It’s time for the post where I make excuses for why I haven’t been keeping up with my target of one post per day this month.

Don’t worry, I have a good one this time: I’m applying for postdoc positions. A lot of the application deadlines are coming up at the end of this month (well, actually a lot of them passed already, but the ones that haven’t are coming up soon), so in addition to cranking out blog posts, I have to prepare my application materials.

I’ve found that in the world of physics, there’s a certain set of documents that you tend to be asked for when applying for a job or postdoc, or an award (which is another unfortunate necessity of success in academia). I’m going to save all you youngn’s who haven’t gone through the process yet the trouble, and list out the common documents which you should have prepared ahead of time and keep up to date as needed:

• CV (curriculum vitae): from the Latin for “course of life,” this is something like a “master list” of your accomplishments in the field. It includes any postsecondary degrees (bachelor’s, master’s, Ph.D., etc.) you have or are working on, a list of your (peer reviewed or similar) publications and conference presentations, and any relevant academic awards or honors.
• List of publications: Some places request a separate list of publications. This just means you trim down the list in your CV to a few highlights, and then the full list is submitted as this file. As a grad student, you might have few enough publications that it doesn’t make much sense to do this, in which case you can just include the full list in both the CV and as a separate file. (I really hope having so few publications doesn’t disqualify one from postdoc positions, otherwise I’m in trouble....)
• Research statement: A brief description of what research you’ve recently worked on and what you plan to work on in the near future. The people who hire postdocs are looking for candidates that have a problem in mind that they really want to solve. Your research statement shows both that you have a track record of being able to solve those kinds of problems, and also that you have problems in mind for future study that will give you something to do while you’re working for them. It’s your chance to sell your topic of choice. Of course, you’re not making a commitment to work on exactly what you specify in the research statement, just demonstrating that you have some topic in mind.
• Teaching statement: This one is actually not required for most postdoc positions, which are primarily research-based. It’s more relevant for positions that involve teaching duties. A teaching statement describes your philosophy of teaching: methods you use in the classroom, how you interact with students and try to get them interested in learning, what drives you as a teacher, and so on. It’s much more open than a research statement.
• Reference letters: everyone probably knows this one. You need to get other people to write reference letters for you. But you do have to put some thought into who you ask. Choose people who are familiar with your research, or who are familiar with the aspects of your personality that make you a good researcher (or teacher, if you’re applying for a position with teaching duties). Most applications want three letters, sometimes with the option to submit additional ones. The writers will probably want draft copies of your research statement, teaching statement (if they are going to attest to your teaching ability), and CV, so you should prepare those first, with enough time left over to give your references about a month to write the letters before any application deadlines.
• Biographical sketch: This is the kind of thing you usually see on book jackets. It’s typically a one-page description of who you are and what makes you interesting, highlighting your major accomplishments in or out of the field and honors you’ve received. It’s written in the third person. Take note: if you’re like me, writing about yourself in the third person is very strange. If you can get someone else to write a first draft of your biographical sketch for you, it might not be a bad idea.

It’s worth noting that applications for postdocs and faculty jobs typically should be submitted almost a year ahead of when the position starts. For example, I’m looking at positions starting in fall 2014, and the application deadlines range from mid-September 2013 to the beginning of January 2014. So start early!