Graduate students who volunteer as peer reviewers and editors with Spanish and Portuguese Review (SPR) provide a valuable service to the profession, but they also reap some important benefits. If you are considering working with us this year, here are a few perks of the job.
- CV-worthy professional experiences
If you plan to go into the faculty after graduation, peer review and editorial boards will be part of your expected service load. The entire academic profession depends on specialists volunteering to review journal articles, books, proposals, and dossiers. Working as a peer reviewer and/or editor gives you lines on the “Service” section of your CV that demonstrate that you are ready for the demands of a faculty job.
If you plan to work outside of academia after graduation, your CV should emphasize how the work of a peer reviewer requires the transferable skills of 1) providing constructive, time-sensitive feedback, and 2) paying close attention to form, audience, and editorial standards. These are useful skills in many roles!
- Opportunities for networking
Working with a Managing Editor or an editorial team is a great opportunity to work with (and impress!) people outside of your institution and disciplinary network. Networking often happens at conferences and other gatherings, but also happens within journals and in online spaces. SPR can be an important step towards building the academic network that will eventually help you secure a job or find collaborators for a project.
- Insight into the publishing process
For many early career academics, the publishing process can feel mysterious and high stakes. Part of SPR’s mission is to support graduate students in Spanish and Portuguese so that publishing feels more attainable. As a reviewer and/or editor, you will see the process from the inside, which inevitably makes the prospect of submitting your own work for publication seem less daunting and more manageable.
These are just three of the many benefits of working with SPR. If you are interested in joining our team, fill out this volunteer interest form and we will reach out when opportunities arise to get involved!
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