Make your Way

A friend directed me to a great post about applying academic positions, and I would highly recommend anyone considering getting into this field to check it out. Gerald Klickstein writes the Musician’s Way Blog which offers many insightful posts about the business of being a musician, practicing, performing and more. I’ve enjoyed reading through the posts this morning. I’ve also added a link to his site to our Blogroll.

Going back to his article, our department conducted a number of searches this past year and I served on a couple of them. We had impressive applicants who submitted great packets with beautifully written cover letters, great CVs and impressive teaching/performing demonstration CDs/DVDs. And I am very excited to have started working with them now.

Having said that, there were also a few applicants whose packets were less than impressive. I will not go into any details, but I will say that when applying for a job ALL of your materials need to be as professionally presented as possible. This includes the cover letter, the CV, and any documentation of your teaching and performing abilities.

The post above offers very clear and concise advice for your materials, take a moment to check it out.