Graduate Job Outcomes

Building a dossier

In most job advertisements, the term “dossier” refers simply to confidential letters of recommendation written by your professors (when you are just graduating) and eventually by other colleagues in your field (people who know your work and/or have observed your teaching). Graduate students applying for their first academic jobs should have letters from their dissertation/thesis director or primary advisor, members of their committee who have worked closely with them, and at least one letter focused on teaching by someone other than the dissertation/thesis director or primary advisor.

Alumni returning to the job market after having held at least one academic position will want to have as few letters as possible from their original graduate school professors and advisors. Letters should come from colleagues in the field (including those at their current institution), if possible from those who are widely recognized. Anyone returning to the market should try to request updated letters wherever possible, even if it’s just to get the recommender to change the year’s date. In general, letters in the dossier should certainly never be more than a year old.

It’s a good idea to give your recommenders plenty of notice when asking for a new letter or an update of an existing letter.

Managing Your Dossier

The UIC Department of English uses an online service called Interfolio, allowing you to store materials including but not limited to transcripts, writing samples, resumes/CVs, and teaching evaluations.

The only job material an account holder cannot upload or view on his or her own is a confidential letter of recommendation. Signed official hard copies of letters of recommendation should be submitted to the Office of Graduate studies, c/o the Graduate Studies Program Coordinator. Once approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, a letter is uploaded within two business days.

To set up an account to manage your dossier, you should contact the Graduate Studies Program Coordinator to receive instructions and a special code. The promotional discount is valid for five years from the time of sign-up.

Attached is a useful guide to Using Interfolio.

Sample Job Materials

If you are a current UIC student and would like access to our Box file of sample job materials, email the Graduate Studies Program Coordinator.

Where to apply for jobs

There are a number of places to look for academic jobs. Visiting or tenure-track teaching/research positions at 4-year colleges and universities will usually emphasize research and publication in addition to teaching (teaching loads will often be 2-2, 3-2, or 3-3).

Teaching and administrative positions (tenure and non-tenure-track) at junior, community and some 4-year colleges will often emphasize teaching or administrative duties over research (administrative jobs may be 9-5, teaching jobs may involve higher course loads — 4-3, 4-4 or more).

Postdoctoral fellowships are usually 1- or 2-year positions that involve a comparatively low teaching load and encourage the pursuit of research and publication. Applicants for these positions tend to be in the first year or two out of graduate school.

Use the links below according to the type of position you are seeking:

Key Job Lists

• The MLA Job Information List (JIL). Listings for literature, creative writing, and rhet/comp jobs starting in the 3rd week of September.You may access the list through a nonmember account or become a graduate student member of the MLA at a discounted rate.
• AWP (Associated Writing Programs) Career Center. Subscription required; inquire with the Program for Writers for a print list.
• NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English). Classifieds for English ed and rhet/comp jobs
• Vitae (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

MLA
January 3-6, 2019, Chicago, IL

AWP
March 27-30, 2019, Portland, OR

CCCC (Conference on College Composition and Communication, aka Four C’s)
March 13-16, 2019, Pittsburgh, PA

Our graduate students on the job market for academic teaching/research position use an online credentials management service called Interfolio to handle their dossiers.

For UIC Faculty on Campus

If you are on the faculty at UIC and on campus, and you have been asked by one of our graduate students to write a letter of recommendation for a job search, you can in most cases simply print and sign your letter and drop it off with the Graduate Program Coordinator in Room 2002 UH. The department will take care of getting the letter to Interfolio. Students applying for a very small number of jobs or for special fellowships or awards may ask that you send the letter directly to the institution requesting it. In this case you can enclose the letter in department envelope with address provided by the student and drop it off in the outgoing mail basket in the main office (2027 UH). If you have questions, please email the Director of Graduate Studies.

For UIC Faculty Away From Campus and Faculty at Other Institutions

If you are away from campus or teach at another institution, and you have been asked for a job letter by one of our graduate students, you should simply follow the instructions on the Interfolio waiver form that you should have received from the student. Be sure to include the form with your letter when you mail or fax it. Students applying for a very small number of jobs or for special fellowships or awards may ask that you send the letter directly to the institution requesting it. In such cases simply mail using the address(es) provided by the student.