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A philosophy job seeker writes:
I was wondering if you might get a discussion going on your blog about what search committees think about Interfolio. I am on the job market and debating about whether or not to use it. It makes things much easier for us applicants, but I have heard that some search committees don't like how Interfolio sends dossier materials. It would be valuable to hear people's opinions on this.
Comment are open.
I don't know about what search committees think of Interfolio dossiers, but at least some departments now require their job seekers (i.e., their current and not-too-distant students who are on the market) to use Interfolio. So whether or not SC's like Interfolio, they shouldn't take a candidate's using it to indicate anything about him/her.
I'm Interfolio's founder and thought I'd reach out to anyone serving on a search committee: if you do not like how we're sending you dossier materials, please email me so we can learn your thoughts and work to improve our service.
-Steve Goldenberg
Founding entrepreneur @ Interfolio
I am curious what the job seeker had in mind. I actually appreciated being on the receiving end of Interfolio and similar services because everything was actually organized and came in to the folder (we still have files in drawers) at the same time. The only complaint I might have made (this was in the past, and may be different now) was that the quality of some of the materials was more like a fax print out than a typical laser print.
We are also one of the departments that requires our students to use Interfolio if they want to take advantage of our placement services.
The complaints that I have heard are: 1) what Michael Weisberg notes about the quality of the print; and 2) that when Interfolio sends a dossier, they (the complaint goes) send it as one giant stack of unstapled paper. This is apparently distracting or annoying to some search committee members. Perhaps Mr. Goldenberg can comment on this?
I'm actually interested in the answer to the reverse question: Is a department going to look unfavorably at an application which does not come from a service such as Interfolio? I ask this because of Michael Weisberg's comment that he "appreciates" being on the receiving end of materials that arrive in this format. As a current grad student entering the market, I find the cost of Interfolio somewhat prohibitive, especially in light of the costs associated with traveling to Boston at Christmas-time.
Obviously I can only answer for myself, but I suspect many of my colleagues agree: All I really care about is that all of the materials end up in the candidate's folder. We have a staff member who puts all the incoming materials into folders and, in principle, it shouldn't matter in what form the materials arrive. In practice, mistakes happen and the fewer number of envelopes that arrive for a given candidate the better.
Another nice thing about Interfolio and related services, from the candidate's side, is the ability to verify that the letters of recommendation were actually sent out. I
So I would say don't sweat it either way … just make sure everything arrives in as few batches as possible.
Polish the writing sample to a military sheen, get a job talk good and ready, splurge on the Brooks Brothers tie you could never quite justify before, and DON'T waste your sanity points worrying about Interfolio's stapling practices. The value of remaining chill and confident throughout this whole process should not be underestimated.
As one who was responsible in a recent faculty search for collating/copying/scanning job application materials, I can safely say that my department doesn't care at all about the source of your materials. Using Interfolio might save some undergraduate minion a few minutes, but except for the title page, no one would even know where it came from.
@Leiter'scorrespondent – We actually have done quite a bit of research on the preferred way of delivering credentials and other documents to search committees. What we have heard is that most create copies of each applicant's credentials package and therefore prefer them unfolded and unstapled. So it is true that we send "stack[s] of unstapled paper" but we do it as a best practice for the people who receive them from us. Of course, we would love to hear feedback if search committees would prefer the credentials come in a different format.
Also, we accept letters via fax from recommendation writers (actually, we'll take letters from writers in whatever format they choose to send them, even hand-written) so, if a letter looks like "fax quality" it's likely the source of the document that causes that. Everything we print is done on a 600-dpi laser printer so documents we received electronically, or those we receive on paper and scan, look sharp and crisp.
I'd like to thank Professor Leiter for starting this thread, and I'd like to to thank everyone who commented, especially Steve Goldenberg. This will help me make an informed decision. And @Andrew Sepielli – point taken! 🙂
Or, you know, skip the tie, if you're not going to wear one. (If, for instance, you're a woman dressing as traditionally as a man wearing a tie is.)
Here's one issue Mr. Goldenberg might consider: at our institution, and I suspect this is a trend, candidates are instructed to submit their materials online, and search committee members can see CVs etc on a dedicated server (login required). This is supposed to obviate the physical boxes of file folders, but if the letters of rec come in on paper, we need boxes of file folders anyway, defeating the purpose. Can Interfolio send PDFs electonically rather than paper mail? (Note: I am not necessarily saying I prefer the on-line hiring process, but these things tend to get decided above my pay grade.)
@ AeonJSkoble – Interfolio does have a service that can send Letters and other credentials to search committees electronically, if they prefer it. We do this through multiple methods: via email, downloaded from interfolio.com or even integrated through an API (a direct electronic interface between computer systems, if that acronym doesn't ring a bell).
It is a free service we offer to search committees. We would be happy to discuss this in detail with anyone who is interested – please call or email us and we'll respond immediately.
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