Description:

Your cover letter is the single most important element of your job application. Yes, search committees will likely eyeball your CV first; however, your cover letter gives you the opportunity to provide narrative depth to the accomplishments listed on your CV. Perhaps more important, your cover letter also allows you to tell potential employers why you are a good fit both for the position they advertise and for their department and institution as a whole. With the importance of cover letters as its central focus, then, this workshop will go over the basic components of academic cover letters as well as discuss what should (and should not) be included in a letter. We will also offer tips and strategies for how to best tailor your cover letter to a specific job call, and participants will practice analyzing sample job calls as a way of beginning to consider what they might highlight in their own cover letters. Finally, we’ll provide participants with a bibliography of further resources as well as sample cover letters from a variety of disciplines for reference.