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[glowdart]

I've often wondered if we need some sort of interview red card that a candidate or committee could wave when it is clear that this whole thing ain't going to work.  Let the candidate head back to the hotel for a nap, or check out some shopping on the way back to the airport.  Let the SC get back to work. 

Great idea!  I can see it in action, too:  leaving a candidate in a room for 30 minutes, alone with your toddler who filled her diaper?  "I don't do diapers.  Here's my red card.  I'll be visiting the bars in your town, now, thank you!"  

[marigolds]

Oh they fell over themselves offering me the job.  I have often wondered...Was I the first pick?  Did the other two read the warning signs and live in safe and happy poverty for another year or two?  In my life, with my bills and low self-esteem...Tenure Track job was not getting refused.

You work there now? 

So how's that going?

[whipkitty]

ROTFLMAOSTC.  About how you would expect.  Sigh.  Having made the mistake once, I plan to take an immense amount of consolation from the fact that I will not make it twice.  Thanks for asking though!  ;)

[fiona]

I don't think search committee glitches indicate that a whole department, university, or location isn't going to work.

If you can't stand the location, that's it, but the other things can change, especially disorganized personnel and money.

The Fiona

[michigander]

My "favorite" interview horror stories:

(1) I was interviewing for a student affairs position at a major school in the BosWash corridor for which it's the norm to include students in the interview process.  Upon being picked up at the airport, I was informed that the students were boycotting the process.  It must have just happened because people were scurrying around not having a clue about how to adjust my schedule for the day.  They were clearly more uncomfortable than I was, and everyone I met with seemed embarassed and not allowed to talk about it.  I was never told what happened.

(2) I was interviewing for a position at an Ivy in a department with new leadership that was in mid-reorganization and discovered during my interview day that all of the details hadn't been worked out yet.  The open position was unique on the old org chart, and it was unclear where it would fit in on the new org chart.  To try to get some idea, during my meeting with the SC I asked the titles of the positions that would be my professional peers.  No one could tell me.  I broadened my question to ask how they saw the position fitting into the new organization.  No one could tell me.  Everyone in the room was looking at everyone else.  A few weeks later, a new position with a new title was advertised.  From reading between the lines, it was clear that they had finally figured things out and this was a replacement for the position I'd interviewed for.  I was never formally notified of the outcome of the search, never notified that the position I'd interviewed for no longer existed, not invited to apply for the new position which didn't look interesting to me as redefined.

(3) I was interviewing for a newly created position at a major Midwestern unversity which would involve creating an entire new program.  As I went through the day, it was clear that no one had a good idea of what I'd be doing; all they had was a position title.  After I met with the department head, my impression was that hu had heard about such positions at conferences, thought that having such a program sounded good, and decided to hire someone without really understanding what was involved.  No one had any idea of where the position would fit into the organization, who would report to whom, what the budget would be, and so forth.  I was left to navigate my way back and forth across the large campus to get to each meeting with a campus map that I had to find for myself and, at the end of the day, was informed that I needed to get myself back to the airport.  In many ways, it was clear that these people didn't know how to put together a day of interviews for an out-of-town candidate.

All three of these interviews occured during the 1980's, so I suspect that the personnel, organizational charts, and institutional memories have changed several times since then  -- for the better, I hope!

[zharkov]

My "favorite" interview horror stories:


(3) I was interviewing for a newly created position at a major Midwestern unversity which would involve creating an entire new program.  As I went through the day, it was clear that no one had a good idea of what I'd be doing; all they had was a position title.  After I met with the department head, my impression was that hu had heard about such positions at conferences, thought that having such a program sounded good, and decided to hire someone without really understanding what was involved.  No one had any idea of where the position would fit into the organization, who would report to whom, what the budget would be, and so forth.  I was left to navigate my way back and forth across the large campus to get to each meeting with a campus map that I had to find for myself and, at the end of the day, was informed that I needed to get myself back to the airport.  In many ways, it was clear that these people didn't know how to put together a day of interviews for an out-of-town candidate.

