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Venting
Aug 18, 2009 11:15:54 GMT -5
Post by Grrrr on Aug 18, 2009 11:15:54 GMT -5
I just spent all of yesterday trying to write a research statement... and I mean ALL DAY! Christ, you think you know yourself and then to not be able to put a couple paragraphs together. Now I'm demoralized and everything I write sounds trite. Maybe I should just join the navy.
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Venting
Aug 18, 2009 12:50:46 GMT -5
Post by grrr too on Aug 18, 2009 12:50:46 GMT -5
i hear you, grrrr! every time i sit down to do anything i am just grrrr and more grrrr! good luck!
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Venting
Aug 24, 2009 17:30:24 GMT -5
Post by anonymous on Aug 24, 2009 17:30:24 GMT -5
Just got a rejection of my first first-authored paper from the top journal in my subfield. One reviewer said I had nothing new to contribute. It got rave reviews at the conference where I presented it. Sigh.
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Venting
Aug 24, 2009 18:32:40 GMT -5
Post by feel that on Aug 24, 2009 18:32:40 GMT -5
I had that happen to me last year actually, right when I was testing the job market waters too. Yeah it hurts...but you will get over it. Chill out for a day, grab a drink or 10, then get back up on the horse.
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Venting
Aug 24, 2009 19:32:54 GMT -5
Post by anonymous on Aug 24, 2009 19:32:54 GMT -5
Thanks feel that. It's easy to go off and think "I have no good ideas--what am I writing a dissertation for anyway..." But my advisor is a co-author and hu is a top dog in our field and would never put hu's name on what hu considered shoddy work, so I know the paper can't be that bad. Still, rejection does sting.
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Venting
Aug 24, 2009 19:37:49 GMT -5
Post by Feel that 2 on Aug 24, 2009 19:37:49 GMT -5
No...review process is not all about good work. Even if it is a top notch article, that only means that chances of it being rejected on first round go to 50% (down from 85% for a bad article, I'd say). Send it on down the chain and don't worry.
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anony
New Member
Posts: 0
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Venting
Aug 24, 2009 20:02:49 GMT -5
Post by anony on Aug 24, 2009 20:02:49 GMT -5
I second that. Rest assured too that good articles usually get cited eventually, no matter where they are placed. Good work eventually sells itself. ;D
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Venting
Aug 26, 2009 11:57:56 GMT -5
Post by anonimal on Aug 26, 2009 11:57:56 GMT -5
On another note, are post-docs applications pissing anyone else off?!? Why do all these goofy post-docs require completely different things?!? Like the Michigan SOF (not a goofy postdoc, but hey). They want a summary of background, past research, and a short description of future research that IS NO MORE THAN ONE PAGE. Then they want another description of future research that is up to 6 pages?!? What the hell is that about? Why can't postdocs just accept job market materials?!? This is cruel.
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Venting
Aug 26, 2009 16:25:44 GMT -5
Post by ahhhhhh on Aug 26, 2009 16:25:44 GMT -5
i have spent 4 days on the same crappy cover letter!!! please tell me that no one reads these!!! and it's soooo freaking long!!!
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Venting
Aug 26, 2009 18:24:07 GMT -5
Post by polisoc on Aug 26, 2009 18:24:07 GMT -5
Hey ahhhhhh, take it easy. Put the cover letter down and step away.
I have heard that some SC members do read the entire cover letter while others skip straight to the cv & research statement. Spend another day on it then send it to someone you trust to read it over.
My cover letter was 3 pages for a while but I realized that I could eliminate some things and I reduced it to just over two pages. I did this but moving some of my research experience/pub info to my research statement.
Good luck!
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anon
New Member
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Venting
Aug 26, 2009 18:33:07 GMT -5
Post by anon on Aug 26, 2009 18:33:07 GMT -5
I've always heard that cover letters for academic jobs should be two pages max and never go onto a third page. What do others say?
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Venting
Aug 26, 2009 18:44:27 GMT -5
Post by ace on Aug 26, 2009 18:44:27 GMT -5
That's what I've been told, too (2 pages max). And contrary to polisoc, I've heard that cover letters are taken very seriously by hiring committees.
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Venting
Aug 26, 2009 19:52:39 GMT -5
Post by polisoc on Aug 26, 2009 19:52:39 GMT -5
Cover letters are very important! I spent about 2-3 weeks on mine to get it just right.
I didn’t mean to imply that they weren’t taken seriously. I was just pointing out what I have heard from some SC members.
Also, I have seen plenty of examples cover letters that were more than two pages.
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anon
New Member
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Venting
Aug 26, 2009 21:39:22 GMT -5
Post by anon on Aug 26, 2009 21:39:22 GMT -5
Cover letters are extremely important as they are your first chance to demonstrate that you are a good fit for the job and that you are interested in this school/department/position.
I think the standard expectation is that cover letters should be 2 pages or less. I don't think it's necessarily bad if you go over that limit, but if you do so it should be for good reason - because you've gone into detail about your fit/knowledge.
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Venting
Aug 26, 2009 23:41:01 GMT -5
Post by ahhhh on Aug 26, 2009 23:41:01 GMT -5
thank you all for the advice/good juju. ugh. going into day 5 tomorrow. feel like i have a decent draft and will get some feedback. my other cover letter (the one i should have just revised!!) was 2.5 pages long and i was told it could be shortened. trying to decide what to cut... oh editing... how i really should be doing all of this on my dissertation instead, right? our department (r1, top 20) tells us it should be about 2 pages, and if you're already an assistant professor or more, 2.5 pages. good luck everyone!
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