Thursday, May 10, 2012

the packet

While there's a chance that I won't get into Sungkyunkwan University-- there are some paperwork-related problems I need to deal with-- the wheels are in motion. I sent off my application packet to the university a couple days ago. It included the following attachments:

1. cover letter
2. English Professor Application Form
3. photo
4. résumé
5. reference list
6. undergraduate diploma (copy)
7. graduate diploma (copy)
8. undergraduate transcript (unofficial copy)
9. graduate transcript (unofficial copy)
10. passport (copy)
11. recommendation letter #1
12. recommendation letter #2
13. recommendation letter #3

The three rec letters, from my buddy Charles, my buddy Tom, and my current supervisor at YB, were all very nicely written, and scarily similar-- almost conspiratorially similar-- in content. A fourth rec letter just arrived last night from my former boss at Smoo; that letter, too, said many of the same things about me. I was amazed that four separate sources would see me in the same way. My normal assumption is that I'm different to different people-- quieter and more withdrawn in the presence of some folks, louder and more extroverted among others, etc. I'll be sending the fourth rec letter tonight when I'm back from work, along with some extra items to tempt the Powers That Be into hiring me. Among those extra items will be some sample exercises, some sample curricula, and some samples of my writing. (When I send writing samples to potential employers, I normally send the intro chapter of Water from a Skull.)

In any case, thanks to the four lovely recommendations I've received, I'm hoping that I'll be a strong contender for one of the two available spots at SKKU. We'll just have to see how it goes. I'll keep you updated.


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2 comments:

Charles said...

That's interesting that all of our recommendations were similar. In retrospect, I'm not that surprised, though. I think you're a pretty consistent person.

Best of luck with the job!

(By the way, SKKU is cool with the diploma/transcript copies? In my experience, Korean universities usually want official documents. It's kind of ridiculous how nuts they go on the documentation, to be honest, when most Stateside schools don't even ask for diplomas/transcripts at all. I mean, seriously... an undergrad transcript?)

Kevin Kim said...

I think SKKU is eventually going to ask for originals/official copies, but right now, they're simply pooling applications. They probably won't ask for the real stuff until interview time (June 2), after they've narrowed the field to a handful of interviewees.