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www.jobs.ac.uk How to Write a Cover Letter for Academic Jobs
Dear Professor Edwards
I am pleased to attach my CV and application form for the post of Senior
Lecturer in French History as advertised on the jobs.ac.uk website.
For the past five years I have held the post of Lecturer in the department
of French Studies at the University of Northtown, where my research
has focused primarily on Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century French
Atlantic history. I have a particular interest in the history of the Haitian
revolution and have recently developed a new undergraduate module
in Post Colonial Caribbean History in collaboration with the department
of History and the department of Hispanic Studies.
I have published widely in the field of French Atlantic history and society.
My monograph, “Piracy and Revolution in the Lesser Antilles” won the
Leverhulme award and I was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal
Historical Society. My research received outstanding peer reviews
and helped the department attain a 4* rating in the 2008 Research
Assessment Exercise.
Currently I am researching the history of the great planter families
in Tortuga in the early nineteenth century and their links with the
Haitian Revolution, for which I have been awarded a two year grant
from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. My enquiry focuses
on the transition from autocratic and feudal structures to democratic
institutions in the French Atlantic and the cultural barriers to democracy
in pos
t-colonial societies. It examines transatlantic family structures
and their influence on French and Colonial political life. I have been
fortunate to spend a six month sabbatical at the Universite d’Etat d’Haiti
where I was able to conduct primary research with ocials in the Haitian
government and the United Nations. This has resulted in a six month
consultancy project from the Haitian Ministry of Social Justice to advise
on electoral reform.
I believe my research has clear links with your Post Colonial French
History research group and would contribute well to your joint degrees
with the Sociology and History departments, for example your modules
in Nineteenth Century French Caribbean History and Slave Societies
in Eighteenth Century French Colonies.
Having discussed my research interests with Dr Benoit and Dr Ward,
I was impressed by the close integration of research and teaching in
the department. I am passionate about the value of integrating doctoral
research into undergraduate teaching and recently introduced a
programme for PhD students to supervise and mentor undergraduates
during their final year dissertations.
Example cover letter – improved version
8
1: This gets straight to the point and shows
you have already held a similar level
of post.
2: Always give evidence of what you have
achieved in your current and past roles;
especially anything which shows how
you will be able to improve the current
3:
outcomes and to show how you
will improve the standing of the
department/enable the department
to access funding and/or improve
their league table position.
4: This bolsters your academic credentials,
shows you can apply your research and
proves you can generate income.
5: This is based on knowledge of the
more career focus and shows clearly
how you can contribute if they hire you.
6: Evidence that you have bothered to
research the role properly, are seriously
interested and are known to people
the recruiter trusts. If you don’t already
know people in the department, ask
around to see if anyone can introduce
you. Failing that, contact the Institution
and ask if you can discuss the post before
submitting your application.
7: There is actual evidence here of a real
interest and some evidence of initiative
and achievement. It also balances
academic excellence with evidence
of administrative/managerial skill.
I am also impressed by the strength of your e-learning platforms and
believe I can help develop these further. As placement ocer for the
year abroad I extended our e-learning resources to provide support
from Language Assistants to students during their second year
overseas. This received excellent feedback in our departmental
Student Experience Survey.
I currently teach undergraduate modules on French Atlantic History
1790 – 1840 and The Haitian Revolution and its Links to French
Political Life and can also oer both undergraduate and postgraduate
modules on Twentieth Century French Caribbean Politics, Francophone
Slave Literature and French Caribbean Language and Dialects. I currently
supervise three PhD students and have seen two of my PhD students
receive their awards this year.
In addition to my teaching and supervision duties, I serve on the Sta
Student Liaison Group. From 2009 - 2011 I acted as Undergraduate
Admissions Tutor for the department; a period which saw an 8% rise
in applications at a time when applications nationally dipped by 5%.
This was achieved by implementing a new schools outreach programme
and improving communications with prospective students at the
post-oer stage.
As associate editor of the ‘French Atlantic Political Review’ I have
organised a number of conferences. This included a conference on
‘Electoral Reform in the French Caribbean’ in Haiti in April which was
attended by 350 delegates and where I was one of the keynote speakers.
In summary, I believe my relevant expertise in French Atlantic history,
politics and society, my strong research and publications record, my
ability to support the department’s joint degree programmes and my
achievements in integrating research and teaching whilst improving the
student experience make me ideally placed to contribute in this Senior
Lecturer position.
I look forward to the opportunity to discuss my application further at
interview. Please contact me if you would like any further information
in the meantime.
Yours sincerely
8: Anything which ticks boxes in terms
of league table positions is likely
to go down well.
10: Try to include evidence
of success, not just that you
carry something out.
11: More hard evidence of a positive
impact on the department.
12:
to mention one or two recent
examples of your work – the rest
can be found on your CV and/or
discussed at interview.
13: This is a stronger pitch for the job and
answers the question ‘Why should
you hire me?’
14: