"Dr. Young" was a candidate for a senior administrative position at an institution that was a very good match for his interests. The chair of the search committee asked him to meet for a long lunch in a nice restaurant in a city a couple of hours away (an attempt at a bit of privacy). The lunch went incredibly well. Their conversations were completely relaxed and laughter punctuated much of their time together.

As the committee chair outlined details of the challenges and opportunities of the position, Dr. Young found himself even more interested than he had been prior to the meeting.

As their time together dwindled, the chair leaned in and said, in a half-whisper, "Before we leave, I have to ask you one last question. Please understand that I feel awkward asking this, but this is the best setting to ask since it’s just the two of us. Do you have any skeletons in your closet?"

Dr....

The Internet is reshaping administrative searches, Gary Olson observes in his latest column, but not always for the better. While information found on the Web may sometimes keep an institution from making a colossal mistake, Olson writes, other times it can be downright destructive to a search.

As a result of the Internet age, search consultants are seeing a rise in people using information "glean[ed] from the Internet to further their own political objectives—even going so far as to sabotage the candidacy of one finalist because they favor another," Olson notes. One frustrated consultant told him, "We are constantly doing damage control because committee members or even just other faculty on campus will dredge up what they believe to be damning information on one candidate or another."

Even a well-meaning Internet sleuth can "contaminate a search" with with information discovered...

Last year at this time I noted that deferred retirements were having a significant impact on the job market, in that many planned positions never materialized. Indeed, in some cases, a deferred retirement by an advanced full professor may block two entry-level positions because of the budgetary impact.

While the retirements seem to be returning to a more normal pace, I have noted a new dynamic in the market this year that has created another problem for entry-level applicants: the emergence of advanced applicants.

With so many institutions in financial turmoil, many experienced faculty members are open to pursuing new opportunities elsewhere. As I have advised search committees on my campus and on others, I have been amazed at how many fine applicants have been at very advanced assistant-professor status or even associate rank. When a committee compares a candidate who will graduate this...

Student course-evaluation season is coming our way in a few short weeks. We all know that the process of soliciting information from students is fraught with many serious concerns and complications.

Despite the serious nature of the process, I often chuckle at how faculty members will sometimes wheedle and cajole their students to give higher marks. Local doughnut shops tend to see sales rise that week as professors buy treats for their classes. Extra-credit assignments seem to pop up like mushrooms after a nice long spring shower. Pep talks about how much the students make life worth living are heard resounding in the hallways.

What is the most interesting "trick" you have seen faculty members use to bargain for better student evaluations?

When I was a young faculty member in my first job, whenever our department would undertake a search, one of the priorities put forward by the more senior faculty members was to hire someone "who will stay."

At the time, I found this idea intensely irritating. I thought that placing such weight on the potential for someone to stay in the job we were searching for was a recipe for mediocrity and emphasized qualities that did not contribute to building an excellent faculty.

I was reminded of these conversations the other day while reading the comments posted on my previous entry. 
Physicsprof remarks, "I would rather prefer a strong but lukewarm colleague who will leave in a few years than a weaker enthusiastic one who will stay in one place for the entire career because no one wants him." I was struck by this comment for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that I could—and would—have...

"Dr. Handy" was a finalist for an administrative post. The chair of the search committee called her with the basic offer, letting her know that she would be contacted by the senior administrator in charge of her area. Dr. Handy had been able to meet that administrator only briefly during the interview process, and then only as a part of a group.

The initial offer was significantly lower than she had expected, so she made a counteroffer. As the discussions moved into the area of benefits and specifics related to the job description, the discussions grew more tense. Every phone call caused Dr. Handy to dislike the senior official even more. By the time they had spent several consecutive days in calls, she found herself stressed every time a call came from him. Finally, she decided that if she was feeling this way during the hiring process, the long-term prospects for a relationship with...

According to an article in Friday's Chronicle, the job market for English and foreign-language Ph.D.'s isn't as bleak as it seemed back in December 2009. Apparently, it's only mostly bleak (to borrow from Monty Python — or is it from The Princess Bride?). The good ... er ... less-bad news is that the Modern Language Association now estimates that the number of job openings in English will dive by only 27.5 percent from last year, as opposed to the 37-percent free fall that was previously estimated for 2009-10. The number of job openings in foreign languages is similarly now expected to decline by only 26.7 percent. Of course, this year's job market may still wind up being the worst in at least 35 years -- and if "this year's projections hold true, there will be a two-year decline of 45.2 percent in English jobs and 46.4 percent in foreign-language jobs," a Chronicle reporter notes -- but...

I once heard a very senior faculty member make this observation: "There is prejudice aplenty about candidates' doctoral alma maters. An odd one is that you can move south and you can move west, but you will have a very difficult time moving north or east from your alma mater." He told me that he had developed this theory after serving on many search committees and watching dozens of tenure and promotion applications work their way through review committees.

At the time, I thought the advice was fairly quirky, wondering, of course, what graduates from the University of Miami or Stanford University would do for jobs (in both cases they do just fine!), but over the years, I've seen this play out on at least an anecdotal scale. At the same time, I've noted another related geographical factor: Candidates who possess degrees from institutions in various geographical regions likewise seem to...

In my previous entry, I responded to questions asked by a commenter on a yet earlier entry about this year's searches at my university.

I left one question for this time: What would we do with an "otherwise stellar candidate who seemed lukewarm about the position or institution?" This is a complex question, because it depends on the context of the search involved. It's also one that a lot of institutions are going to need to answer more often, as long as academic-job market remains terrible, since more candidates will feel compelled to apply to institutions they might previously have ignored.

First of all, it's important to note that we don't particularly want to hire people who are lukewarm about the position or the institution. Being a faculty member anywhere is hard. Being a faculty member at a place you don’t like, or in a job that doesn’t suit your priorities, makes the job doubly...

One "perk" offered to some faculty members is the opportunity to lead foreign-study tours. Few things enrich one's life as much as does travel, and for scholars, the opportunity to visit new places and interact with colleagues in other regions is a wonderful part of the profession.

Most institutions I know of have a few primary travel gurus, who lead annual trips and have a significant student following for such programs. Indeed, I have known of such faculty members who have continued these trips well into retirement.

Two challenges face faculty members who are involved in study abroad. First, student travel is a complicated matter legally, financially, and supervision-wise, which means that, to be done well, it is more work than most people realize. Second, faculty-led tours can generate hard feelings or jealousies when they turn into fiefdoms. 

How does your institution handle study...