next »

[rattus domesticus]

I don't know if this is common, but a cc just asked me to interview. They offered me $100 to "offset" expenses--but I would have had to put out $500 plus to get out there.

The last time a cc asked me to do this, the SC chair was gracious enough to hint around and tell me:

1) how many were in the interview pool
2) whether there was a strong internal candidate

That way I could at least guess what my chances were and make an informed choice about spending my own money.

This particular cc (in D.C. metro area) refused to tell me anything... so I could be wasting my time and money going up against a strong internal candidate or a dozen outside candidates. Believe me, when you're footing the bill for $500, it makes a big difference being 1 in 4 rather than 1 in 12.

I asked ex-colleagues and friends in the biz and found a contact that was in the department but NOT on the committee. He e-mailed me back the next day to tell me that they had ELEVEN candidates and that they often hired from inside. I graciously turned down the offer to interview--but felt irrirated that they would ask, knowing that me (and other desperate applicants) would be paying out of pocket.

Yes, it was unethical of this kind insider to tell me what was up. But I feel it was unethical of them to ask applicants to pay out of pocket simply to round out their pool.