Very similar to an experience I had, especially the bolded part.  What I found particularly strange is that none of the faculty is the existing department wanted to take on leadership of the program. I suspect it was pushed (if not pushed down their throats) by a president (etc.) who wanted to be able to claim the school launched a Master's in Basketweaving on his watch.  Even more strange, I was told that the job may not be all that demanding to start, so the person might have to teach a couple of undergrad courses, too.

[polly_mer]

I don't think search committee glitches indicate that a whole department, university, or location isn't going to work.

If you can't stand the location, that's it, but the other things can change, especially disorganized personnel and money.

The Fiona

Yep.  Some things are definite red flags (like finding out the position advertised in theoretical physical chemistry will actually be a position in experimental organic chemistry based on the questions related to teaching and research interests or that a position in doing K-8 STEM materials development will be with people who care more about the WOW factor than the science explanations); other things are indications that a small department only runs a search every five years or so and have no procedures in place to follow.

I've been picked up late, dropped off early, left alone, and gotten put at the lunch table with the guys who clearly were rounded up at the last minute and offered a free lunch (great conversation and that's when I knew I fit, but that conversation was definitely not HR approved).  The jobs were pretty good; the search committees were just overwhelmed with one more out-of-the-ordinary thing wedged into a very tight schedule.

[lyndonparker]

I think it is very important for candidates to remember that SCs are not trained in how to run searches, and at small schools a search can suck up incredible amounts of SC members' time. Of course it is better from a variety of perspectives to run a seamless, smooth search, but that doesn't always happen.

[kaysixteen]

Why would students boycott their part of a university's faculty hiring process?

[seniorscholar]

Why would students boycott their part of a university's faculty hiring process?

Most undergraduates don't have a clue about why students need to be there, and besides, many parts of the hiring process are BORING. Even for those of us on search committees. To appreciate the students' viewpoint: Would you want to go listen to the HR director interviewing five candidates for a clerical position in facilites management?

I am, on the other hand, astonished when doctoral students, who will themselves be on the market in two or three years, don't bother to attend the job talks or the open session for the Graduate Students' Association and the candidate, even when food is provided.

[whipkitty]

I was on a campus visit a five or six years ago and it was a fairly large department.  Eveybody was nervous.  Finally somebody pulled me aside and said the students on campus had threatened a walk out (planned for the class I was going to be teaching in, no less).  There weren't any students coming to my student time, etc.  Turns out the walk-out was unrelated to the position...it was a protest over some racial slurs on campus.  The SC just didn't know how serious the threat was, and it turned out that no one left the class I was in.  Why they didn't just reschedule I'm not sure.

[polly_mer]

I am, on the other hand, astonished when doctoral students, who will themselves be on the market in two or three years, don't bother to attend the job talks or the open session for the Graduate Students' Association and the candidate, even when food is provided.

Dang, I volunteered to be the GSA's representative on a couple job searches because I wanted a say in the new library director and a couple other key positions that would affect me as a graduate student.  I got a couple nice lunches out of one set of interviews, but the rest had no food at all.

I was also amused to find out some things that people will say because lunch with a couple of students is not really part of the interview.  I reported that one candidate was choosing our school because it was a tiny place that wouldn't require a doctorate and he was done with school.  I don't care if you don't want a doctorate, but I am appalled that someone wouldn't want to be a lifelonger learner for a position like technical services librarian (aka the one who is in charge of new technology).  I was not impressed with the guy who told us how cool a particular library program was; his job talk was about how we could come into the twenty-first century by using a program that was a much earlier version (with significantly less functionality) than the program we were using.  Telling me how we could have the experience we had five years ago as your proposed first major initiative means you couldn't even be bothered to spend two minutes with our website.

Student votes matter on search committees and I wish more students knew that.

[punchnpie]

Indeed, I have no life. I spent a nice part of Friday evening reading through this whole thread. There's some pretty funny stuff here (and some mind-boggling stuff as well).

[ochreluna13]

Just spent some time reading these, and I must say that I feel much better about my interviewing skills now.  :)  Thanks for sharing, everyone.

[norvell]

 I was never formally notified of the outcome of the search...

A friend of mine from grad school had this happen to her last year. How often does this happen? I can understand (but dislike) never hearing from a school after simply applying. But to never even get a rejection email after the time and money they spent to bring you to their school?