letting them know you are serious about them

[small town]

I don't think it's mistake to mention having a family for a position in a small town. These places may be worried that a single person might not want to move given lack of friendship and relationship opportunities, but those with a family would have a built in support network.

[netizen]

Sept 23, 2011 14:33:51 GMT -5 @small town said:

I don't think it's mistake to mention having a family for a position in a small town. These places may be worried that a single person might not want to move given lack of friendship and relationship opportunities, but those with a family would have a built in support network.

But there's something to be said for not feeding into such stereotypes; we all have very different individual situations. I hope that hiring committees are responsible about not making this assumption at all, because when we talk this way in order to get jobs, it sets up a situation where people who fall outside of normative expectations have to constantly address that.

[anon]

^Well put. I really wish that people -- hiring committees especially -- would step back and look at the big picture more during this process. Sometime it feels like people are being mercenary just to show how professional and serious they are.

[SocFac]

Don't assume that an application from an applicant with strong research achievements will be unusual at a teaching college. With the miserable job market, any position gets letters from very strong candidates. The short list is often composed of an all-star team of research-oriented candidates. You're correct in that the search committee may wonder if you'll be happy there, if you'll be trying to leave before your contract ink has even dried, and whether you'll feel too stressed having to teach more in one term than your mentors did in a whole year. If you took the opportunity to be a TA or even have your own section as instructor in graduate school, then you have some evidence that you enjoy teaching and are good at it.

If you sincerely want to be at this school (or in that city), be honest about it. Say you want to balance teaching and research. Search faculty will be pleased that you like their hometown. They also will be glad at the prospect that you won't have trouble meeting the scholarship expectations at their teaching school. Learn as much as you can about the faculty's own professional achievements, who teaches what, and the details of the department's degree programs. Then the search committee faculty (as I've often been) will believe that you know what you are getting into and are making a rational, well-informed choice.

Just don't assume that you'll be a rare bird as a researcher applying to a teaching school. Your final candidate competitors probably also will share your high-scholarly profile. Not many nests are available these days, so all kinds of birds flock to a position announcement.

[dreamalittle]

Sept 25, 2011 17:08:40 GMT -5 @SocFac said:

Don't assume that an application from an applicant with strong research achievements will be unusual at a teaching college. With the miserable job market, any position gets letters from very strong candidates. The short list is often composed of an all-star team of research-oriented candidates. You're correct in that the search committee may wonder if you'll be happy there, if you'll be trying to leave before your contract ink has even dried, and whether you'll feel too stressed having to teach more in one term than your mentors did in a whole year. If you took the opportunity to be a TA or even have your own section as instructor in graduate school, then you have some evidence that you enjoy teaching and are good at it.

If you sincerely want to be at this school (or in that city), be honest about it. Say you want to balance teaching and research. Search faculty will be pleased that you like their hometown. They also will be glad at the prospect that you won't have trouble meeting the scholarship expectations at their teaching school. Learn as much as you can about the faculty's own professional achievements, who teaches what, and the details of the department's degree programs. Then the search committee faculty (as I've often been) will believe that you know what you are getting into and are making a rational, well-informed choice.

Just don't assume that you'll be a rare bird as a researcher applying to a teaching school. Your final candidate competitors probably also will share your high-scholarly profile. Not many nests are available these days, so all kinds of birds flock to a position announcement.

Oh, I don't assume that at all. My whole motivation for this thread is precisely to brainstorm how to let them know that I am actually serious about them and would be applying there even in a good market.