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[airball]

Hi All,

I'm in the midst of applying for jobs, including one posted at the beginning of November with a "review of applications will begin immediately" deadline. As I was customizing my cover letter, my child was hospitalized with H1N1-related pneumonia and we had a scary, scary time of it. Needless to say, school (and everything else) took a back seat until he recovered, and I returned to a mountain of papers and midterms, with the cover letter sitting on the back burner.

This week I mailed my application, and it will arrive today. But according to the wiki the committee has already requested additional materials. Do I write to the SC to ensure my application gets the committee's full attention? I don't want to sound like a whiner, but I also want the job.

Niggling problem, I know...

Thanks,

airball

[lorelei]

Will your whole dossier arrive together, or are there LoRs that will be dribbling in over the next month?

I think you may be SOL if they've had their first shortlisting meeting, but an email along the lines of "I only just saw your ad, and hope it isn't too late to be considered, my application will be with you tomorrow". I don't think there's much more you can do, and if you're spectafabulous, you may still be in with a shot.

I'm not sure I'd mention the child's illness part of the narrative. I'm not saying it's up there with dead grandmothers, but you run the risk of sounding like "one of those people" who always has some domestic emergency that stops them from keeping deadlines. I could be wrong, perhaps the SCC will be sympathetic. I don't know.

[airball]

Will your whole dossier arrive together, or are there LoRs that will be dribbling in over the next month?

I think you may be SOL if they've had their first shortlisting meeting, but an email along the lines of "I only just saw your ad, and hope it isn't too late to be considered, my application will be with you tomorrow". I don't think there's much more you can do, and if you're spectafabulous, you may still be in with a shot.

I'm not sure I'd mention the child's illness part of the narrative. I'm not saying it's up there with dead grandmothers, but you run the risk of sounding like "one of those people" who always has some domestic emergency that stops them from keeping deadlines. I could be wrong, perhaps the SCC will be sympathetic. I don't know.

Everything should arrive today, so no dribbling.

It was including a narrative that made me nervous. I know it's true, but I also know how it sounds. Pretty much any explanation makes me seem like I'm whiny or unable to use the internet (even, "I just saw your ad"), so maybe I'll just let it go...

sigh.

airball

[nocalprof]

If you were applying to our science department here at a lower-tier R1, we would consider your application even if it was late.  If you're good, you're good, and it's not hard to ask your references for letters.  People do field work, travel, overseas sabbaticals, do all sorts of things, and our searches are never done until a candidate signs a letter to our dean making a commitment.

[lorelei]

Are you already in a job? How about "I haven't been on the market [or something like that] but then a friend emailed me your ad and I thought the opportunity too good to pass up!" (If you haven't been "looking" then that explains only seeing the ad late...)

[sugaree]

I would not attempt to explain anything. It will come across as potentially whiny (or at the very least, "I'm special") and if the SC did not specify a distinct deadline, but rather relied on a "review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled" type line, then your ap may or may not be considered, but I would think that yes, it will.

If you missed a specific deadline, you're probably out of luck and nothing you can say will change that.

[ruralguy]

You might as well submit, but I would just say a family medical emergency involving your child prevented
you from submitting in a timely manner. Don't mention H1N1.

Expect half the SC to sympathize, and the other half to say "...well, he should have been prepared in advance for exactly that sort of problem"

Of course, if they already shortlisted, you mgiht be SOL, but if you are really good, maybe not.

And maybe some SC members really want a guy who cares about his kids.

I say, do it, but tread carefully.

[harsh_critic]

Whatever you do, don't lie about it. If the SC catches you in a lie, you lose all credibility and any hope of a job with the school. Even a 'white lie'.

Either briefly mention the true reason, or keep silent. Let the cards fall where they may.

[tee_bee]

You might as well submit, but I would just say a family medical emergency involving your child prevented
you from submitting in a timely manner. Don't mention H1N1.

No. This is snowflaky, and sounds like an excuse. I am sorry, but having served on SCs, I don't care why an application comes in late after a soft deadline. And given that it wasn't a hard deadline, you might say "if you are still considering applications, I'd appreciate your consideration."  Again, if you're a highly desirable candidate, you'll get a look.

[t_r_b]

You might as well submit, but I would just say a family medical emergency involving your child prevented
you from submitting in a timely manner. Don't mention H1N1.

No. This is snowflaky, and sounds like an excuse.

Agreed. I don't care why my students miss class, and I don't care why job applicants miss application deadlines. Same principle applies: I evaluate you based on the quality of your work, not the quality of your excuses.

In this case, it sounds like there wasn't even a deadline: they started reviewing applications immediately, and for all you know they are still reviewing them. You doubt that only because of a post on the wiki about a request for more materials, but that is no reason to conclude that your application won't be considered. Either of the following is a plausible alternative explanation:

1. The wiki post is erroneous and/or lying (consider the source, after all).
2. Since the committee started reviewing applications immediately, they are requesting additional materials application by application. Many SCs read all the applications first and then make the first cut before asking for stuff, but not all, and an SC that doesn't post a specific deadline is especially likely to ask for more stuff before all the applications are in.

[geonerd]

If there was no deadline given in the add then you are not late.  I wouldn't worry about it. On a previous thread someone made the comment that the SC will appreciate a really good application no matter when it arrives.  Good luck.