Guide to the Education Job Search

DOSSIER SERVICE

The Dossier service is for those pursuing a teaching or research position in higher education. We will maintain and forward a dossier that can include your curriculum vitae, letters of recommendation, and transcripts. We will also maintain discreet sets of credentials for both teaching and research in your dossier.

Registration

In order to establish a dossier, download & submit a registration packet (you must have Acrobat Reader 5.0 to download forms) (registration form, confidentiality waiver, recommendation form, & request form). If you are reactivating your dossier, you are encouraged to complete a new registration form with your current contact information. You should update your dossier at the beginning of each academic year in which you will be using our Dossier Service.

Please remember, we must have all of your dossier materials in our possession before we will accept any Request forms (you must have Acrobat Reader 5.0 to download forms). You can also obtain the registration form via fax or e-mail by contacting us at 847.467.7534 or fileservices@northwestern.edu.

We will maintain the following materials for NU students and alumni in our dossier files:

• an updated curriculum vitae (CV) or resume
• three to five letters of recommendation (recommendation form (you must have Acrobat Reader 5.0 to download forms) must be signed by the student and the recommender before the letter can be sent out.)
• current transcripts (optional).

We will also maintain a set of your credentials for teaching and a set for research in your dossier.

We maintain only one 10 page writing sample in the dossier file.

To ensure that the process flows smoothly, please have a Registration Form and all of your materials to the File Services Coordinator as early as possible in the academic year in which you are going to use our services.

**Please retain a copy of all your non-confidential credential file material for your records (e.g. resumes, vitaes, transcripts, certificates, etc.).

Dossier Requests

After your file is complete, you have several options for requesting that your dossier be forwarded to an employer.

1. Send an e-mail including all of the information asked for on the request form to fileservices@northwestern.edu. Please note: You must verify that all needed materials have been recieved by UCS before making a request. We will process your request and send a confirmation e-mail back to you if requested. If you have both "research" and "teaching" sets of credentials in your dossier, please identify which you would like us to forward in your e-mail request.
2. Fax, send, or hand-deliver a copy of your Dossier Request Form to the File Services Coordinator in 620 Lincoln Street. Please feel free to contact our office at 847.467.7534 or fileservices@northwestern.edu for confirmation.

You can obtain additional copies of the Dossier Request Form (you must have Acrobat Reader 5.0 to download forms) by downloading the forms, via fax or mail by calling 847.467.7534 [include e-mail address]. Once you have a copy, you can make additional photocopies yourself or call us for additional copies. If you are in a rush, we will accept a written request (not on a Dossier Request Form) that includes a signature and clearly identifies the party(ies) to whom your file should be sent. We do not take requests over the phone.

All dossier requests must be signed. Faxed signatures and e-mail requests are both accepted as valid "signatures." Dossier requests should be accompanied by a check to cover the costs of the requests, or you should keep a positive balance with us in anticipation of future dossier requests. Having an overdue balance may delay processing, so please respect our need to have payment either in advance or at the time of the request.

Fee schedule:

• first time student are entitled to 5 free (regular mail) requests
• after the first five, every regular mail request is $5.00
• rush orders (same day) sent by:

1. Airborne Express ($18.00 per request);
2. Stop by our office at 620 Lincoln Street to pick-up ($7.00 per request); or
3. Fax ($7.00 plus .50 per page per request).

All dossier file requests will be processed within three working days of receipt (whether received by mail or fax). We will date stamp all incoming mail requests, and all faxes are dated by our fax machine.

All rush orders will be mailed or faxed (as you request) the same day if received before 10:00am CST. To place a rush order; do one of the following:

1. deliver the request to 620 Lincoln Street in person
2. call File Services (847.467.7534) and tell a staff member that you are faxing (Fax: 847.491.2573) in a rush order
3. email the request to: fileservices@northwestern.edu

Rush requests received after 10:00am CST will be processed the following business day.