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How can a job applicant tactfully tell a hiring committee that they particularly want to live in the location where the school is located?

I am applying for a faculty job in the city where my wife's family lives. I would love to move there to be close to her family when she and I have kids.

The school might be concerned that I would take another offer over theirs. I want to communicate that I would be particularly likely to accept their offer if they made one.

What is an appropriate way to communicate this? I want to avoid inserting unnecessary personal information, like my marital status or sexual orientation.

I'm thinking of something like this toward the end of the cover letter: "I am particularly excited about this position for both personal and professional reasons. Most of my family lives in [city] and I would be thrilled to live there."

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    IMHO, you answered your own question. It is important to mention (people usually ask if you know the city/have ties on the interview, but earlier doesn't hurt), and a quick mention on the cover letter is what I usually do as well. – Fábio Dias Aug 21 '17 at 16:32
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    Yes, the cover letter is the place to put this. – aparente001 Aug 21 '17 at 18:41
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"I am particularly excited about this position for both personal and professional reasons. Most of my family lives in [city] and I would be thrilled to live there."

That'll do.

And this may indeed matter - from being on recruitment committees in several places that have trouble getting people to move there, signs of interest in the area are helpful.

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  • Right on the nail - op has phrased it well , honest and direct. – Solar Mike Aug 21 '17 at 21:44
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    "places that have trouble getting people to move there" is a key phrase. Probably won't hurt, but I don't think this will affect your chances if the city you want to move to is Boston or San Francisco. – AJK Aug 21 '17 at 22:30
  • @AJK True, but there are only a handful of places that don't at least have to do a little bit of selling on "Why you should move here". – Fomite Aug 21 '17 at 22:31

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