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[distantstar]

I was (not yet officially) re-appointed in a  VAP I've been in for several years. I would like, however, to apply to VAP jobs (some in the area) that are either more research oriented or with better terms. Should I ask my current chair for a letter of rec or just use others that are much older?

Should I even mention to chair I'm applying? It is awkward if I do (in their interest that I remain in current VAP) and awkward if I don't when/if they find out.

This would be a clearer "yes" for TT jobs, but seems not as clear in this case; there are very few TT and VAP jobs currently open in this year of the downturn.

[watermarkup]

I think you should ask, because it might be your only option. And I think your chair should enthusiastically agree. Chairs who won't support non-TT faculty in their search for better employment failures as human beings.

That's what I think, at least. Only you can know if it's actually a good idea in real life, or if there's another senior colleague you can ask instead.

[systeme_d_]

You definitely will need a letter from your chair.

Surely your chair does not think you want to stay in that VAP position forever.

As much as losing a good VAP stinks, everyone wants their VAPs to succeed - no matter how they define success.  If another VAP is a better gig for you, then your chair should be happy to write.

[distantstar]

Thanks for your responses. Both posts are helpful. It also raises another question of who your rec letters should be from --graduate school advisors if you have been out of grad school quite a few years -- or current colleagues, or colleagues which you have established relationships with over the years who are more senior.

Also, should you tailor your recs to a particular position --ie someone you think might have more resonance with a particular SC

I'd be interested to hear what people think.

[seniorscholar]

Think about the purpose of your letters. What is important to the sort of jobs you'll be applying to? Try to cover the field.

Your chair is necessary so the SC will see that your current department is not getting rid of you because of failure to meet classes, or being a lousy colleague, etc.

You need someone who can write about your teaching ability. Is there anyone in your current job who visits classes or supervises adjuncts or reads over student evaluations? If you have some time for planning, ask someone fairly senior to visit a class, look at your teaching materials, and write a letter about your teaching.

If you are applying to schools where research and publication are important, you need a letter about your scholarship. Generally I think a search committee expects to hear from your dissertation supervisor until the time that you have a few decent publications, at which point some other person who knows your work and is respected in the scholarly field will perhaps be better.

In any case, letters with a date more than two years ago are often ignored by a search committee. And, if you're applying to many places, it's probably better in most cases to use a dossier service such as interfolio rather than asking people to write "tailored" letters to a number of schools. Some forum members will "tailor" a letter to the extent of inserting the inside address themselves -- but I suspect that many of them are either in fields where people apply to a handful of jobs, not dozens, or at schools with enough secretarial staff that the faculty member doesn't have to do the work themselves.

People who have, say, some professional (non-academic) experience that is important to some academic jobs but not others, or who have other letters they would use for some applications but not all (I'm thinking of a person active in a religious denomination who had one letter sent only to schools of that denomination) can use interfolio, get four letters written and notify interfolio to send which three they choose for each job that requests letters with the application (or later, which is when some schools ask for them).

And all letters must come from a placement service, from interfolio, or direct from the writer of the letter -- there must be no suspicion, for most jobs, that you have seen and sent the letters yourself.

[distantstar]

Thanks again --helpful information when it comes to applying.