One (supposedly) down

My application for Almost Dream Job just left my hands. I'm a crazy fit for this one, and I like the school. I had to sit on the application until the last minute, though, hoping my updated letters of rec. would come through... no joy, there.

Still, I have some hope. The combination of fields they're asking for is a little strange, yet there's an overlap between them that very few people would understand (unless they've studied all the things in question). I'm pretty sure that an interview would involve that question - "how would you relate these things to each other" - and I could give a kick ass answer.

Now I'm working on application #3 (#2 is literally sitting here, again waiting for the updated letters) and feeling better about the cover letter issue. I've spent a decent amount of time customizing the first two cover letters, and I'm getting the hang of it. I've given up on circuitous language entirely, and am essentially writing “you asked for such-and-such, and here’s how I do that.”

Okay, the language is prettier than that, but is still a lot more direct than we were told to write letters. It’s not that I’m only going for jobs with perfect descriptions for me… that would be silly. If I’ve learned anything over three years of job-hunting, it’s that schools often hire someone who fulfills part of the initial job description but who also brings something else the school needs to the table.

Since I will rarely be the full job description, I will need to be the "something else."

On a stranger note, this morning Sasha saw the neighbor cat stalk and successfully kill a squirrel. The squirrels around here are large, and quite vicious. (I have an issue with squirrels. When I was very young, my parents played tennis at a park. I would sit on the bleachers waiting for them to finish, and there were a lot of very inquisitive squirrels in the area. I feared them.)

(I am also quite afraid of turkeys, but that's a story for another day.)