ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries Ju n e 1 9 9 5 /4 1 5 Applying for professional positions By Suzanne T. Larsen and J o a n S. M cConkey How to present yo u r assets in the most favorable light A s w e review applications for professionalpositions, w e find that m any applicants do n o t un d erstan d the im portance o f creating a com plete, w ell-organized, professional-looking dossier. Individuals w h o might have th e quali­ fications for a position often d o n o t m ake i past th e first review o f applications b ecau se they d o not presen t them selves well. We identify problem s w e have se e n rep eat­ edly in applications for o u r positions, as w ell as present suggestions to help you increase your chances o f being considered for a position o n the strength o f y o u r docum entation. The position announcem ent Read th e p o sitio n a n n o u n c e m e n t carefully, phrase b y phrase. T ake it seriously. It has b een carefully w ritten to attract an individual w ith specific qualifications to th e position. If you d o not have th e skills, education, o r experience identified as requirem ents for th e position, do not apply. It is a g o o d idea to req u est a position d e­ scription prior to m aking application. T hese are usually far m ore com plete an d detailed than the position an n o u n cem en t an d will provide m ore insight into th e position. Plan for your application to arrive prior to th e closing date in the announcem ent. The application T he application should consist o f a cover letter an d a resum e or vita. If an agency application form is required, it will usually b e indicated in th e position ann o u n cem en t an d you should ask to have it sent to you. Submit y o u r docum ents o n clean, good-quality p a p e r that will p h o to ­ copy well, since application docum ents m ay b e p h o to c o p ie d fo r ea c h search com m ittee m em ber. Search com m ittee m em bers are u n ­ likely to see special colors or carefully prep ared n o teb o o k s w ith various-sized pages. If there is m ore than o n e position o p e n at a n institution t for w hich you w ish to apply, sen d separate cover letters an d resum es for each position. D ifferent search com m ittees m ay b e involved a n d you will w an t to m ake y o u r cover letter position-specific. T he advent of w o rd processing has created a n ew set o f potential pitfalls in addition to the standard dilem m a of h o w to create a resum e a n d cover letter that will b e w ell received. It is especially im portant to proofread all your do cu ­ m ents thoroughly, especially if you are am en d ­ ing yo u r resum e a n d cover letter each tim e you apply for a position. It is disconcerting to re­ ceive a cover letter correctly addressed but with a different nam e in th e “D ear . . . ” line, p ro b ­ ably left over from an o th er application. A. T he co v er letter. The cover letter is your first, an d possibly y o u r m ost im portant com ­ m unication w ith th e search com m ittee o r p e r­ sonnel officer. Selection o f candidates to be interview ed will b e b ased very heavily o n this docum ent. T he letter is usually considered an exam ple o f yo u r w ritten com m unication skills, so treat it that way. A ttention to detail is m an­ datory. To state th e obvious (yet som ething that is overlooked by too m any applicants), spell­ ing, gram m ar, organization, an d form at are all o f great im portance. Suzanne T. Larsen is h e a d o f the Earth Sciences Library a n d Jo a n S. McConkey is associate director f o r administrative services in the University Libraries a t the University o f Colorado at Boulder; e-mail: larsens@spot.colorado.edu, mcconkej@spot.colorado.edu mailto:larsens@spot.colorado.edu mailto:mcconkej@spot.colorado.edu 4 1 6 /C&RL News A cover letter sho u ld address the position for w hich you are applying; it sh o u ld n o t be generic. G eneric application letters only show th at yo u are applying w idely a n d m ay n o t be particularly interested in th e p osition at hand. If a n individual is listed in th e p o sitio n a n ­ n o u n c e m e n t, ad d re ss th e letter to th a t indi­ vidual. Identify th e p osition you are applying for at th e b eg in n in g o f th e letter. An institution m ay h av e several o p en in g s at the sam e time, an d this will avoid any confusion. It is also a g o o d idea to indicate in th e cover letter w h ere yo u saw th e p osition advertised. Usually the p osition a n n o u n c e m e n t identi­ fies re q u ire d skills o r e x p e rie n c e an d m o re specific, d esirable characteristics. Be su re to address each o f th o se item s in y o u r cover letter ev