The cover letter can be a very important part of the application packet. It details your interest and qualifications and also makes the match between those qualifications and/or experiences and the job you are applying for. I have two tips to share concerning cover letters. The first comes from my own experience in applying for online teaching jobs. The second comes from a blog post by education and technology blogger, Andy Burkhardt.
1. Emphasize andragogy (adult learning theory) and your experience/familiarity with it. In an overwhelming number of cases, the online class you are teaching for will be filled with non-traditional, adult distance learners. In fact, “experience teaching adult learners” is often a requirement listed in job board postings.
Therefore, its important to paint yourself as an advocate of the adult and/or online learner and identify where that empathy comes from. Where you a returning adult learner yourself? Did you complete your education in the online environment? Have you taught this population recently? In what other ways are you familiar with the unique needs of the online adult learner? Can you list a couple of those needs and how you are uniquely qualified to meet them?
Note that this paragraph/section does not necessitate you ever having taught online before. Its a way for you to talk intelligently about the population you will be teaching without necessarily having any direct experience teaching online.
2. Talk about them, not about you. Higher education blogger Andy Burkhardt writes, “The people doing the hiring don’t care about you (don’t take it personally). They care about themselves. How is this candidate going to benefit my organization? How are they going to help us become better? These are the real questions that search committees are asking. So when you focus on yourself and what you’ve done in the past it makes it that much more difficult for the search committee to picture you at your organization.”
What does this offer as far as advice for crafting an effective cover letter? List your experience, expertise, knowledge, and qualifications but make sure to do it in the context of them. He offers this example:
Instead of saying, “As part of a class I created video tutorials for use in undergraduate instruction,” say “I’d love to bring my knowledge of creating engaging video tutorials to help enhance your instruction and web presence.” It’s only a slight shift but it makes all the difference.
Do you have any questions/comments about the cover letter writing process? Any advice for others looking for online teaching jobs? Please leave a comment below!
Lewis E. Alston
How can we empower students to develop a more human “brand” for their online presence.
Take care,
Lewis E. Alston, MHRM, MBA, MPM
Brooke Shriner
Interesting question, Lewis! Can you say more?
We can model the types of interactions we are seeking from our students, provide examples for them directly either in the syllabus or in the discussion forum itself, we can encourage the sharing of personal stories that relate to the material in the discussion forums, and we could pull it from them in the form of our follow up question-asking.