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[daniel_von_flanagan]

The OP was writing about a teaching only post "lecturer" at an R1.

The rank might not have been the department's choice.  If demand increases for instruction in introductory or service courses, and the tt faculty are not willing to increase their teaching load, the dean might only authorize funding for a lecturer.  That doesn't mean that the department wouldn't prefer someone who has at least a bit of a research programme. 

We don't have many lecturers, but those we do have come to seminars and colloquiua and continue to publish.  (We don't require this, but would not be inclined to hire someone who has given up on research.) - DvF

[macaroon]

That SC members at the R1 univ didn't buy my "I came to love teaching more" may be due to the type of audience as some of you pointed out. But that was the truth, and this is why I am applying for lecturer positions, not another TT position. Is it that I shouldn't be applied for a lec position at R1 univs?

I think they'd be worried that you'd move on to a tenure track position somewhere with a higher teaching load unless you unveiled the part about your significant other. 

I think you just need to be upfront about both your reasons.  I don't want to work with someone that doesn't want the job and is only there because of his or her spouse.  But it seems that you're not convincing anyone that you're leaving your tenure track job for purely professional reasons.  Don't leave the other half of the story to be filled in by our imaginations. 

[totoro]

I just had a phone interview this morning with a US State University. They asked me why I was interested in coming to their university. I made the 2 body issue point #4 in my reply. My wife's PhD adviser is a big shot faculty member in another department and is interested in getting grants with her etc. They know this guy.

[niceday]

Yet on so many other threads people are advised not to mention why they really want to move because SCs will be insulted that you just picked them due to location. It seems to be a Catch-22.

I don't believe those threads.  I think there is a mythology of SC psychology which was originally created and promulgated by people who have little experience from the hiring side of the job market, and which has taken a life of its own through mindless repetition. - DvF

These people are often claiming search committee experience when making these statements.

Then they move over to chat boards where they claim to be 13-year-old girls.

Based on my experience all I cared about was whether the candidate was good, not why they wanted to come.

This is generally true, but it is useful to have some confidence that they really want to come.  No department wants to be a doormat, which in this context either means a backup school for tenure-year applicants, a lever for a salary hike at the current institution, or a brief stopping ground for someone en route to a better place.  If someone on a tt or with tenure applies to my department, I really do want to hear something that tells me that the candidate views us as better than where they are, either for personal or for professional reasons.  - DvF

All of this is true including two short-time but prominent posters who I stumbled across in real-life a couple of years ago---one was a grad student in my own program and the other an abd I was on a panel with. Both happily told me they loved the CHE forums! ("You should visit them, I'm XXX on there. Say hi!"  What they didn't realize was that I recognized both usernames because I was always baffled by some of the "advice" they gave on job search and research threads.

The key to saying something "personal" about motive is about presentation.  You or a recommender wants to mention these things as a "plus" to your application---not the sole reason.  Any sensible person at this stage should know that these questions will be raised and should neutralize the issue.

I've really come to believe this. There are so many people on these fora giving advice without ever been in the very position one needs to be to give that kind of advice. The worst of them spout nonsense. The best of them echo what they heard others say which is polluted by some of the nonsense spouted earlier by the first kind.

Having never worked at a CC, I'd be wary of giving advice for CC jobseekers (um, yeah, I can say they value teaching but who doesn't know that.).

Similarly, I think grad students and people who have never served on search committees or were otherwise intimately involved on the hiring side should be a little more modest. I mean, at a minimum, one should have concluded one's own job search successfully before proclaiming strongly to others how it must always be done.

[cannonprinter]

Happy New Year!

Thank you everyone for your helpful suggestions. I hope I will do better next time if I am invited to another interview (BTW, still haven't heard from the R1 university).

Again, thank you so much for your kind help.

Cannonprinter

[asa_phelps]

Yet on so many other threads people are advised not to mention why they really want to move because SCs will be insulted that you just picked them due to location. It seems to be a Catch-22.

