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Author Topic: protocol for confirming receipt of application materials  (Read 1054 times)
highed2012
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« on: January 31, 2012, 05:00:56 PM »

What is the protocol for following up to confirm receipt of application materials? I sent application materials last week. I have emailed the contact this week but have not had a response.

How long should I wait before trying to contact them again? Should I not try again? I know, I am impatient.

There is a fine line between confirming to make sure everything was received and is in place and being a nuisance. I have been on search committees at my current institution before and understand how that goes too.

Thanks for any advice.
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dalekk
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« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2012, 05:47:43 PM »

I have never, and would never, confirm receipt of application.  Unless there were some spectacular circumstances that you're leaving out, don't do it, imo.
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wmr333
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« Reply #2 on: January 31, 2012, 05:48:18 PM »

Do not contact them again.  I know that it is difficult to wait, but you are being a nuisance.  If you have no reason to believe that the application was lost, then wait.  They will not forget to contact you if they are interested.

Best of luck.
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litdawg
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« Reply #3 on: January 31, 2012, 06:08:27 PM »

What is the protocol for following up to confirm receipt of application materials? I sent application materials last week. I have emailed the contact this week but have not had a response.

How long should I wait before trying to contact them again? Should I not try again? I know, I am impatient.

There is a fine line between confirming to make sure everything was received and is in place and being a nuisance. I have been on search committees at my current institution before and understand how that goes too.

Thanks for any advice.

A fine line? Seems like a vast demilitarized zone to me. Shell out for a delivery method that provides delivery confirmation or just think positive thoughts. Of course, if you are in a field where employers are lucky to get more than a handful of applicants, then maybe the administrative support personnel will have time to correspond with applicants desiring personal attention to confirm receipt of materials. We had a relatively small search this year--about 250 applications--and our confirmation letters went out in batches a month or so after applications were received.
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systeme_d_
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« Reply #4 on: January 31, 2012, 06:11:39 PM »

Leave the SC alone.

If your application is incomplete and they are very interested in you, they will contact you.

If not receiving an "application received" notification bothers you, send everything via USPS or FedEx with a signature required upon delivery, or something like that.

One more thing: You note that you already emailed "the contact."  Please keep in mind that while materials are often sent to the SC Chair, the Chair doesn't always directly receive them.  They often go immediately to an administrative assistant for processing.  The committee (including the chair) may not even start looking at any materials until after the application closing date.
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drnobody
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« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2012, 06:19:50 PM »

What they all said. Never.

Some places do confirm, though, and that's nice. If they don't, you can only hope your materials arrived. Despite the USPS problems, for the most part, everything gets delivered.
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grendel
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« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2012, 11:37:44 AM »

Can I hijack this thread to ask a related question? Colleges' HR websites are sometimes useful for confirming receipt of application materials, especially those that were submitted electronically. Does anyone have the experience that they're useful at all for determining anything else, such as when a decision has been made? Or do they get updated so long after the fact as to be of no real value in assessing your status? I'm referring to jobs where the wiki pages are not terribly active.
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drnobody
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« Reply #7 on: February 01, 2012, 12:21:02 PM »

Some systems do. One state system (not too many schools though) does update accurately. It's a state I lived in and applied to more than one job in and it accurately reflected the one I got and didn't. I can't remember how much after the fact--not terribly long but it would still be a last resort to verify, not to wait for info. This same state also sends generated emails to applicants when the search closes though, so you'd know that way. So yes, some do--but definitely not all.
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glowdart
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« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2012, 08:52:39 PM »

Can I hijack this thread to ask a related question? Colleges' HR websites are sometimes useful for confirming receipt of application materials, especially those that were submitted electronically. Does anyone have the experience that they're useful at all for determining anything else, such as when a decision has been made? Or do they get updated so long after the fact as to be of no real value in assessing your status? I'm referring to jobs where the wiki pages are not terribly active.

It really depends.

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highed2012
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« Reply #9 on: February 04, 2012, 05:58:46 PM »

Thanks to you all. I received a letter via USPS yesterday confirming receipt of my materials. Now the wait to see if I get an interview.
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