Are you thinking that there is a set of rules you can follow that will get you a job?

• lay out the CV in a specific way
• have a certain number of publications
• in certain journals

When you think about applying for jobs outside of academia, do you wonder what their rules are?

What if there are no rules?

I prefer to work on principles. I accept that there will be conventions, and that following those conventions makes it easier for hiring committees.

But what happens if we focus on principles instead of rules? From this point forward I am talking about both academic and non-academic employers.

What will you contribute to the success of the organization?

This is the primary question every person or committee who has ever hired anyone is trying to answer.

As with any other writing you do, audience matters. The people doing the hiring are the audience for your job application materials. They need to be written in such a way that they can find the information they need to answer this question.

They get to define what counts as success. And what they think will make a contribution.

There may be differences of opinion within the organization, and even within the hiring committee. The process may need to address competing criteria which can have odd outcomes.

They may also value some contributions more highly than others.

For example, universities need people to teach and want the teaching to be good enough to attract and retain good students. But many of them value research and the contribution it makes to the prestige of the institution more highly.

What Do You Have to Offer?

Before you can put together a CV/résumé or write a cover letter you need to know what you want to say. Only then can you decide which parts of that are relevant to this position, and which to highlight (through placement, extra detail, etc.)

Ask yourself seriously why you think you would be good at this job.

• have you done similar things in the past? when? what did you achieve?
• have you done relevant things as part of your education? where exactly?
• do you hold relevant qualifications? especially those required to practice in a particular occupation?

When you start to do this analysis don’t worry to much about what they would think is relevant experience or knowledge. Start with what you have done that you think is relevant.

Don’t limit your exploration to only certain things you’ve done, either. Volunteer work, part time work, work in a different sector … all count if there is relevant experience.

You have to make the connections

The main problem with the rules based approach to job applications is that it usually requires the people doing the hiring to do a lot of work to figure out why you’ve listed the things you have listed. It is particularly detrimental for applicants who are changing sectors or occupations.

Take your list of what you have to offer and match it up to what this particular employer is looking for.

Is your experience typical for this employer? If so, just list it with the necessary details of how long you worked there, etc.

If not, spell out exactly what you did in terms that make sense in the potential employer’s context.

For example, if you are applying for a job in a university “teaching” will be reasonably well understood (though you might want to explicitly mention any innovative methods/results). Outside of a university, most people only understand teaching based on their experience being taught. They don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. You may need to explain that you managed 4 TAs (and what that involved) or make the link between that 4th year seminar class and “facilitating discussion groups” or whatever.

Organize your CV/résumé under headings that make sense for this position/employer. Order those sections so the most important stuff is first.

For an academic job, that might mean putting your research experience (i.e. publications) before your teaching experience for jobs where research is valued more highly.

Do not stretch the truth. Explain at the appropriate level of detail in language that the audience is familiar with. Check your descriptions with someone who works in the organization or sector to which you are applying.

I can help

If this all sounds daunting, you are not alone. Applying for jobs is hard. It involves a lot more work than you think it does.

I can help you articulate what you have to offer and what you want in a career. And help you figure out how to find out what jobs might be a good fit for you. You are doing this work with others in a similar situation, which provides support and encouragement as you figure this stuff out.

Contact me to find out about my Wayfinding courses and how I can help you create your best application.