When the job ad requests different materials than those on the online application system

Summary:

What to do?

When the job ad requests different materials than those on the online application system

anon301 14 Dec 2016 20:59

Hi:

I am applying for a job for which the ad itself requests a specific list of materials (cover letter, CV, example pubs, list of references). When I signed on to submit my application different materials are requested (teaching & research statement, a list of publications (not actual manuscripts). I'm assuming I go with what is requested on the HR website. There is no contact information to ask. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Re: When the job ad requests different materials than those on the online application system

juniorfaculty 14 Dec 2016 22:13

Make sure you submit a cover letter and a CV no matter what, even if you have to do it in an "extra materials" location of the website. I'd also recommend submitting the teaching & research statements if that is asked for in one of the locations. If the hr website asks for a list of publications and the job ad asks for example publications, perhaps in that "slot" (i.e. if this is online submission) you should make a pdf of 3 example publications and submit that.

Re: When the job ad requests different materials than those on the online application system

anon301 14 Dec 2016 22:25

Thank you!

Re: When the job ad requests different materials than those on the online application system

DocJ 15 Dec 2016 00:56

I encountered similar situations often during my job searches. The worst applications used these cumbersome billion-question systems where you'd need to fill out information going all the way back to high school. My general advice is to fill out everything. Departments usually put the ads together, but the online systems may well be run by HR and have to adhere to specific guidelines beyond the department or even beyond the institution itself. Some state institutions have all sorts of specific requirements mandated on a government level.

Regarding a situation where the file "slots" are inconsistent, I recommend having your cover letter, CV, and teaching statement all as one PDF file. This would be uploaded into the "teaching statement" slot in this case. Add the research statement separate. For the manuscripts, I'd add a list of publications as a document file straight from my CV and would include sample publications after that, again, as one PDF file similar to what juniorfaculty suggested.

Re: When the job ad requests different materials than those on the online application system

Happy in the UK 15 Dec 2016 08:12

Doesn't the ad specify a contact person? If not, I will email the chair of the department or the HR itself. In any case, I will adhere to what is requested in the ad even, as it is suggested here, to add the documents as "extra" material.