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[mouseman]

I've been both the trailing and the leading spouse, and on many search committees, and I have conflicting feelings on the whole spousal hire situation.

For a couple applying within the same department, the department wins in theory if the pair's ability averages to more than the average applicant.  In practice, (a) the trailer needs to be a strong tenure candidate in their own right, or problems will (and should!) ensue down the road, but (b) couples tend to want to go to institutions which are appropriate for the stronger of the two people.

For a couple applying in different departments, in the absence of an institutional spousal hire policy it is very difficult to force a department to take a tt hire against their will.  In the old days a department could be bribed (with extra positions) or extorted (with threats of losing positions or resources), but those bribes/threats don't work as well as they used to, because departments know that an extra position now loses that "extra" status 2-3 years down the road, and in all but the largest departments such a hire can represent a real detour away from the long-term strategic goals of the department.  While there are institutions where administration has the authority to simply impose someone on the department against their desires, that is a symptom of an institution with problems.  (Formal spousal hire policies help a little bit in that there is often a better guarantee that the receiving department will get something extra out of the deal, and in any event they make any imposition seem less like a capricious exercise in administrative authority.)

For spousal hires, the situation described by gzxinyan, in which the "trailing" spouse is extremely strong and therefore attractive to the receiving department, is the only one that seems to work well in the long run. - DvF

I would beg to differ on the issue of the importance of (b) above.  This (a couple trying to get positions based on the stronger of the two) would be happening in an ideal job situation, however, jobs are so few and far between that a couple is usually looking to get jobs in the institute in which the luckier of the two was able to land a TT position. 

[daniel_von_flanagan]

I would beg to differ on the issue of the importance of (b) above.  This (a couple trying to get positions based on the stronger of the two) would be happening in an ideal job situation, however, jobs are so few and far between that a couple is usually looking to get jobs in the institute in which the luckier of the two was able to land a TT position. 

Obviously, once a member of a couple gets an interview it is not unreasonable for them to try to get a position for the spouse at the same institution.  The reality is that this is very unlikely if the spouse is not a very strong catch on their own merits. 

The most important part of the spousal job search process takes place much earlier, in their decision of where to apply.  I've seen a lot of couples who have not applied to positions on the basis that the institution is too far below the aspirations of the stronger candidate, without regard to the attractiveness of the weaker one.  That is not good planning, unless the couple is willing to work apart for a while building their respective careers (which is not a terrible strategy - it is what we finally chose to do - but it can be difficult). - DvF

[mouseman]

I would beg to differ on the issue of the importance of (b) above.  This (a couple trying to get positions based on the stronger of the two) would be happening in an ideal job situation, however, jobs are so few and far between that a couple is usually looking to get jobs in the institute in which the luckier of the two was able to land a TT position. 

Obviously, once a member of a couple gets an interview it is not unreasonable for them to try to get a position for the spouse at the same institution.  The reality is that this is very unlikely if the spouse is not a very strong catch on their own merits. 

The most important part of the spousal job search process takes place much earlier, in their decision of where to apply.  I've seen a lot of couples who have not applied to positions on the basis that the institution is too far below the aspirations of the stronger candidate, without regard to the attractiveness of the weaker one.  That is not good planning, unless the couple is willing to work apart for a while building their respective careers (which is not a terrible strategy - it is what we finally chose to do - but it can be difficult). - DvF

Well, I agree to some extent.  True, many people run a dual career job search as though they are running two single career job searches.  I agree that, when one member of a couple applies for a position, they should also consider whether it is a good fit, overall, for their partner/spouse, at all levels.  On the other hand, in many fields, there are so few open positions to which one can apply, that this sort of planning may not be possible - you apply to any place that has an opening in your discipline, and hope that they can take your spouse, as well.
And of course, when the two are in different fields, this sort of planning can become way more complex, even prohibitively so.

[polly_mer]

Well, I agree to some extent.  True, many people run a dual career job search as though they are running two single career job searches.  I agree that, when one member of a couple applies for a position, they should also consider whether it is a good fit, overall, for their partner/spouse, at all levels.  On the other hand, in many fields, there are so few open positions to which one can apply, that this sort of planning may not be possible - you apply to any place that has an opening in your discipline, and hope that they can take your spouse, as well.
And of course, when the two are in different fields, this sort of planning can become way more complex, even prohibitively so.

While perusing the job ads this week, I came across a few ads that straight-up targeted dual career couples in multiple fields.  Instead of having one ad for each position, multiple schools within an hour or two drive of each other explained that they knew how difficult the search was, mentioned that it was entirely reasonable to live between the cities and commute both ways, and posted lists of what they wanted with links to the detailed individual ads to try to encourage people to apply together in a possible win-win-win for two schools and lucky couples.

I don't know how well that works in practice, especially with the multiple departments in multiple schools involved, but since I saw multiple ads of that type this year while never having seen any ads of that type in the past 6 years of looking, I thought it an interesting possible trend.  Mr. Mer and I don't need that, but the numbers of people who do is only increasing.