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[notranslation]

I am in the process of sending out job apps. My spouse has tenure at a SLAC and is in a diff. humanities field from me. We have lived apart for years, while I've been finishing my PhD. We are pretty sure that of the 2 of us, I will be able to get a "better" job. We are not applying to places at the same time, but waiting for me to get a concrete offer, etc, to decide what to do. Spouse is fairly happy in the current job, tho the pay could be better. Mostly, we hate the location. My question: in an interview, how - or when - does one broach the subject of "is there also a job for my spouse here?" I've heard one should 1) wait until an offer has been made; 2) say something right away (so as not to drop it on the SC later); 3) say nothing at all and hope for the best. I keep trying to imagine myself negotiating for a job for the spouse at my own interview or after and it gives me the willies. Could I lose the offer if they simply can't do it? Could it be a black mark against me? Spouse and I are even preparing for the possibility that spouse will have to do part-time or adjunct work while I work full-time in a tt job...We don't think we can handle being the long-distance career couple...

Thoughts? Maybe this post would be better in the "interviews" forum?

Thanks!!

BL

[englitprof]

I'm in a similar situation, bluelou, and from previous posts on this topic the answer given depends on whether finding a position for your spouse would be a deal-breaker for you.  If so, then people generally recommend being up front about it fairly soon, at the interview for example.  If not--well, you'll still get a range of opinions, but the consensus seems to lean towards waiting until you receive an offer.

In my case, it's a little different--spouse and I are in the same department and share the same last name, so any SC looking at the website will figure out pretty quickly that there may be a trailing spouse involved.

[velvetelvis]

There's no one rule for this.  Some people think you mention it on the interview if there is no chance of you taking the job (and an offer will do you no good) unless you both get offers.  Others say no matter what, don't raise it until you get an offer.  The truth is that it varies widely by campus.  Good luck.

VE.

[anthroid]

If a job is available for your spouse, it would be advertised.  I am surprised that anyone would think it's okay to interview for jobs you really want but would never take unless the institution hired your spouse as well.  If, as a department chair, I was told that upfront, I would, regretfully, decline to interview you.  I can't create jobs out of thin air.  The only realistic option is number 3:  don't mention it and hope for the best.  You have no right to negotiate for your spouse and I have to say as a chair I'd ignore you if you did.  Yes, you could lose the job possibility if you tried to advocate for your spouse.  I certainly would withdraw the offer if you made that demand, since there is no way I could meet the demand.

I understand the two-body problem very well, believe me, but you are applying for jobs for yourself, not for a team.  Unless you submit your application with the cvs of both of you, and the application comes from both of you, apply on your own and assume the job involves only you.

[econ_anon]

Pace Anthroid, some schools *can* manufacture jobs out of thin air.  Usually these are jobs in reasonably sized universities in small towns where the school is the only game in town and the entire university is committed to academic couples.  A little money from the university, a little money from your department, and a department already wanting to expand, and a trailing spouse position can appear.

Check the school's policy on dual careers when plotting your strategy, and, like englitprof says, know whether you would be willing to accept the job if they couldn't come through.  For example, I wouldn't have been willing to accept a job at East Regional State University unless they got something for my husband (and let them know of that in advance of the flyout) but would have been willing to accept a position at Flagship U (so wouldn't mention the dual career thing until the job offer stage).

[anthroid]

Pace Anthroid, some schools *can* manufacture jobs out of thin air.  Usually these are jobs in reasonably sized universities in small towns where the school is the only game in town and the entire university is committed to academic couples.  A little money from the university, a little money from your department, and a department already wanting to expand, and a trailing spouse position can appear.

I don't know.  That would be illegal in my state and at my uni.  We are required to advertise every position we hire and conduct real, meaningful searches, and we do.  We cannot create positions just like that.  I'd be careful in situations like that.

[econ_anon]

Pace Anthroid, some schools *can* manufacture jobs out of thin air.  Usually these are jobs in reasonably sized universities in small towns where the school is the only game in town and the entire university is committed to academic couples.  A little money from the university, a little money from your department, and a department already wanting to expand, and a trailing spouse position can appear.

