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[Anonymous]

I have a question regarding academic job hunting in which spouses are applying for two different positions within the same department. In the past, my wife and I have done this without mentioning each other's candidacy in our cover letters. However, last year I had an interview with a school where we had both applied, and during the interview the subject of my wife came up.

The committee members asked me if she had applied for the position at their school, and then asked me her name. When I answered them they gave each other a puzzled look and then nodded at me as if to say, "We'll look into that."

Later I was invited for a campus interview, and on my first evening there a different committee member asked me before dinner why my wife and I hadn't mentioned in our cover letters that we were both applying. I responded honestly that I hadn't thought it appropriate, but they assured me that committees want to know such information.

This year, we are applying for a handful of positions within the same department, and have consented to add a brief postscript to our cover letters that simply states that we feel the committee ought to know that our spouse is also applying to the department.

This way our letters are focused on our individual merits and we are not making any kind of claims regarding our spouse's candidacy; the information is simply there for the committee to do with what they wish. Does this sound like an appropriate approach to the application process?

[Gino Corelli]

Many schools prefer to hire husband-and-wife teams.

Most university administrators know that only one of a pair needs to be paid a "full" salary while the other spouse will probably be content to work for less.  

Also, husband-and-wife teams are inclined to stay at universities if any kind of problem arises later, since economic security of a pair depends upon stability, not change.

Good luck.

[mikel garant]

I mention my wife in my cover letters because I see no reason to withhold such information from the department. I figure if that hurts my chances, I don't really want to work in that kind of department with people like that anyway. You should do what feels best for you.  Good Luck! Mike

[Anon Again]

I remember talking with a faculty member who had won a Nobel prize. I was surprised that she had taken a job at the institution at which she was teaching.

When I asked her about it, she was frank. She said it was the first place that had offered a solution to her two-body problem.

The funny thing was that her husband's publications and history were stronger overall (minus the major prize).

I'm not sure what this offers, but some institutions will believe that to get one of you, they need to hire both of you (and want to be appraised of that), which may be a good or a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

I find it very interesting that there is an obvious bias towards married couples over single applicants. That may explain why my job search of more than two years has been of no avail beyond netting me adjunct positions. And in my field, it is expected that one will spend extensive time in the field, often in foreign countries, doing research. I don't see how a selection committee could see a married applicant as more stable versus a single applicant, who would be more flexible under such conditions.