Hello,

I am applying for a post doc position (within Humanities) and am looking for some advice.

The post doc in question is being offered by my MA supervisor, who encouraged me to apply. The CV and cover letter is to be sent to him directly, however, obviously the applications are going through the standard university channels, via a panel etc.
I have not applied for a post doc before as I haven’t felt confident enough about my credentials but this opportunity seems too good to miss so I have two green-horn questions:

In the cover letter, would it be appropriate to mention that I was a student of the professor and have a good rapport with him and a solid understanding of his expectations/work ethic etc? If this is appropriate it would seem an odd thing to write seeing that the letter will be addressed to the professor himself but as it will no doubt be seen by HR and others who are not privy to this information I thought it is important to add...?

Secondly, and less importantly, I don’t have a particularly stellar CV at current (hopefully that will change soon with a few things in the pipeline) so I am trying to take advantage of any titbit that puts me in a good light. I think I know the answer to this but I thought I’d ask - I passed my PhD outright with no changes, with all honesty I genuinely don’t know exactly how uncommon this is but from what I’ve read it is unusual enough to be notable. Is there any place where this could be mentioned in an application? I think it’s probably one of those things where I can quietly pat myself on the back but that’s about as useful as it gets.

Thanks in advance,
T

Hi T

I haven't applied for a postdoc but I have worked for years before studying. Yes and yes - do state both of those things. Any positive thing you can sell, sell. Hopefully people will have other tips on what you can put on your application. Have you tried brainstorming everything you did during your PhD - departmental activities as well as scholarship. Maybe you have more than you think...

Good luck!