet[at]yahoo.com (assuming that's not your real name). You can then be Ms. Wilma Wintersweet, with a question along these lines, "Will the hiring decision for the position in question be made by **** University faculty?" Or, how about the time-honored, "To whom should I address my cover letter?"
This way, if they get irritated with ol' Wilma (a strange response, but not completely unheard of), it won't impact your application at all. If they don't respond at all, though, then I'd probably send them a standard 2-pager (as the recipient is a US university). PM me the details of the ad if you want a more educated guess!  |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:39 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| The example successful US college job cover letters I have are 3-4 page epics with lengthy job and academic histories, personal pedagogical epiphanies, relevant family backgrounds and personal triumphs over the odds |
I'm curious what family backgrounds would be deemed relevant in a job hunt that one might boldly put them on a cover letter. If it's a line like, "Uncle Bob is on the committee, so I thought I'd apply", maybe that would make more sense. 
Seriously, perhaps if we know more about this "joint" job, it might help, but off the top of my head, I'd mention connections/experience in Japan (including language ability), academic background, and whatever specifics are addressed in the job ad (which we have not seen). |
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wintersweet
Joined: 18 Jan 2005
Posts: 345
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I'm curious what family backgrounds would be deemed relevant in a job hunt that one might boldly put them on a cover letter. If it's a line like, "Uncle Bob is on the committee, so I thought I'd apply", maybe that would make more sense. |
Haha. No, it was someone applying for a college with a large number of first-time college students, when he himself was the first person in his family to go to college.
| Quote: |
| Seriously, perhaps if we know more about this "joint" job, it might help, but off the top of my head, I'd mention connections/experience in Japan (including language ability), academic background, and whatever specifics are addressed in the job ad (which we have not seen). |
I admit I'm playing things closer to my vest than usual, which I usually find annoying in others, because there are some unusual and nice perqs to the job and I don't want more competition (since it's already a long shot for me). I sent the posting to taikibansei in a PM and got some good feedback. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Posts: 778
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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There is a basic format to cover letters:
Date
School
Address
Dear ___
1st paragraph: What are you applying for? How did you hear of them?
Body paragraphs (1 or 2 paragraphs): How are you qualified? Do you meet what they want - how?
Final paragraph: Asking for the job, contact information, enclosed is my resume, etc.
Salutation
Signed Name
Typed Name
(Some reiterate contact information again)
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The ones you mentioned, the 5-6 pages, sound like the characteristics of CV's - which is a totally different kind of fish. |
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wintersweet
Joined: 18 Jan 2005
Posts: 345
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 4:05 am Post subject: |
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| Tiger Beer--no, I was talking about academic cover letters that accompany CVs, which (at least for college ESL positions in California) are frequently 3-4 pages. I don't think anyone said anything about 5-6-pagers! |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:27 am Post subject: |
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| wintersweet wrote: |
| Tiger Beer--no, I was talking about academic cover letters that accompany CVs, which (at least for college ESL positions in California) are frequently 3-4 pages. I don't think anyone said anything about 5-6-pagers! |
Don't expect a Japanese reviewer to wade through 3-4 pages of cover letter here. Keep it to a page and a half. Their reading skills are not that great. |
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wintersweet
Joined: 18 Jan 2005
Posts: 345
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 4:47 am Post subject: |
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| Well, the review period for this job is long over, but it turned out to be an American hiring committee anyway, for what it's worth. I have no idea why Tiger Beer felt the need to revive this thread from February. |
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