What had more cinematic value: Tiger King, or Virtual Receptions?
We kid, we kid, but there's no doubt that this cycle of fellowship application cycle has been on brand for 2020. But, as with any other disruptor that seems out of this world at first, years from now, we may be saying "I can't believe we ever did it differently"
When it comes to fellowship applications, here's some hot takes on what should stick around from this godforsaken year, and what should be cast aside along with our pants that don't fit anymore.
Keep: CV Paper choice being... totally irrelevant
There's a lot of advice out there about paperclip selection, how many copies of your CV to print off, etc. In a digital (and climate changing) world, it was high time that these things are phased out. The real ones know that the correlation between superior candidates and superior paper choice is pretty weak, so why were we all still participating in this charade? We petition to save the earth and have programs pull up CVs up on an iPad if/when we interview in person again.
Cancel: Zoom 1:1s with everyone and their mother
Covid has really shown that geography need not be a barrier anymore. What that resulted in, though, was a "why not?" attitude to any and all 1:1s. Instead of banking on meeting fellows at conferences or school visits, zoom meeting after zoom meeting could be set up because it would be virtual anyway. The result? Overbooked fellows, and candidates maybe putting their foot in the mouths (see our last post)
JVN really says it best:
Keep: Nonstandard application timelines
Okay, we fully acknowledge the timelines being all over the place were a nightmare on both sides, so call us controversial, but when else will you be applying for jobs that all follow the exact same timeline as each other? Yes, it could be ruthless at times when candidates were snatched or timelines accelerated, but this is exactly how the real world functions. If fellowships are truly to prepare you for a JOB, should the application process not mimic that? That being said...
Cancel: Recruitment starting earlier
Recruitment has officially crept into September. What's next, P3s applying? Listen, this creep up does not do anyone any good. Candidates have had fewer rotation experiences, and less time to figure out what they actually want. The result is companies having less to judge a candidate on. First year fellows, who coordinate the bulk of recruitment, also have less experiences under their belt to talk about when courting potential candidates. It's also just that much further out from their start date, making it harder for companies to make calls about what projects the fellow will be working on and, by extension, the best fit for the role. We know we said we don't need to align on schedules, but we can all agree starting earlier every year is hurting, not helping.
Cancel: Applying for a ton of fellowships because you don't have to use all your time physically going to interviews
If we had a dollar for every time a cover letter had the wrong company name, our student loan burden would be more bearable. The previous advice about number of fellowships to apply to wasn't just based on how many receptions you could reasonably get to in a single night. You still want to keep your quantity manageable so that you can adequately invest in all of your applications, including cover letters and interview prep. Just because you don't physically have to be there doesn't mean that you can't still get overwhelmed and forget critical details. Plus, we all talk, and we all know you hit send on 30+
Keep: Separation from Midyear
C'mon, was this ever really necessary? We're over the registration fees.
Cancel: Google Form thank you cards
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