1. You should do this in the early fall of your job-seeking year. You will already have a cv, of course, but a job market cv is a deluxe version that focuses on every detail. 
2. Consult the DPPD for advice. You should also show your cv to your adviser, and avail yourself of models that you may locate online or in books like The Academic Job Search Handbook, available from UPenn Press.

2. Create a Dossier of Recommendations

1. Open an account at Interfolio.com.  
2. You need at least four recommendations to go on the market, but it’s better to have six or even seven. One of these must be from your adviser, and at least one must focus on your teaching skills.   
3. There is a set of general instructions on BB that describe how to solicit recommendations in a professional way. Read and follow them.  
4. It’s a good idea to solicit more recommendations than you’ll actually need. Not all of them will be equally persuasive, and different schools represent different audiences: you may not want to send the same group of letters to each one. 
5. If you waive your right of access to your letters, make sure that someone you trust (such as your adviser and/or the DPPD) reads your complete dossier and evaluates the letters for you.  
6. Your letters will be sent out in the order you specify. Your adviser or the DPPD can help you arrive at a good sequence for the letters in the folder.

1. Identify the parts of your dissertation that will serve as your writing sample and (in the hopeful event that you advance further) your job talk. 
2. Start polishing them.  
3. For job talks, be sure to revise your written work for a live presentation audience.  
4. Your adviser is your main contact person for this task; the DPPD is second.

4. Have a Professional Email Address 

1. A professional email address includes your last name (first is optional), and eschews rhetorical flourishes.

5. Get Informed

1. Start reading the career pages and online forums at the Chronicle of Higher Education, if you aren’t already doing so. Read relevant articles at
2. Being aware of and able to talk about the professional world you are entering can only have a positive impact on your candidacy. 

6. Prepare a Professional Interview Outfit

1. Make sure that you have sharp interviewing clothes.  
2. The interview is not a place to display your edgy fashion sense. Members of your committee are likely to be more conservative than you are (it goes with age). For example, men should wear a suit or a jacket and tie.

7. Write Your Cover Letter

1. This is a time-consuming job. Expect to do multiple drafts under the watchful eyes of your adviser and the DPPD. 
2. A good cover letter speaks in your voice as it describes your scholarship, teaching, and collegial presence in clear and specific language. 
3. It should be adjustable to meet the needs of different audiences. For example, the English department hiring committee at a research university will want to see a full-blown description of your scholarship, while a community college committee would recoil from such a presentation. In order to apply effectively to a community college or some other teaching-oriented institution, you’ll want to use a description of your teaching as a way into your research, not the other way around.  
4. Remember: you will be competing against many other applicants. Don’t write defensively—that is, to avoid being eliminated. Instead, write to stand out: to make the reader want to hire you.
5. The department keeps a file of effective job letters; ask the graduate administrator to see them.

8. Write Your Research Abstract

1. Many institutions will require a research abstract, essentially a concise description of your dissertation.  
2. It should be two to four pages in length, single-spaced, and should introduce your argument, describe the contribution it makes to your field, and summarize the main claims of each chapter.
3. Be sure to write in clear, specific, jargon-free prose to an audience of generalists, most of whom will have little to no experience with the concerns of your field.  
4. Don’t repeat any phrases or descriptions from your job letter. Finding new ways to explain your dissertation demonstrates a strong command of your argument and makes your work seem more compelling. 
5. Like the job letter, expect to do multiple drafts and seek feedback from multiple readers.

9. Write Your Teaching Philosophy

1. Some institutions also ask for a statement of your teaching philosophy as part of the job application.
2. If you find yourself needing to write one, you’ll find first of all that you did some of the necessary work when you wrote the teaching section of your cover letter, so you can work off that. But again be sure not to repeat phrases or descriptions. Each document should be unique. 
3. Your main goal is to avoid having your teaching philosophy read like a response to an exercise. Use the opportunity you’re being offered to present a vital teacherly version of yourself.

You’ve now got dossier, cv, abstract, and cover letter in hand, and you’ve selected your writing sample. You’re now ready to apply.

10. Reading the Job Lists

1. Jobs are advertised all year round, but the majority of them are posted in the fall, usually beginning in early October.  
2. The online MLA Job Information List (JIL) is your primary source of information. The department subscribes to it; get the necessary access information from the Graduate Administrator. Also, look at the classified listings in the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Education (insidehighered.com).
3. Read the lists thoroughly and the job descriptions carefully.

11. Identify the Jobs You Will Apply To.

1. There are good reasons to cast your net as wide as you reasonably can. First, you can never count on getting any particular job. Second, you cannot always know which jobs you don’t want. After meeting the faculty at MLA or visiting the campus, you might be pleasantly surprised. If you’re not, you’ll never be asked to take a job you don’t want. 
2. Make a list of openings that interest you and show it to your adviser and other members of your committee. If they know people at certain schools you’re applying to, they can write informal emails in your support. Also, show your list to the DPPD.

