“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. Young was caught off guard by the question. What exactly did this mean? He thought immediately of an old job-interview joke he had once heard: Interviewer: ”Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” Interviewee, in a relieved tone of voice: ”Convicted? Whew! No.”
How far back did he need to go in his answer? College indiscretions? High-school hijinks? What kind of skeletons? Financial issues? Romantic complications?
The chair clarified slightly: “We will do a complete background check, including a credit check, on finalists for this position, so I figure it’s better to ask in person and let the candidate withdraw in advance if something might be found. It’s better for everyone to ask this early.”
Dr. Young later asked a friend who was an employment lawyer about the question, and the lawyer said, “He was trying to get you to self-disclose information that they might or might not discover on their own. It’s sort of a trick question, a little like ‘When will you stop beating your spouse?’”
What advice might you offer a candidate who fields such a question?
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22 Responses to A Chance to Air Your Skeletons
sross - March 31, 2010 at 4:24 pm
I don’t know what university this was but that questions would not be allowed in our searches, nor should it be allowed. Any smart candidate would say no. Otherwise he or she should have never applied if they did something that might keep them from ever winning a position with a background check.
byldavis - March 31, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Just say ‘No’, unless you are a forensic anthropologist who takes work home.
texasmusic - March 31, 2010 at 4:37 pm
I think it depends. If there’s something that you know would turn up on a credit report that can be explained, for example a billing error that’s in dispute but could never be determined from simply looking at a credit report (or more likely just the FICO score), early disclosure might be warranted. But if you don’t know, better to leave it to discovery by the search committee. Otherwise I think I’d answer the only skeleton in my closet is a Halloween decoration. Why take a chance on saying something that could lose me the job only to find out it wouldn’t have shown up on any of their background checks?
aljii - March 31, 2010 at 4:49 pm
On the one hand, Young wants the job. On the other hand, what does the question tell Young about the employment environment?The good news, if you want to call it that, is that the chair of the search committee seems to think that Young might be a finalist for the position. The bad news is that the realities of today’s social and employment environment motivate the chair of the search committee to ask this question – which on its face is intrusive but is not exactly, ahem, unfair. Young needs to make an educated guess, I think. Whatever Young does, acting offended, surprised or put off is a losing move–as much intrigue and variation as exists in academia, even in administration, reacting strongly to this question has to result in failure. In my career, I’ve handled this sort of question with a question. The exchange might proceed: SCChair – “Do you have any skeletons in your closet? We will do a complete background check, including credit check. I figure it’s better to simply ask in advance and allow candidates to withdraw ealy if something might be found.” Young now might answer with one of the following depending on his estimate of the SCChair. One option:Young – “What level of credit score would disqualify a candidate, and given the varied personalities in academic leadership, what background items might reach the level at which disqualification would be discussed?” If Young thinks less of the position as consequence of being asked this question (or enjoys verbal fencing more than the prospect of actually getting the job), Young might respond:Young – “Is there anyone currently in the administration — just a yes or no would suffice — that to the best of your knowledge would fail this vetting?” If Young wants the opportunity and wants to move on to the next round:Young – “No.” OrYoung – “No, my career would not have progressed this far if so.” What are your thoughts?
rossbacher - March 31, 2010 at 5:01 pm
My advice is to get a copy of your own background check in order to answer this question intelligently. Being able to address any troublesome issues up front can defuse potential problems. You might be able to say, “Oh, when you run the background check, you’ll probably find a minor car accident that happened a couple of years ago” or “The background check will show that a faculty member filed a lawsuit against me, but it was thrown out of court. I’d be happy to give you more details if you’re interested.” You may have messier issues in your background, but this can be an opportunity to provide context and perspective and emphasize that, whatever happened, it won’t affect your ability to do the job.Knowing what the background check says is important. You don’t want to start revealing skeletons unnecessarily, and you certainly don’t want to withdraw from a search over an issue that the hiring institution wouldn’t be overly concerned about. The level of concern varies by institution, by position, and many other factors. Some universities don’t particularly care if a prospective employee has declared bankruptcy, and others won’t consider an applicant who ever bounced a check. It all depends.If you’ve been in a search that included a background check, you can probably request a copy (regardless of whether you were the successful candidate). The police chief on your campus might be able to give you advice on getting a copy of your background check, and I’m sure that most lawyers can tell you how to do this, too. Many states provide free copies of your credit report from the major agencies, and these are worth checking periodically anyway.
