mentioning faculty in cover letter

[I wanna be your colleague]

I'm applying to a job at a place where I vaguely know (from conferences mostly and follow up email conversations) a faculty member who would make, for me, a fantastic dream-come-true colleague. I probably know him/her more than s/he knows me, but I am confident that my name will be recognizable. I have been advised not to make informal contact for reasons I agree with.

Is it appropriate to mention them specifically in my cover letter? Like... "It would be exciting (or an honor) to work with Professor X whose work I greatly respect (or who I have had the pleasure of working with on______). This is genuine. I don't want to sound like a brown noser or like I'm blowing smoke up their asses but I'm aware this is a potential risk. Has anyone done this or seen this done while on a search committee?

Your advice is appreciated greatly!

[surprised]

I'll admit, first, that I'm surprised you have been advised not to contact this person. If they at all like you, know who you are, or would like to have you around, it would make sense for them to know that you are applying. If they tell the search committee to 'keep an eye out' for you, this will help.

My personal opinion is that going in the other direction won't work. It seems unlikely to me that members of the search committee will weight your application more heavily because you claim to like the work of someone there, or that they will do something like go ask the person if they know who you are.

[veteran]

Yes, I would definitely mention this person and any other faculty in that department who have influenced your work or with whom you see potential for collaboration. This shows you have researched the department and that you "fit".

I did this for one particular school where my dissertation work was strongly influenced by several of the faculty and I got an interview. N of 1, I know, so take it for what its worth.

[advancedassistant]

I think as long as you drop the "an honor" and "Professor" stuff, that such a note would be reasonably tucked somewhere near the middle or end of the letter. Remember not to write a letter like a grad student; write it like a colleague.

[socdog32]

I guess I could see it working if you said something like, "My research aligns with the department's focus on x, y and z. In particular, I could foresee collaborating with Prof. A and B on x." Overall, I would not do this though. It reminds of too much of letters written for PhD program applications. Just my two cents.

[sharp]

Another worry about naming people is that we don't always know the internal politics of a department. Does everyone generally agree that Professor X is a jerk who shirks their service obligations and is widely despised by their colleagues? Are there factions in the department, with Professor X on one side and the other faction is on the search committee?

[agree]

I agree with the others (including sharp's comment about politics). I'd drop a line to the person that you know and maybe use a question or two as an excuse to contact them. I did this for a position in the past, and although the person was not on the SC, he/she told others about me and got the department really excited about my application (I was told that there was a lot of talk about me). Honestly, when I went for my campus visit, it felt like I already had the job. In a private meeting with a faculty member, I said that I was really nervous because I was so very excited about the job. He/she said something that he/she probably shouldn't have but the comment was, "If you want the job, I'm sure you'll get it." In the end, I got the job offer but ended up taking another offer due to family reasons (opportunities for my spouse). This is a decision that I regretted later but that's another story

[Advise]

I agree about getting in touch vs dropping that one name in your letter. Brown-nosey. Do you have an adviser who knows this person and could informally drop them a line?

[I wanna be your colleague]

Thanks everyone. This is great advice. I asked my advisors about this too and they both said not to do this for reasons echoed here. And 'sharp' - GREAT point about the dept. politics. I like to pretend those don't exist so I often forget about them. Also in the purgatory that is ABD-land, I appreciate the reminder that I am a faculty colleague - NOT a grad student.

'Agree' - thanks for sharing your story about that! Sorry it didn't work out, but I do appreciate this insight.

[unclekarl]

On the flip side, listing a connection with a position may be beneficial, especially for postdocs. For example, I've been successful with saying 'my adviser, X, made me aware of this position, and I am..." I agree that this is probably not best for departmental hires, but sometimes one needs to stand out amidst 40 apps where you want to work with a specific researcher or niche position, and your connections qualify you to better do so.

[guest]

We are aiming to be colleagues, so don't phrase your letter as a grad school app (when brown-nosing is okay because you would be identifying an advisor). I have mentioned potential co-authors in letters, but more in the context of "I share overlapping interests with several faculty members, such as X and Y, so the intellectual community in Department Z is intriguing to me." This calls attention to ways in which your work complements other strengths of the department, but it doesn't sound the same as saying "It would be an honor to work with X," and I wouldn't even impose the idea of co-authoring, because this can easily fall apart if said professor is either not enthusiastic about this or, worse, on his or her way to another department.