12. Reserve a Hotel Room at MLA

1. This requires a $100 deposit, refundable up to a week before the event. 
2. Do this as soon as they permit, as hotels fill up. MLA room rates tend to be quite reasonable.

13. Send Your Applications

1. Though the deadlines will vary from November 1 to November 15, it’s easiest simply to send them all out at once. 
2. Different schools will request different combinations of your materials (for example, some may ask for recommendations or a research abstract up front), but most will start by asking for a letter and your cv.  
3. Be sure to meet the deadlines. If your application is late, you might not be considered.  
4. Also, be sure that you stuff your envelopes properly. No school will be impressed to open an envelope and find a letter addressed to someone else.

Check your email frequently. If you make the first cut, you will be asked to:

14. Send More Information, As Requested

1. If your cover letter and cv pass muster and suggest a good fit, interested institutions will ask for more, usually recommendations, an abstract, and a writing sample. 
2. Consult with your adviser and the DPPD if you have any questions about how to respond to these requests. (Sometimes complying with writing sample page limits requires some strategizing.) 
3. Be sure to reply promptly. A hiring committee can’t read what it doesn’t have, and its business of evaluating applications must move forward regardless.

15. Schedule an Interview

1. Interviews usually take place at MLA. 
2. If a school wants to interview you, the chair or hiring committee head will usually contact you between December 5th and December 20th (though requests have been known to come before and afterwards).
3. Check your email and phone answering machine frequently and respond to these requests as quickly as you can, so that you can get a time slot that’s convenient for you.
4. If you have more than one interview, be sure to give yourself plenty of time between them for recuperation. 
5. Keep your adviser and the DPPD informed of any interview requests you get.

16. Do Your Homework

1. Learn everything you can about the school by studying its website. It is important to become familiar with both the English department and the general institutional philosophy and outlook. 
2. Find out who will be interviewing you, and what their specialties are. (It's perfectly OK to ask for the committee make-up when you receive the call or email notifying you that you’ve been selected to interview. If you miss the first opportunity, call the department secretary and ask him or her.) Knowing who you’ll be talking to may help you to anticipate certain questions you may be asked. 
3. Think about how you might fit into the department; the department will be thinking about the same thing.

17. Prepare for the Interview

1. The DPPD often schedules interview advicepanels in November or December. 
2. The DPPD will organize mock interviews for  job seekers in December. You don’t need to have an official interview scheduled to sign up for a mock interview—do it if you’re ready for the practice. 
3. Mock interviews are full dress rehearsals, with cv and cover letter submitted beforehand, and a dressed-up candidate appearing at the door at an appointed time to be interviewed by a committee. Use the experience and the advice it will generate.

18. The Callback Interview

1. This is an on-campus visit, usually spread out over two days near the beginning of the spring term. You’ll be asked to meet department members, deans, other administrators, and usually students as well. You will be asked to give a job talk, and perhaps to teach a class. 
2. When and if you get this far, you should consult in depth with your adviser and the DPPD. You will need to polish different facets of your professional self for display to different schools; your adviser and the DPPD will help you identify which ones, and prepare you generally. 
3. Make sure that you bring spare copies of your cv and writing sample to the campus visit.
4. After the callback interview, be patient. It can often take a department several weeks or more to make a hiring decision, and delays can be due to any number of causes—it doesn’t help to wonder. Sit tight and hope for good news, which would be:

19. A Job Offer

1. The happy outcome of this long process. First, congratulate yourself; then alert both your advisor and the DPPD. 
2. Normally, the terms of employment (salary; course load; travel, research, and computer budget; and leave time) will be part of the formal offer. 
3. If you have more than one offer to consider, be sure to consult your advisor and/or the DPPD as you weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each.

20. The Spring Job Search.

1. Remember that not all jobs are offered in the fall. Many excellent positions appear off-season (perhaps because a budget authorization was late in coming, or for other mundane reasons).
2. These positions usually generate smaller applicant pools than fall positions. 
3. You should also consider applying for external postdocs or one-year positions, which are also offered at this time.

21. Remember the Reality

1. Not all academic job searches are successful, and some require more than one year. This caution relates to the mental preparation that is the first necessity of the process. 
2. If you do your best attend to the details of your applications with care, you’ll be ready to assess your performance afterwards (with the help of your adviser and the DPPD) and ready yourself for another round if you wish. 
3. Remember: departments are not looking for the mythical Best Candidate. Rather, they are looking for the best candidate for them. For a job seeker, the job that fits doesn’t always appear the first year. 
4. That’s why you need to prepare mentally for the long haul.