11124146 - March 31, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Not since my wife stopped teaching human anatomy and physiology. Oh you mean have I been arrested? Am I a pedophile? No, nothing that exciting. I am really a pretty dull person except for my give at brilliant academic administration, so you know pretty much everything there is to know about me but thanks fot the wrning about the background checks. I have nothing to fear about those except revealing how poor an academic administrator really is.
olddean - March 31, 2010 at 5:21 pm
The scenario given suggests that Dr. Young and the committee chair have established good rapport. The chair could be leaning to becoming an advocate but one not wanting to be embarrassed later.Assuming that he wants the job and that there is no really big thing (a felony conviction etc.), he might volunteer an easily discovered thing and one probably not discoverable but trivial thing which would convince the chair of his openness and help establish a bond. For example: “Well, you will find that I am divorced and remarried seven years ago. And I will tell you that I left my first teaching position after three years to go to a better school but I also felt that my relationship with the department head made it questionable that I would get tenured there; but that was twenty years ago and I’m glad I did it.”He has not refused to answer (even if an improper question), has volunteered nothing of harm, and may have enhanced his standing with the committee chair.
honore - April 1, 2010 at 9:40 am
Try…”when did you realize you were an elite white person who enjoys his white privilege status on the backs of dead indians and former slaves”I got up and walked out.
dpn33 - April 1, 2010 at 10:01 am
Why wound any hiring institution run a credit check? What does that have to do with hiring? I would find that so intrusive that I would have trouble accepting an offer, for fear that I would be constantly monitored throughout my career at that institution. Some background information makes sense — have you ever harrassed a student, for example — but some things are just none of their damned business.Response: “While we’re on the subject, what “skeletons” are in the department’s closet?”
olddean - April 1, 2010 at 10:26 am
#8-HonoreThere was nothing that suggested that either person was white. Your assumption and response may say something about you.Further, if you get up and walk out on opportunities because you encounter one person you don’t like or who asks inappropriate questions then you aren’t qualified for senior administrative positions anyway. Much of the success in those jobs is based on how you deal with people you don’t like or who behave inappropriately. I have promoted and tenured people I didn’t really like; they were, however, qualified. And I have terminated people that I really liked.
fallen_angel - April 1, 2010 at 11:02 am
oldden – Honore was referring to a personal experience. Your assumption and response may say something about you.
jarchamb - April 1, 2010 at 11:28 am
I work for a public University that requires background checks as a condition of employment. Credit checks are only done if the candidate would be handeling money. Maybe it is inappropiate to require background checks for most senior level positions, but it is even less appropriate to be embarassed by a newpaper reporter who discovers something the background check would have revealed. I did not mind, and neither has anyone I have hired. Honestly, I hire cashiers, and have had some likely candidates fail the credit check. I feel much more comfortable knowing the final hire passed the credit check.
tesuque - April 1, 2010 at 11:29 am
I agree with rossbacher, in that you should know what would likely come out in a background check, and not discuss anything that would not come out anyway. The institution would have to provide you with a copy of the report if anything came up, without your having to request it, in order to give you a chance to dispute if necessary – it is not unheard of for people to get mixed up, and companies that do background checks are not infallible. It is also my understanding that anything over 7 years old cannot be used and should not even show up in a check.
bettylouspence - April 1, 2010 at 11:52 am
I think we would all want to avoid what happened to Stephen Hill: http://www.freep.com/article/20100331/NEWS01/3310330/Ex-official-facing-DPS-suit-loses-job-offer
allevolve - April 1, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I think background checks are an acceptable screening mechanism, but not credit checks. Background checks can show a pattern of violent, illegal or unacceptable behavior, but credit checks are not indicative of anything other than one’s ability to handle personal finances. It does not show whether someone is a good professor/researcher or not. Even for jobs that handle money, I don’t believe credit checks show anything about a person’s ability to do the job or their likelihood of stealing.
