Jobs for Philosophers

Advice for Job Applicants

The schedule for those seeking jobs and those Departments offering positions is difficult for all concerned. From the point of view of Departments, any publication date for JFP is a compromise between the competing demands imposed by the need to get funding for positions, so the later the better, and by the need to have time to process applications, so the sooner the better. From the point of view of job applicants, there are also competing demands: the sooner it is published, the more time to apply, but the later it is published the more opportunities will be available. There is no easy solution to this problem, but you can ease your difficulties somewhat by being prepared when JFP is published.

Since there is so little time between even the earliest publication of JFP in the fall and Eastern Division Meetings, you should already be prepared with a clear application for easy review when JFP is published. You should have your curriculum vitae ready to put in an envelope, a generic draft of a letter of application ready to be fine-tuned for particular job opportunities, and the rest of your file ready for mailing. This means talking to those who are to write letters of recommendation long before JFP is due to arrive, preparing material about your teaching capacities, and selecting a writing sample for those Departments that request it. Applications should be complete as well as clearly organized.

It is to your advantage to send in your application as soon as possible after an ad appears.