University Job Application: A Step-By-Step Guide & Top Tips

Maximise the impact of your university job application even if you don't have a publishing or teaching experience.

Applying for a university job can be stressful and take a lot of time. The academic job market has become competitive and PhD graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to secure permanent academic positions.

What can also make applying for a university job difficult is the process of actually designing a job application. Here is why. Most of the advice you can find on the Internet on how to apply for jobs, how to write CVs and cover letters, does not apply to university jobs.

University job applications are different from other kinds of job applications in that they need to follow a specific formula. There are certain expectations at universities about how a proper university job application should look like.

And if your application does not meet those expectations, you will make the impression that you don’t fully understand the nature of a university job.

On the other hand, if your university job application demonstrates that you understand the rules, you will at least have a chance that your application will be fully considered and not rejected straight away.

Here is some good news: Every day there are new university jobs advertised and every day someone is successful in securing them.

"The purpose of this programme is to help you to become successful in applying for a university job."

The way I am going to do it is I am going to explain, in great detail, the exact formula for designing a university job application for maximum impact.

Yes, there is a formula for creating a university job application the right way. What does it mean 'the right way'? It simply means in the way which meets the expectations of the university selection panel.

What You Will Get in This Course

Inside you will learn:

How to properly read a university job advert.
How to use Job Description and Person Specification to your maximum advantage.
The exact formula for writing the cover letter for your university job application.
What and how to write in each section of your cover letter for maximum impact.
How long your cover letter should be.
What key questions should the introduction to your cover letter answer.
How to write about your research agenda if you don't have any academic publications yet.
How to paint a compelling story about your research that will get the selection panel interested.
How to explain your teaching philosophy even if you don't have yet a teaching experience.
Specific teaching strategies which will immediately signal that you know the subject of higher education teaching.
Where to quickly find information on more university teaching strategies.
What phrases NOT to use in your cover letter.
10 tips for making your cover letter stand out.
How an academic CV is different from a non-academic CV.
How to structure your CV the exact way that is expected by the selection panel.
How to tailor your CV to the specific job you apply for.
What to do if you have applied for research funding in the past but were unsuccessful.
9 tips for making your academic CV stand out.
How to complete a university job application form and what to be careful about.
About the Course Leader

I'm Kamil Zwolski, PhD. I have over 10 years’ experience of working at higher education institutions. I worked part-time at universities in Manchester and London, before securing a permanent post at the University of Southampton, which is in the top 1% of universities worldwide.

The beginnings were tough. My first teaching job was at the university where I was doing my PhD. Then I got a visiting lectureship at an American university, which had a campus in London, while I was still living in Manchester.

As I was doing those jobs, I kept submitting applications to get a permanent, full-time university post. Overall, it took me over 70 applications to get one eventually.

I’ve also learned a lot in the process, and my applications were improving over time. Over the years of working at a university, I’ve also gained experience of being on the other side of job applications.

As a member of selection panels, I have learned how a university job application should look like from the university perspective. Because of this experience, I believe that I am in a very good position to help you with your university job application.