4evercurious - April 1, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Hi Honore,We may be distantly related, but I got the other end of the equation…”Your GPA and MCAT scores are ok, not great. That’s fine. You’re Black and the admissions committee will probably let you in.”I did not bother applying to that school.
sawilson218 - April 1, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I recently had a job interview for a high-level administrative position which ended with “Is there anything about your background that you think we should know?” Later I learned from a friend that a few years ago the institution was embarrassed by repeated illegal actions of one of its leaders. I would rather have had a direct question asking about specific issues than an indirect one of the sort I was asked.
josmith812 - April 1, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Out of curiousity it was mentioned earlier to have a background check on yourself. I have a common name. How do you go about having a check run on yourself? Any ideas?
johntoradze - April 2, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Re #18 – Contact a private investigator. Supply them with your name, social security number, driver’s license and some addresses. Alternatively, you could supply them with the information that you will give to a university on your job application. Re #9 – Seriously, dpn33? You can’t figure that out? A certain professor shot and killed several members of her department and it came out that she had shot her brother. I would be willing to bet that every large university in the nation has been advised by legal counsel to err on the side of over-investigating new hires. To do otherwise will lay them open for civil suits. I happen to know of an attorney right now who was arrested for felony assault (lay in wait and attacked a pretty woman not realizing she was outside her boyfriend’s house). To meet him, you wouldn’t know he has the profile of a serial killer. There are serious skeletons out there. For what it’s worth – this is what I would do. I would hire a private investigator to do a thorough background check on myself. I would take that report with me to the interview and if asked this question, I would pull it out and ask the questioner of we could go over it now. I would go over it page by page, talking about anything of plausible interest. But that’s just me.
johntoradze - April 2, 2010 at 12:20 pm
(Oh, yes. The attorney in #19 beat the rap. Plea bargained it down to a misdemeanor by playing the part of a “poor me” victim, and charges were dismissed after fulfilling parole. He is into S&M and recently started volunteering to teach at high schools for free to boost his image as a nice guy.)
honore - April 2, 2010 at 12:32 pm
@ 10,olddean, spoken like a true administrative hack.And we wonder why the outside world looks at the academy with such disdain and disbelief. NEVER in my administrative career would I have posed such an audacious question (post #8) to ANY applicant for ANY position and then try justify it with some outlandish construction of pretentious assumptions as you would. One thing I learned in the sandbox as a 3 year old has held me in good stead and I won’t repeat it here because you should know that lesson already but apparently you don’t. Insulting a job candidate with rude, “challenging”, “out-of-box” questions speaks more about a culture of abuse, insensitivity, arrogance and chauvinism than it does about administrators/faculty who pretend that whatever occurs to them is rightfully acted upon because they said so. Adolescent urges typically get under control before our 20th birthday, but in the academy that usually transient life passage can and often does continue for several decades, to the detriment of all of us who then have to labor under your misguided “administrative” practices. I only hope you have retired and not subjecting others any longer to your self-indulgence and stupidity…you sound so typically Madison, WI
timewaster123 - April 6, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Well actually, I think that question provides a good time to point out whether someone with a similar name runs a stripper business with, erm, revealing photos that will come up in a web search, or something potentially embarassing of that nature. It would be a good time to make a joke even if not. Honestly people, sometimes we are so lacking in social skills.