The irony was so striking that it could not be lost on anyone.Sitting before us was a soon-to-be-minted Ph.D. candidate whom weall liked tremendously, and who had an incredibly strong academicrecord, both in research and teaching. Yet, as our panel read hisletter of application and CV, which were displayed on an overheadprojector, and as we discussed them in progressively greater detailand honesty, we found several aspects of his materials off-putting.Why did he phrase something THIS way, another THAT way, we askedhim? Sometimes his decisions were driven by a concern he need nothave had; other times he was being advised by his graduatedepartment. We ended by agreeing tat although he SHOULD have beengiven a job interview, our hypothetical search process might havepassed him over for inclusion on our short list.