This may be different in highly desirable locations but here in middle America at interstate off ramp college a letter that mentions some familial or other reason for applying in addition to all the other stuff is generally looked upon favorably.  Our top candidates are all qualified but we want to know how well they'll fit to the department, campus and community.  No one wants to do another search (if even allowed to do so) two years down the road because Prof X didn't like our small town.  And yes, I've been on several search committees.

As a general rule, always be honest about your motivations.  Don't try to hide things.  (But don't volunteer more info than you need to.)   

[aprilmay]

This is a good question with a lot of good advice. I second that you shouldn't make the long distance problem the forefront of your reason for applying. Never tell someone at an R1 anything negative about research! When asked why you are applying you could say that while you have enjoyed research, you now wish to focus more on teaching. It would be great if you could give a specific example ("For example, I recently redesigned my course to . . .". An example will make this more real. Could you say that because your research has so greatly informed your teaching, being at a research university is a great match? Then you can mention that you know you like this area because your SO lives there. This gets in the SO point without making it the focus. Of course, only say these if they are true. Make sure they know you fully anticipate that you will be tenured. A lot of people will think this is why you are leaving. I think that because you are sincere, your real motivations will come through and help you in the interview.

I'm saying this as a current and former member of several SCs.
Are people really being SC impersonators on the forum and giving advice? That is horrible. It would explain a lot.

[niceday]

I'm saying this as a current and former member of several SCs.
Are people really being SC impersonators on the forum and giving advice? That is horrible. It would explain a lot.

No, in some ways it is worse as it is not impersonation but this bizarre sense of ...  not knowing what they don't know but very authoritatively parroting what they heard from others which creates this sense of false authority.

I mean, it's fine for people to say what it looks like from their end as long as they have some experience or they start by disclosing that they actually don't have any relevant experience.

But many people who are grad students, or folks have not yet succeeded in landing the kind of job that the OP for any particular thread is asking about, or have never served on a SC, will pipe up all the time advising people how it actually works -- without mentioning, umm, they are just saying what they heard from others and have no direct experience or a record of success. A lot of times, they will just spout off things that have become wisdom on the fora but that are not necessarily correct or applicable to the situation or the field.

You'd hope they would at least have the decency to say that they are a grad student and/or have never been involved with or succeeded in whatever the question is about but here's their humble take anyway based upon what they heard.

[aprilmay]

niceday,

This would explain some of the comments I've seen on the forum. Different opinions is one thing, but sometimes the posts are way out there.

I've often wondered about the position of the posters. I try to say things like "not in my field" before giving advice that might not fit, but it's hard because I don't wish to fully disclose my name and school.

[niceday]

niceday,

This would explain some of the comments I've seen on the forum. Different opinions is one thing, but sometimes the posts are way out there.

Aprilmay, doesn't it?

I've often wondered about the position of the posters. I try to say things like "not in my field" before giving advice that might not fit, but it's hard because I don't wish to fully disclose my name and school.

I think we all give some advice that is not first person account but one should qualify it. I do remember talking about a CC search, for example, where I saw a friend who had been adjuncting for a long time get hired after she credibly threatened to quit. The OP in that thread was in a similar situation so I volunteered this info but I was clear that this was what had happened to a friend of mine and I didn't really know anything else about anything to do with CCs.

I mean, yes, I know CC jobs are as hard to get as non-CC jobs and they often hire PhDs but, really, I'll let CC search committee members talk about all that as there are always nuances and twists and turns and why should I spout off second hand knowledge? There are enough people who know the game from the inside on any particular topic that it seems amazing that so many others feel the urge to volunteer their second-hand and unreliable info with such confidence.

We know what we know and we should be humble about it. This bugs me because there are earnest people looking for advice here.

Anyway, rant over!

[prevprofmd]

Obviously, each situation is different...
That said, I did leave a TT position for a totally different world (went to med school). Be sure you really know what you are giving up and what you are getting. If at all possible, I would try and negotiate a 1 year leave with your current job and go to where you need to be as a visiting whatever for 1 year before resigning. Because there will be no going back.