I've been open to jobs outside of academia for a while. At first this openness was just my coping mechanism for the barrage of statistics and information about the terrible job prospects I'd inevitably face. But I've been thinking more recently about my career goals and how I can pursue my interests and commitments in other fields. I'd like to read this book to think more specifically about it.

One delightful thing about jobs outside of academia: they don't want 700 pieces of paper merely to apply - no teaching statement, no three letters of rec, no dissertation abstract. Short cover letter and CV is all they want to see.

There's a yearly fee for belonging to Interfolio, but it's certainly no more than you would pay for all the mailings that you would send out, and Interfolio does that for you.

I don't know if the old dossier service will still be staffed, or where they will be; they have a lot of previously opened files that are still active, but they are not accepting any new files as of July 2010.

Also, when it comes to recommendation letters, it helps tremendously to have someone who can speak to your teaching skills. Talk to an advisor or a professor that you TA for; see if they would be willing to observe you several times over the course of a term. Get them to talk about your teaching strengths in their letter; it's something that can be extremely helpful in securing a job.

You'll need copies of your transcripts to send to some schools; obtain several offical copies from your undregraduate and graduate institutions so you can send them to the schools that ask for them.

Make sure that your CV is as up-to-date as possible; if you do a conference over the summer, make sure that you put the presentation on your CV before you send it out! Joe Black is also an excellent resoruce for editing CVs; he will help you streamline your CV so that it is quick to read.

Don't discount postdoctoral fellowships! They often pay really well and can be a good CV builder, as well as a good way to earn income while looking for a tenure-track position. There are some excellent ones out there. Just keep in mind that postdocs often ask for a lot more material than regular jobs, so you want to start on those applications even earlier. Postings for postdocs are often up in August and have a deadline of early October.