So What Happens After I Mail My Application?
A Multi-Stage Screening Process
After you have mailed out your application letter, the next move must come from the employer. If you have not received an acknowledgement letter after two or three weeks, it is not unreasonable to call the department and ask if it has been received. However, try to keep phone calls to a minimum. In general, search committee members will review your materials soon after their arrival. In addition to the acknowledgement letter, you also may receive some type of applicant survey form in the mail, gathering data for affirmative action purposes. The form will ask for information regarding your gender, ethnic identity, and veteran status, and it usually arrives with an enclosed return envelope. Completion of this form is entirely voluntary, and failure to complete it will not jeopardize your candidacy in any way. However, the data gathered is necessary for the university to comply with federally-mandated reporting requirements, and your compliance aids the institution.
As many positions have literally scores of applicants, the committee will initially seek to reduce the applicant pool to a more wieldy number by eliminating the most unlikely candidates. The criteria for initial screening vary widely, but in general, applicants with poorly written letters and CVs won't make it past the first cut. Search committees sometimes also quickly reduce the field by eliminating candidates from less prestigious institutions or advisers, applicants who do not yet have the PhD "in hand," and those with research interests that are not a precise match to the needs of the department.
If you make it past the first cut, a member of the search committee or departmental secretary may contact you and request additional materials, such as a dissertation abstract, academic transcripts, teaching portfolio, or writing sample. Send these materials as quickly as possible. Search committee members will evaluate these documents to further refine their list of candidates. In some fields, it is standard to contact applicants who made the first cut and ask them to interview at an upcoming annual meeting of a professional organization. You might also be contacted for a telephone interview.