Hiring by the Numbers

Or, how regional difference make a big difference in the job hunt.

If there are job search lessons to be taken out of this post, they are:

• KNOW THE HIRING NORMS OF THE COUNRTY YOU ARE APPLYING TO! 
• GET PEOPLE YOU KNOW FROM THE COUNTRY OF APPLICATION TO SIT WITH YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMING ACROSS THE RIGHT WAY!

Or, I suppose, you could be so good that it doesn't really matter how you present yourself. Your brilliance just shines through.

Over the last few months, I've been getting some much needed feedback on my applications, and I am being surprised by what I'm finding. Consider the following:

"Your CV makes you look like someone from the rope design and development department. When competing against other bridge makers for this position, it is really hard to advocate for a CV that looks like yours versus other CVs that come across our desk."

"But I make rope bridges. In the US, that lives in the Bridgemaking department." 

"I know, but the lines are different here. It does cause a good deal of confusion as well for applicants from here who are applying to departments in the US."

Okay. Good advice. I know how to make use of it, after a rejection from that position.

Then I have a conversation from a friend in a different setting who points out to me that my teaching and advising experience is not on my CV. Of course it isn't. That goes on the Teaching statement that is a standard supplement .... in .... the .... U... S.... 

I can't blame anyone but myself for this one. I know that for all the jobs I've been applying to, I've only been submitting my CV and a research plan. I know that my letters don't get read until late in the game. I know that my teaching experience makes me stand out from other applicants applying to a similar position. Why didn't I update my CV? 

Don't answer that.

Water under the bridge. A few more rejection letters have come and gone.

Then there's this:

 "You look like a decent candidate, but because of the rules of the upcoming review, the committee will be really looking for people who have X knots."

 Well, damn. This one is complicated. By the rules of the upcoming review, the university will consider the best Y knots I have, for Y<X. These Y knots are clearly marked on my CV. What is also marked (though maybe not so clearly) is one of the reasons I think I only need Y knots. But the main reason I only need Y knots is not mentioned at all on the CV. It is Epsilon.

So how do I communicate to the committee that I only need Y knots without talking about family? I had hoped that the picture of Epsilon on my webpage might be enough. But if the issue is that sometimes the faculty members on the hiring committee aren't abreast of all the details of the review, how do I make them aware? How many other places have seen my application, and not put two and two together to get Y?

I've settled on pointing out the Y knots again in my cover letter, and explaining why I expect that I will be evaluated on Y and not X. I hope that doesn't come across as bizarre. But this really emphasizes the need to know the system well, and how to make oneself look appealing to the constraints obvious and subtle.

Dear readers, if you happen to know what system I am talking about, and want to chime in with advice, I will eagerly accept it. Please do so privately, via barefootdoctoral@gmail.com. I will anonymise and post any useful feedback I get via e-mail in the comments section.