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[anotherjobseeker]

I"ve spent time this week rereading stuff on cover letters and reading new things I hadn't see before.  A common thread seems to be that the cover letter should only be one page long.  I'm having trouble with that.  I need to present my research and publishing, talk about my teaching experience, describe my interest in the courses listed in the job announcement, show how I fit with the mission of the department (and possibly school), show that I'm ready to be a good colleague to other faculty and so forth, and I tried completely rewriting my "standard" cover letter that forms the core of each letter I send, with several changes to fit a particular school.  I got to maybe 1 1/2 pages, but not one page.  That would require cutting out stuff I think is important for them to hear, not least because I've read that on search committees, some people read the cover letter but not the CV, while others read the CV but not the cover letter.  Therefore, I can't assume in my cover letter that the reader will look at my CV, so I highlight my teaching experience and publications.  Is this a bad strategy?  I don't see how you can do this in one page unless you have not published anything nor taught anything. 

    In the corporate world, one model of cover letter consists primarily of bullet points that give specific statements about your accomplishments that should map to the job ad.  Would that work?  It would enable me to get down to one page I guess.

[pollysci]

Two pages is right in my field. I don't know how you could say all the things you need to say in a single page. Three pages is too many; one page is not enough.

[mrchimples]

Two pages is right in my field. I don't know how you could say all the things you need to say in a single page. Three pages is too many; one page is not enough.

Mine is also 2 pages.  I can't imagine cutting it to one and still being able to (a) discuss my research beyond offering a pithy 3-sentence summary and (b) highlight my teaching experience in a manner relevant to the needs of the specific job.

[bosawas]

For multiple-page cover letters (e.g. a two-pager), am I correct in assuming that it's standard to use letterhead for both sheets of paper?  In other words, it would look odd to use letterhead for the first page and blank resumé paper for the second.

[dr_crankypants]

This is field specific.  My understanding is that it's common in certain science fields to have shorter letters.  In most humanities fields, however, the standard is 1.5-2 pages.  This is certainly true in History (my field).  Find out what's common in your field.  I would be surprised to get a one-page application letter in my field. 

Please do not write in bullet points, especially if you're in a field that cares about writing.  Some committee members might not mind, but it would grate on the nerves of others.  Mine for example. 

No, do not use letterhead for both pages.  Letterhead is only for the first page of a letter.  It would look funny to use it for both pages. 

[chemchick]

For multiple-page cover letters (e.g. a two-pager), am I correct in assuming that it's standard to use letterhead for both sheets of paper?  In other words, it would look odd to use letterhead for the first page and blank resumé paper for the second.

I'd like an answer for this too.  Whenever I've gotten correspondence that have been 2 or more pages from departments, letterhead was used for the first page and bond paper for the rest.  Hence that's what I've done.  Am I committing some serious faux pas?

[dr_crankypants]

For multiple-page cover letters (e.g. a two-pager), am I correct in assuming that it's standard to use letterhead for both sheets of paper?  In other words, it would look odd to use letterhead for the first page and blank resumé paper for the second.

I'd like an answer for this too.  Whenever I've gotten correspondence that have been 2 or more pages from departments, letterhead was used for the first page and bond paper for the rest.  Hence that's what I've done.  Am I committing some serious faux pas?

No.  The faux pas is using letterhead for both pages.  Are we going to throw out an application that uses letterhead for both pages?  No.  But it's a waste of letterhead, and it makes you look slightly silly.  You can use the same paper for the second page that you use for your CV. 

[velvetelvis]

another 2 page field here.

[lihtox]

Is physics a one-page field?  I hope so; that's what I've been doing.  (I'm sitting here a little nervous, thinking, "What do you mean, *only* one page?)

[happycamper]

On the student/academic services side, the rule tends to be that your cover letter should be no more than one page when you are applying for your first job in the field.  As your amount of experience increases, and you have more things on from your resume/CV that you may want to expand on, you can let it creep up to 2 pages.

[elskerdk]

Please do not write in bullet points, especially if you're in a field that cares about writing.  Some committee members might not mind, but it would grate on the nerves of others.  Mine for example. 

This is the opposite advice I recieved from my advisor. We were told to have a succinct list at the beginning that addresses what we can offer to that position and then go on to address research, teaching and service.  Now I know everyone differs a bit, but when you say it would grate on your nerves, do you mean you would not keep reading?