en if you feel th at they are co vered in th e resum e. T here is alw ays th e possibility y o u r qualifications m ay b e m issed o r m isinterpreted if th ey a p p e a r only in the resum e. It n ev er hurts to restate th e obvious. If you po ssess any o f th e qualifications indi­ cate d as d esirable in th e p osition a n n o u n c e ­ m ent, b e sure to identify them . M eeting th e requirem ents for th e p osition will g et yo u into the p o o l o f candidates, b u t having the skills an d qualifications identified as desirable will usually p u t you at the to p o f th e list. This is especially tru e w h e n the requirem ents are very broad, such as th o se for entry-level positions. U se th e cover letter to em p h asize specifi­ cally h o w w ell you fit th e position as identified in the a n n o u n c e m e n t a n d /o r position descrip­ tion. Use it to flesh o u t im portant abbreviated statem ents o n th e resum e o r vita. Give com ­ plete, concise inform ation. T w o p ag es sh o u ld b e the m axim um length. W hile th e cover letter is th e place to em ­ phasize w h at you d o w ell, d o n o t claim to have skills yo u d o n o t have. T he cover letter a n d the resum e sh o u ld b e co n n ected . For exam ple, if the p osition requires supervisory experience, identify th e type a n d am o u n t o f ex p erien ce you have in th e co v er letter. Y our resum e should corroborate th e statem ents in y o u r letter. T hink seriously b efo re a ttem p tin g to use h u m o r in yo u r cover letter. It is rarely effective in this context an d will p ro b ab ly n o t attract the kind o f atten tio n yo u are seeking. B. Resume/vita. Jo b an n o u n cem en ts will usually req u est eith er a vita o r a resum e. In general, a vita is a n outline o f a p e rs o n ’s e x p e ­ rience, education, publications, a n d p resen ta­ tions. A resum e m ay also include brief descrip­ tions o f duties in previous positions, a full chro­ nological accounting for tim e c o m p leted after th e professional d egree, an d a list o f references w ith current addresses a n d tele p h o n e num bers. T he g reater detail in th e resum e is usually p ref­ erable fo r positions ab o v e the b eginning level, a n d it is alm ost alw ays necessary to subm it the n am es o f references. U nlike th e cover letter, th e resum e m ay be generic. H ow ever, yo u m ay c h o o se to change it acco rd in g to th e re q u ire m e n ts o f specific positions to em p h asize certain aspects o f your w o rk o r educational history. If yo u decide to custom ize y o u r resum e, b e careful n o t to sen d th at sam e version in application for an o th e r position w h ich has a different focus. You sho u ld include dates o n the resum e so th at years o f experience, education, an d o th er statem ents can b e substantiated. O rganize th e resum e so th at these dates are easily identified. Usually a job title is n o t sufficient to d escribe th e duties p erform ed in th e position. A brief sum m ary o f duties fo r ea c h p osition yo u held is desirable. O utline form at o r th e u se o f ty p o ­ g raphical “b u llets” is p referable to a lengthy paragraph. Ju st hit th e high points. Y ou will n e e d to decid e h o w far b ack to ex te n d y o u r e m p lo y m en t history o r w h at to include. T he job yo u h a d in th e fast fo o d outlet in high school is n o t o f great interest; o n the o th e r h a n d , a c lerical p o s itio n w h e re y o u le a rn e d c o m p u te r skills o r w o rd p ro cessin g m ight h elp y o u r cause. W hat yo u include may w ell d e p e n d o n the type a n d level o f position for w h ich yo u are applying. It is im portant to acco u n t in som e w ay for an y obv io u s g ap s in y o u r w o rk record. For exam ple, if you w ere touring E urope for six m onths follow ing y o u r last position, state that in th e cover letter. Relevant v o lu n teer w ork sho u ld also b e included. For positions in academ ic libraries, it is es­ pecially im portant to include an y publications o r form al presentations. If th e p ublications are relevant to th e p osition for w h ich you are a p ­ plying, se n d copies w ith yo u r application. Only include in -h o u se m aterial from y o u r current p o sition if it is directly pertinent. M em bership, activities, an d offices h eld in professional or­ ganizations sh o u ld also b e included. C. R e fe r e n c e s . C h o o se y o u r re fe re n c e s carefully. T h ese sh o u ld b e p e o p le w h o have recen t k n o w led g e o f y o u r w ork. Ask th o se you w ish to u se as references in advance for p e r­ m ission to u se their nam es. Use references w h o Ju n e 1 9 9 5 /4 1 7 can substantiate statem ents in your cover letter and resume. Supply them w ith an up-to-date copy of your resum e, copies o f the an n o u n ce­ ments of positions for w hich you are applying, and th e cover letters you are writing. It is best to select references w h o can com m ent specifi­ cally on the required an d desirable aspects of the position. Include y o u r direct supervisor as a refer­ ence, if possible. It is understandable that this may no t be com fortable for you at th e onset of the application process, but k eep in m ind that if you are being seriously considered for a p o ­ sition, a reference from your supervisor m ay be required. D. Form atting the d ocum ents. Use a la ser printer if at all possible. It is n o longer n ec­ essary to get your resum e typeset to m ake it look professionally done. D o n o t try to cram everything into the cover letter an d resum e by using small print an d n arrow margins. The a p ­ p earance o f these docum ents is alm ost as im­ portant as their content. Affirmative action provisions It is appropriate not to supply race, age, reli­ gion, marital status, an d o ther inform ation that is not to b e u sed in hiring decisions. Do, how ­ ever, fill ou t any affirmative action forms that are sen t to you a n d subm it them as directed. Most public colleges an d universities particu­ larly encourage w om en, ethnic minorities, dis­ abled persons, an d veterans to apply for their positions. Conclusion All of the areas w e have discussed here a d ­ dress the problem s w e have found w ith appli­ cations w e ’ve received. It is m uch easier to give serious consideration to a clear, well-organized, well-written, com plete dossier than to take the time to sort through a m essy an d poorly p re­ pared one. Y our c h a n c e s o f b e in g c o n sid ­ e re d for a n in terv iew will in c re a se greatly b y tak in g th e a p p lic a tio n p ro c e ss serio u sly a n d tailo rin g y o u r a p p lic a tio n to th e p o s i­ tio n re q u ire m e n ts. (Research cont.from page 414) reer. T here should b e a research dim ension ( genuine an d in-depth explanation o n how t locate and critically evaluate resources) in a hos o f classes an d throughout the academ y’s disci plines. Such a restructuring o f o u r a p p ro a c h — com m itm ent to teaching research in m uch th sam e w ay progressive institutions already teac writing—w o u ld n ’t im m ediately bring a radica and revolutionary change. But it could m ea the beginning o f a new w ay o f looking at re search a n d research skills in th e totality o f the educational enterprise. At the very least, col leges an d universities might add a skilled fa miliarity w ith research an d information retrieva to the litany o f com petencies an d skills the require o f their graduates. D eans might begin to scrutinize a departm ental major in light o f it comm itment to quality student research as much as the d ep artm en t’s teaching accom plishm ent or b read th o f course coverage. O utside evalu ating boards m ight even start to ask pointed an d p erh ap s em barrassing questions ab o u t the kinds o f steps the institution is taking to equip its students for the information age. And p e r haps most im portantly o f all, librarians equipped w ith a m ore com prehensive, holistic vision o their o w n role in th e educational enterprise a o t ­ a e h l n ­ ­ ­ l y s s ­ ­ f could really begin to engage students in the w onders o f scholarly research an d to em pow er students to function in the increasingly com ­ plex, if troublesom e, inform ation era. Like writing, research merits a m ore thor­ ough and com prehensive commitment. Colleges an d universities have to replace their present w ell-intentioned ap p ro ach to research instruc­ tion w ith a sustained, com prehensive vision— o n e that teaches research skills in a variety o f classes an d contexts. For today’s academ ic cli­ mate, the old we-are-there-w henever-you-need- us BI ap proach is just too ineffective an d trun cated. T he im portance o f know ing h o w to tap into the w orld o f information, o f engaging oneself in the w orld o f scholarly conversation, a n d of learning h o w to critically evaluate th e conflict­ ing argum ents an d claims o f varied sources cannot b e overestim ated. And it can ’t b e left to happenstance. Such skills have to b e taught, a n d taught by those w h o kn o w m ost about them. Just as higher education has had the cour­ age to tackle th e problem o f w riting aggres­ sively, colleges a n d universities sho u ld now address th e com ing dem ands o f th e informa­ tion age. It’s tim e w e taught research across a n d throughout th e curriculum.