I don't know.  That would be illegal in my state and at my uni.  We are required to advertise every position we hire and conduct real, meaningful searches, and we do.  We cannot create positions just like that.  I'd be careful in situations like that.

Not illegal at this one-- we just went over what is and isn't illegal during school-wide search committee training.  A full real meaningful search must be conducted unless:  1.  Nobody is comparable to the candidate (Nobel prize winners can be hired without a full search) or 2.  It is a spousal hire abiding by spousal hire guidelines.  And my institution is one that is covered by practically every rule known to academia (and state government), though perhaps not quite as many as California. 

Private institutions are often covered by even fewer rules on hiring (I know a search committee at a near-ivy that is doing all sorts of spousal wheeling and dealing this year).  Possibilities for spousal hire will depend on what rules a private school has set for itself.

[seniorscholar]

In a city with many other colleges and universities within an hour's commute, we can always "manufacture" a 3-year visiting appointment for a spouse, with no guarantee that it will ever have a possibility of turning into a tt line. (It's apt to be one of the slots in which we hire non t-t people to teach basic courses every year.) This is plenty for some folks, since there are many opportunities for spouse employment in the vicinity -- the last three people for whom we made such a deal now have spouses on t-t or tenured at liberal arts or MA-granting schools within 20 minutes' drive (or public transport). But I'm in English, and I realize that for many people in the sciences the lab facilities at some of these schools would not at all do for a spouse's happiness.

[bigsky]

At my university we have been pretty accommodating to dual career couples. In some cases it has been 2 positions in 1 department (both 2 tt and 1 tt & 1 instructor). We have also tried between our department and another in the same college and once with another department in a different college. Those did not come to fruition for different reasons. In some cases it was made evident early in the process, prior to interview, and others after an offer was made, though we already had some suspicions the request was coming. Our Dean has been pretty flexible as we are a regional university in a rural midwest town. We are currently conducting searches where one candidate was not selected for an interrview but her spouse might be a very strong position for another. I don't know if prior knowledge of this would have changed her initial ranking or not. I would suggest an anonymous phone call to the search chair. It may be fruitful or it might not. I know others here caution candidates not to contact search committee chairs. I recently chaired one and had no problem answering questions that were not clear in the ad. It was the unsolicited call from one candidate explaining why he did not get tenure that I found off-putting.

[velvetelvis]

See this thread: http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,29685.msg401279.html#msg401279

The absolute best thing you can do is cultivate other couples in your field so that you can hear about their experiences. 

Anthroid: it's true that there is a rule about advertising all positions at many schools; however, these rules are broken all the time for all sorts of exceptions.  Partner hiring is entirely legal in most places (though perhaps there are rules about it on the books in some states, I don't know) and it is a widespread practice in North American academe.

VE.

[cattoys]

I'm in the same position, though I'm the one with a job, and my spouse is the newbie. Our approach varies with the jobs we're applying to – if there's just one job advertised, I'm saying nothing until there's an offer. Where there are two jobs advertised, I'd bring it up at the campus interview stage, at least if we both got them. (This is already a big if, of course!) Where there are two jobs advertised in a small school, and the dept already seems to have couples working there, we both bring it up in the letter.

For us, two jobs is a dealbreaker for a small place with no other opportunities, but not so much in an urban area with lots of schools and potential non-academic options for my partner. seniorscholar, your response was highly cheering!

[athena1]

When a job isn't advertised, but a spouse is hired, they call it an "opportunity hire" here. We had one of those in my college this year.

My friend and her significant other went through this a couple of years ago -- they only applied to universities where there were 2 jobs advertised. The are in the same general field with different foci, but while they do have different names, they graduated from the same grad program, had many of the same people send letters, and had the same address, so, while they didn't come out and mention it until one had an offer in hand, the SCs knew from former advisors/colleagues. . . it worked out in the end and they both have TT jobs in the same department.