Jobs applied for: 1
Body parts being kept crossed: everything available!
Hours spent trying to fill in the application form: too many to mention.
With the unseasonable weather we are having here in the UK, it seems a shame to be stuck indoors and not outside doing something healthy, but I have had a job application to fill in (again!) The prospect of having to try to shoe-horn my portfolio career into a standardized form is always a daunting one.
For example, the section entitled ‘current employment’ clearly is designed for one simple, compact employer, job title and description of role. Impossible: I have four current paid jobs (three of which are directly relevant to the job in question) and numerous unpaid CV-builder type positions which need to be mentioned somewhere. Academia is not a tidy career progression, well, not until you get your first permanent job anyway.
What do you think about the changes in the ways you apply for academic positions? Do you think these changes are for the better or worse? Are there any alternatives when some positions have hundreds of applicants?
I totally agree Catherine! Its time Universities looked at their forms and procedures to help us apply – im sure in the end it would benefit them to get the best applicants applying and be easier to read…