peniarth
New member
Posts: 9
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« on: April 22, 2011, 10:21:32 AM » |
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I am usually a lurker here, but I've found myself in a new situation and am not sure how to handle it.
I was on a search committee this year for a tenure-trick hire at my college. Because my field is small, I knew many of the candidates who applied: some were personal friends or acquaintances, and some were friends of friends. Again, because my field is small, this is not unusual.
Like all hires in the humanities these days, we had a difficult decision to make among many qualified (and even overqualified) candidates. We made the decision, the hire is done, the contract is signed.
Recently I had occasion to send a note to an old friend who also happened to be an unsuccessful applicant for the position. His reply was terse. The upshot was "I can't be friends with you anymore because you were on the search committee and you didn't hire me."
I was and am shocked, as I had expected more professionalism from him. I know that in the long run there's really nothing I can do to save the friendship, if this is the way he wants to view it.
My queston is, for those of you who have been on search committees: how do you resume normal life with friends, when those friends were unsuccessful applicants for the position? Do you pretend it never happened--not even mention it? Do you apologize for how things turned out, once, and otherwise hope they let it go? Do you explain why they weren't hired, if they ask? (This seems unprofessional to me and legally risky, but maybe I'm wrong.)
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formerly_the_fiver
Numerically unstable
Senior member
Posts: 945
You'll be riding by bareback on your armadillo
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« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2011, 10:38:37 AM » |
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I'm going to jump in here although I've never been on a SC. I have been on the other end for a while, and I think your friend is being unprofessional. As you say, there are many qualified applicants, and it would have been unfair (and I assume illegal) for you to give him/her preference over other, more qualified candidates.
Unfortunately, this is the way things go, and I think most job seekers understand this and bear no grudge. I have applied where friends and/or acquaintances were on the committee, and when I got rejected I was not angry at the people. It is just a fact of life in the academic world.
As far as discussions with people afterword, from the other side, I'd prefer something like a brief statement straightforwardly explaining the realities of the situation (as you laid them out in your OP), and if you can't say anything more, just say, "I'm sure you understand I cannot discuss it further due to confidentiality" or whatever. I have gotten some general advice from friends on SCs, along the lines of "practice discussing X more fluently."
Upshot: I think your friend needs to develop a thicker hide, and to get a better grasp on the reality of searches.
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"The music in this movie is horrible and its use of sexuality, sexual fantasies and tight pants doesn't make it better."
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conjugate
Compulsive punster and insatiable reader, and
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 17,026
Tends to have warped sense of humor
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« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2011, 10:41:20 AM » |
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Your "friend" has made his/her decision. If you are contacted again by this person, you might point out that yours was only one voice among many, and that while you can't discuss details, that you are sure this person would have done an excellent job.
Validate their feelings: "I know how disappointing this must be", "You're right to feel frustrated," etc., but also point out that you only have one vote on a committee that makes recommendations to the dean/chair/Provost, who then makes a recommendation to the person higher up, who may ignore all these voices.
If the person is sensible and worthy of your friendship, he or she will realize how unreasonable this anger is, and will attempt to make it up. If not, don't worry about it. These things happen.
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Unfortunately, I think conjugate gives good advice.
∀ε>0∃δ>0∋|x–a|<δ⇒|ƒ(x)-ƒ(a)|<ε |
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vardahilwen
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« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2011, 10:55:54 AM » |
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If you care to save the friendship, you could reply, something along the lines of: I know how tough the job market can be, and how disappointing it is to discover you won't be the one offered the job. Please remember that as a search committee member, I was only one vote among many, and didn't have the power to decide the outcome. I can understand why you might feel resentment toward the members of the search committee, but perhaps in time, you will reconsider our friendship. I'm sorry that you feel it has to end over this, and I'd welcome further contact with you in the future if you feel differently. Best wishes.
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You can sit at my lunch table.
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this_is_my_username
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« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2011, 11:01:58 AM » |
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OR you could say something along the lines of, "I'm sorry you feel this way, my hope is that some day you will grow up. Best of luck."
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vardahilwen
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« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2011, 11:04:13 AM » |
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Note that I started with, "if you want to save the friendship ..."
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You can sit at my lunch table.
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lottie
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« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2011, 11:07:51 AM » |
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As an applicant, I have always been aware that people I know are on SCs for jobs that I'm aplying for. If I don't get an interview, I assume it's an issue of fit and department needs rather than a personal affront. This "friend" is being unprofessional. If the search was on the up and up, then he has nothing to complain about and needs to move on. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do.
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spyzowin
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« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2011, 11:12:45 AM » |
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In the end, it's really just a job. All things being equal, you might as well hire the friend, but only if all other things are equal. And yeah, I'd sort of expect friends to go to bat for me. If they didn't, they're not really friends. But only if all other things are equal.
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vardahilwen
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« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2011, 11:15:19 AM » |
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I agree with everything that's been said about professionalism ... but the job search is also fraught with emotion. I'm on the market myself, and it's very difficult to keep my head in the right place. This friend might reconsider his/her behavior in time - which is why I suggested leaving the door open *if* you might want to continue the relationship. People don't always behave rationally, and sometimes learn from their mistakes.
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You can sit at my lunch table.
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helpful
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« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2011, 11:30:01 AM » |
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In the end, it's really just a job. All things being equal, you might as well hire the friend, but only if all other things are equal. And yeah, I'd sort of expect friends to go to bat for me. If they didn't, they're not really friends. But only if all other things are equal.
This is a comment that ignores what the OP said. The OP said many of the applicants were friends, so how could the OP do what you are asking? I guess you didn't read the OP. |
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tinyzombie
She of the Ass-Kicking Socks, and a
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 7,443
elevate from this point on - chuck d
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« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2011, 11:48:11 AM » |
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In the end, it's really just a job. All things being equal, you might as well hire the friend, but only if all other things are equal. And yeah, I'd sort of expect friends to go to bat for me. If they didn't, they're not really friends. But only if all other things are equal.
This is a comment that ignores what the OP said. The OP said many of the applicants were friends, so how could the OP do what you are asking? I guess you didn't read the OP. Helpful, you're surprised at this? You and your expectations of reading comprehension. Pssht. |
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Correct, as usual, TZ. That's because you are not Dude. TZ, however, is Dude. TZ is my favorite. I wish YOU began with A. |
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helpful
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« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2011, 12:27:20 PM » |
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In the end, it's really just a job. All things being equal, you might as well hire the friend, but only if all other things are equal. And yeah, I'd sort of expect friends to go to bat for me. If they didn't, they're not really friends. But only if all other things are equal.
This is a comment that ignores what the OP said. The OP said many of the applicants were friends, so how could the OP do what you are asking? I guess you didn't read the OP. Helpful, you're surprised at this? You and your expectations of reading comprehension. Pssht. I guess I am guilty of expecting professors to be good models for their students. I can't imagine what Amnirov's students are like, given hu's postings on these fora. |
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mountainguy
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« Reply #12 on: April 22, 2011, 12:39:02 PM » |
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I'm sorry that this happened to you, Peniarth. It's the other applicant's problem, not yours. This job market as making some candidates behave irrationality, as we've recently seen elsewhere on the forum. I've also observed that the comments on my field's jobs wiki have become increasingly vicious in recent months.
I had an interview several months ago in which the scc happened to be a personal acquaintance of mine. Although the committee hired someone else (who I also knew), I don't hold any hard feelings against my acquaintance. I was somewhat perplexed that the college never sent me a rejection letter and that I had to hear about the hire through Facebook, but I'm willing to attribute that to an administrative snafu by the school and would never make a big deal about it with my acquaintance/friend.
By the way, welcome to the forums! I hope you'll de-lurk more often.
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mended_drum
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« Reply #13 on: April 22, 2011, 12:40:29 PM » |
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I'd be forgiving. The job search can be emotionally devastating, and your friend will probably regret what he or she wrote a few months from now and send an apology. Just back off for now and let him or her mourn a bit. Professionalism is best, but in this market, sometimes the disappointment overcomes even the best of us.
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seniorscholar
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« Reply #14 on: April 22, 2011, 12:45:55 PM » |
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My queston is, for those of you who have been on search committees: how do you resume normal life with friends, when those friends were unsuccessful applicants for the position? Do you pretend it never happened--not even mention it? Do you apologize for how things turned out, once, and otherwise hope they let it go? Do you explain why they weren't hired, if they ask? (This seems unprofessional to me and legally risky, but maybe I'm wrong.)
This was not a friend, really, but an acquaintance, and someone who had a year or two earlier invited me to give a keynote at a conference s/he was organizing. Applied for a senior hire. We had the funding rather late, so (after announcing the position, soliciting applications from a dozen or so people suggested by people on the committee or others in the department, and reading the 60 or so applications of whom perhaps 20 were actually suitable), we did telephone interviews with a dozen and then invited three to campus and hired one. The acquaintance, who was not one of the 3 invited to campus, sent me a rather snitty letter complaining about several things (badly treated because the other senior person in our field was not even at the phone interview -- no, I explained, that person was on sabbatical and out of the country, etc.) and then asked outright about why s/he was not hired. I replied in quite specific but broad terms, mentioning one or two things that could certainly be improved in preparation for a senior line at a research university. This was done in one e-mail, and it went no further. Have since seen this person at half a dozen conferences. We nod, smile, say "how are things going?" and similar nothings, and avoid any long intimate conversations. It seems to me this is the best that can be done. |
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