Applying in Germany - how far back should the documentary evidence go?

Question

Let's assume that some of your applications go for W2 professorship positions at the German universities of applied sciences. One of such potential employers asks the candidates to supply

Lebenslauf, belegt durch Zeugniskopien und Nachweise der beruflichen Tätigkeit [...]

(CV, supported through credential copies and evidence of occupation [...])

Let's assume you have been on a lot of academic short-term contracts and stipends since your undergraduate studies. Is it really expected that you supply all the documents (over 15 in your case)? Or are documents for the recent n years sufficient? (Yes, you asked the person in charge, and that person did not respond. Moreover, you know noone from the faculty...)

On the one hand, you may be afraid that in case of a huge number of incoming applications for the position there could be a pre-selection phase, in which some assistants would reduce the number of applications to look at by simply filtering out the applications which are not 100% conforming. Or that some committee members insist strictly on the rules.

On the other hand, properly preparing all the documents would take you 1 full working day. Reason: the documents are not in easy-to-handle formats (PNG, multi-page TIFF with different-size pages, white paper, etc.), the salary needs to be blackened, all kinds of printer issues have to be dealt with, etc. One day is a lot for you. It is unknown whether any of the next 100 potential employers would need these documents (the previous 60 did not need them), so the work you are doing might not be reusable.

Answer 1

If you did not get an answer from the person in charge, I see two possibilities:

1. Go all in and send all documents. You have them all ready anyway (you have them, right?) and if they request it, they can have it. If you go for this option, make sure that your CV is well organized and that the whole application document is perfectly ordered as well.

2. Just attach the most recent ones and add something like "Complete documents can be given if needed". This may save you some time and maybe the committee will not need the documents anyway.

From my experience, these rules often sound more strict than in reality and in reality the committee often does not know the exact rules anyway. But there is always the possibility that some committee member insists on following all rules to the single letter.

Another thing: Often there are two people to ask questions about the ad: The dean and the head of the committee. You may also ask other faculty members at the institution if you happen to know somebody there.

Another remark: As a head of a search committee it is pretty normal to receive phone calls close to the application deadline, so it a question is urgent, rather call than write an email.

Answer 2

I would not bother to include any contracts that pertained to your time during your undergraduate days, either at the bachelor's or master's phases, since it essentially represents part-time work during your studies. Nor do you need to show a work contract for your doctoral phase—your diplomas and transcripts represent the needed documentation for those phases.

You do need to account for your time after your doctoral studies are complete, and for any significant period of time that elapsed between your undergraduate and graduate studies, if any. (If it's a summer, you don't need to submit anything; if it's a year or more, you should have some sort of accounting for that period. If you were working in Germany, you can request Zeugnisse from employers to confirm your applications, without having to disclose your salary and other confidential information.