I could rather…
I could rather desperately use some academic-types to glance over my job letter and tell me if I sound like an idiot. I rather suspect I sound like an idiot. I feel like an idiot. Argh. Are these things designed to make us sound like pompous, overbearing fools, or is it just mine?
If job letters are anything like fellowship and grant letters, I don’t see any way around it. That particular kind of self-promotion is hard to do without sounding overbearing–“I’ve done brilliant and groundbreaking work in blah blah blah, which is of vital importance for blah.” Dunno.