Now that the academic year and j0b-market season are here, I thought it might be a good time to run another 'how can we help you?' post (I'm going to try to run one of these posts each month now, given the helpful questions we receive!).
For those of you unfamiliar with this series, this is a chance for you to post openly or anonymously in the comments section below on anything you could use help with related to the profession. After you post your query in the comments section, I will then post new threads for readers to discuss your query.
Please feel free to ask questions on anything (within the Cocoon's mission) that you could use help with, including but not limited to:
- The job-market (applying for jobs, etc.)
- Tips for starting a new job or grad program
- Publishing
- Teaching
- The profession
- Work-life balance
- More personal struggles
- Etc.
Fire away - we're here to help!
Jobs in the UK and Australia often ask applicants to complete forms detailing how they satisfy "key selection criteria." They seem like HR documents that no one ever reads. And they're often _very_ lengthy. Should these be taken seriously?
Posted by: E | 08/16/2018 at 12:20 PM
I'm curious about something in light of the recent posts regarding the peer review process and making it more like arXiv. Given the current peer review system we have in philosophy, warts and all, how would/do reviewers, editors, etc. respond to identifiable drafts posted to an archive like PhilPapers? I generally like the idea of moving towards a more identifiable preprint system for many of the reasons Marcus identifies, but I worry that posting my own work will negatively affect me by somehow impacting drafts once they are submitted. Am I right to worry about this? Wrong? How can one manage this, if it's a concern?
Posted by: Jake Wright | 08/16/2018 at 12:37 PM
It emerged in discussions in recent-ish memory that some people have pretty short teaching dossiers.
How are those structured? When I put together just all my course evaluations, from about 12 courses, I have about 25 pages of material.
More generally, I guess I would be interested in hearing about guidelines for minimum and maximum lengths of the various sub-sections of the dossier.
Posted by: anon | 08/17/2018 at 02:59 PM
Anon,
Committees just do not want to see all your teaching evaluations. Let us imagine you submit 25 pages of evaluations. And let us assume that 120 people are applying for a job. That means there are 3000 pages of teaching evaluations. Do you think any committee will read this much?
Posted by: On the Search | 08/18/2018 at 07:12 AM
Hi, I have a small question but it is one that I know a lot of people face. When applying for jobs, is it always best to send exactly what the department asks for? Or is it sometimes better to send more materials if you have them? (I think this has been discussed but I can't find where.)
Also, more specifically: if a job asks for, say, two research and one teaching letter, but it is possible to send them more (e.g. whatever system they are using allows for additional uploads), should you send them more?
My thoughts about this were as follows: it's probably different for research-focused and teaching-focused jobs, and you should try to identify which category the job in question falls into. I worry that sending additional research letters to teaching-focused jobs communicates that you think of yourself as a researcher/writer more than a teacher/philosopher, or perhaps that you are aiming to get a more research-focused job. But for research-focused jobs, you should send as many letters (within reason--once you hit six or so it's probably just annoying to have more) as possible, if you are sure that they are very strong.
Posted by: anonymous | 08/19/2018 at 03:53 PM
I've seen a lot of helpful discussion for different strategies for applying to R1s and teaching schools, but I'm wondering where "elite" SLACs fit in (I'm thinking those with 2/2 loads and faculty with relatively high profile publications). Do you still lead with teaching? Or do you lead with research?
Posted by: Job seeker | 08/24/2018 at 10:29 AM
In my experience, elite slacs want the best of both worlds: strong evidence of teaching experience and ability, and also elite/excellent publication record. In some senses these schools give the most time for research, since they have a 2/2 teaching load and you do not need to mentor grad students. In addition the schools are often smaller and less bureaucratic than many large research schools. Finally, they tend to pay very, very, well.
Posted by: Amanda | 08/24/2018 at 11:03 AM
Okay, I admit, I know nothing about phil papers. Nothing against it other than when I look people up the paper is rarely archived there. Anyway, I have a "phil" account because I do use phil events to look at conferences. Well I logged in to change my email address, and when attempting to find out how to do this I found out that phil papers had archived many of my papers (but not all) and even listed a few conferences I attended! Is this how it works lol? And then I tried to find a way to add the papers that were missing and I couldn't figure it out. Can someone please explain all of this to me I am very surprised. Not at all upset, btw, it is nice whoever it is went to the trouble of doing this, and I imagine it only helps me.
Posted by: Amanda | 08/28/2018 at 02:16 AM
I'd be curious to hear advice about applying for dissertation fellowships, especially how to pitch one's dissertation proposal/summary to both philosophers and non-philosophers.
Posted by: Morgan Thompson | 08/28/2018 at 12:35 PM