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[songsofexperience]

I am a US Ph.D. applying for positions in the UK (I grew up here and my family is here). I'm used to the US system and am finding myself frustrated by what I am currently filling out. I've read the threads on CVs, person specifications etc but I feel as though I am expected to provide the same information 3 times. For example, the current application asks for the application form which has a section for stating how you meet the person specification but also a section asking why I want the job and what I can bring to the position. This seems to me where I might put a lot of the stuff I put in a typical cover letter. BUT . . . the method of application calls for a separate letter in which I should outline relevant qualifications, experience, detailed research plans and how I meet the criteria set out in the person specification.

So again, I feel as though I'm providing the same info 3 times. Should the letter be short and to the point, while the "why do you want it and what can you bring to it" section be more detailed??

I can't believe how much time this takes!

In addition . . . I am currently in the UK visiting family. One place I am applying to has said they might be able to meet with me before I return (which would be about 2 weeks before their scheduled interview date). Should I mention in my applications to the others that I am currently here and can meet with them? Should I drop them a line before I submit the application to say I am here and plan on applying and do they have time to meet with me before I return to the US?

Thanks.

[babbinacara]

You do know the answer to this; if they say "jump", you jump (no, do not stop to ask "how high?").
If they ask for stuff 3X, you give them stuff 3X.
I'd be inclined to bullet-point any HR application form, which I usually back-burner/ignore when reading apps as an SC member. Put everything into an eloquent and convincing letter.

Do let them know that you are in the UK now, but do not ask to meet, just put a line or two near the end of your cover letter saying something like: "If I were to be called for interview, I am currently in the UK until x/x/xxxx and am available on this tel and email; from y/x/xxxx I will be in the US and available on that tel and email."

[august_leo]

I would just put at the letter "I will be in the UK until [date] and can be reached at [local number]. After [date] I can be reached at [US number]" and they will figure it out.

I pasted my US research statement into the application form when I applied for the UK position I now hold. They (secretly?) love paperwork here.

[songsofexperience]

Thanks for the advice. In terms of the application, I have bullet-pointed the ways in which I fit the person specification but read on another thread that the cover letter should be no more than one page. My typical US cover letter is about a page and a half. Thoughts? Right now, the cover letter is short and to the point and the "why do you want this job and what can you bring to it" section is longer and more detailed.

[scotia]

They (secretly?) love paperwork here.

Who is this 'they' of which you speak?!

In terms of repetition, I think the person specification on the and "what I would bring to the job/why I want the job"  are two different things. I would use the person specification to show how I match the essential/desirable criteria, and the second part to demonstrate that I have other attributes that they may not have considered and to show why I am keen to move to that particular institution. My cover letter tends to brevity, and merely draws the committee's attention to the highlights (I like to imagine there are some) in my application.

When I am involved in recruitment I am the opposite of babbinacara; I tend to skim the cover letter and read the application form more carefully, not least because it tends to provide the information I am looking for in a more standardized format. 

[qrypt]

They (secretly?) love paperwork here.

Who is this 'they' of which you speak?!

HR cretins, naturally!

We have now moved to one of these schmancy on-line application systems that drives candidates nuts.  Turns out it drives hiring panel members nuts as well: I've stopped agreeing to sit on panels because it's such a pain in the ass to get the applications -- HR no longer sends copies, we're meant to go in and download/print everything, and it all comes in little bits accessible only via multiple clicks and print commands.  No thanks!

[scotia]

They (secretly?) love paperwork here.

Who is this 'they' of which you speak?!

HR cretins, naturally!

We have now moved to one of these schmancy on-line application systems that drives candidates nuts.  Turns out it drives hiring panel members nuts as well: I've stopped agreeing to sit on panels because it's such a pain in the ass to get the applications -- HR no longer sends copies, we're meant to go in and download/print everything, and it all comes in little bits accessible only via multiple clicks and print commands.  No thanks!

Did you not know that having lots of individual academics who could be teaching/researching/doing something that adds value to human existence instead spending hours downloading applications is so much more efficient than having an HR drone print everything out once and pass it through a photocopier to get multiple copies?

I had better not get started on efficiency initiatives in universities........

[taltalim]

In terms of the application, I have bullet-pointed the ways in which I fit the person specification but read on another thread that the cover letter should be no more than one page. My typical US cover letter is about a page and a half. Thoughts? Right now, the cover letter is short and to the point and the "why do you want this job and what can you bring to it" section is longer and more detailed.

I just got back from a cv/interview training workshop offered by my (British) university's career development center and learned there that two pages are absolutely acceptable for applications in the UK.
FWIW, I landed my current position with a three pages cover letter.

Oh, and these on-line application forms are lovely, aren't they? The good news is that once you have landed a position in the UK you will fill out zillions of similar forms 'til the end of your career/life--or so it seems to me.

[normative_]

They (secretly?) love paperwork here.

Who is this 'they' of which you speak?!

HR cretins, naturally!

We have now moved to one of these schmancy on-line application systems that drives candidates nuts.  Turns out it drives hiring panel members nuts as well: I've stopped agreeing to sit on panels because it's such a pain in the ass to get the applications -- HR no longer sends copies, we're meant to go in and download/print everything, and it all comes in little bits accessible only via multiple clicks and print commands.  No thanks!

Did you not know that having lots of individual academics who could be teaching/researching/doing something that adds value to human existence instead spending hours downloading applications is so much more efficient than having an HR drone print everything out once and pass it through a photocopier to get multiple copies?

I had better not get started on efficiency initiatives in universities........

Unless applying requires sending 6 copies of the application form and of your CV and of your cover letter without any online procedure. Yes, I'm looking at you, LSE.