Close But No Cigar!The Benefits of Applying for Awards

By Hope Gerde, Jill Pentimonti, & Sonia Cabell

You may think that close only counts in a game of horseshoes or for slow dancing. However, engaging in the process of award nomination can benefit your career even if you do not win the prize. Are you perseverating over whether applying for an award is worth the time investment? The answer is YES, even if you do not receive the award!
    First of all, you are guaranteed to lose 100% of the opportunities you do not take. Said differently, if you do not apply, you absolutely, positively will not win. Thus, the first step to winning an award is applying for the award. Moreover, persistence is paramount and these carefully prepared award nomination documents including research narratives and letters of recommendation can be used as drafts to work from for future, revised submissions of the same or another award. In many cases, a second or third submission of a revised award nomination results in a win. Not only do revised submissions include your more recent work, your research statement will improve each time you revise.     
The preparation of award materials will help you and your nominators to carefully scrutinize your work which can and will move it forward in interesting ways. 

1. The careful crafting of a clearly articulated research statement will help you to identify where you are making an impact in the field, will clarify what you are passionate about, and may even highlight new ideas for your future research. This process will help you to prioritize your next studies in a focused and strategic fashion. Furthermore, your nomination documents are excellent resources for writing research statements suitable for reappointment, tenure, and promotion dossiers as well as job application materials. So, you didn’t win that award, but now you have an excellent draft for your tenure dossier!
2. Typically award nomination applications require the inclusion of letters of support from mentors. This provides the nominee an opportunity to connect with senior scholars. Establishing relationships with senior mentors has multiple positive impacts on the success of junior scholars. 
3. Inviting mentors to write nomination letters requires the mentor to look closely at your work. The benefit of such investigation is that this mentor now knows your work intimately. Further, they are likely to accurately share with others about your work and recommend to you other potential collaborators or scholars to follow.
4. Nominators conceptualize your work in ways you may have not previously considered. Senior mentors are skilled at situating your work within the field in particular ways that demonstrate the value of the full body of work and make interesting connections across your studies. Further, they often connect your work to other research in ways you may not have considered. This allows you to see your work as a critical part of a network of studies responding to an integrated set of questions in unique ways. Thus, reading these nomination letters will allow you to see your work through their eyes. This may help you to consider your work from multiple perspectives which can lead to further synthesis and deeper thinking about your program of research. This may also boost your confidence as you read accolades and praise specific to you and your work.
5. All award nominations are reviewed by prominent scholars in your field of study who serve on the Award Review Committee. This means at least one, likely several, top researchers in your field are reading glowing reviews of your work. While they may not select your application as the winner, they will know a bit more about who you are and the important contribution you are making to the field of education. Who knows? One of these reviewers may write a letter for you for tenure, seek you out to offer mentorship, or invite you to collaborate on an upcoming project related to your work. We have evidence that this happens. 

So if you were debating on whether to apply for an award, debate no longer! It is well worth the effort. There is more to gain than to lose, so go ahead—award yourself!