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[peitho]

Being full-time faculty and trying to schedule interviews has become increasingly difficult of late.  Has anyone noticed a rise in incivility on the part of employers in an increasingly saturated market?

I ask because I was just reprimanded by a secretary scheduling skype interviews for a lecturer job.  The initial email gave no other information but the day of the week, which is pretty problematic for me, so I put in a request for an interview before X am and after X pm, so that I not have to cancel class to interview for the position.  It may have been naive on my part, but I figured it beat trying to reschedule after she'd stuck the interview in the middle of a 75-minute class. 

When she finally got back to me 10 days later, she informed me that interviews would be conducted around "our" hours (emphasis theirs).  (You guessed it, right in the middle of a 75-minute class.)  Worse yet, although "our" hours no longer conflict with class, they will conflict with a campus visit. (Does the hotel have internet?  I must be crazy for considering it, because surely the campus visit takes priority here.)

I didn't think I was being a primadonna, but I don't know if it's general economic climate, Ivy League attitude, the value they set on a lecturer position, or my actually being unreasonable.  Things do change.  I've made similar requests in the past (usually for the initial phone interview for a tt or VAP), and the SC has always been able to move it to where I could just let class out early or start late instead of flat-out cancel.  Was I that out of line? 

[msparticularity]

Being full-time faculty and trying to schedule interviews has become increasingly difficult of late.  Has anyone noticed a rise in incivility on the part of employers in an increasingly saturated market?

I ask because I was just reprimanded by a secretary scheduling skype interviews for a lecturer job.  The initial email gave no other information but the day of the week, which is pretty problematic for me, so I put in a request for an interview before X am and after X pm, so that I not have to cancel class to interview for the position.  It may have been naive on my part, but I figured it beat trying to reschedule after she'd stuck the interview in the middle of a 75-minute class. 

When she finally got back to me 10 days later, she informed me that interviews would be conducted around "our" hours (emphasis theirs).  (You guessed it, right in the middle of a 75-minute class.)  Worse yet, although "our" hours no longer conflict with class, they will conflict with a campus visit. (Does the hotel have internet?  I must be crazy for considering it, because surely the campus visit takes priority here.)

I didn't think I was being a primadonna, but I don't know if it's general economic climate, Ivy League attitude, the value they set on a lecturer position, or my actually being unreasonable.  Things do change.  I've made similar requests in the past (usually for the initial phone interview for a tt or VAP), and the SC has always been able to move it to where I could just let class out early or start late instead of flat-out cancel.  Was I that out of line? 

I have noticed that the level of civility and respect accorded to candidates is, indeed, lower for lectureships--and especially for adjunct slots--than it is for TT and VAP slots. Basically, the attitude seems to be that you're a desirable professional and they'll court you for the latter, but for the lower-status jobs you're all pretty interchangeable and they don't really care whether you drop out, so the demands of your schedule are completely irrelevant.

I'm truly sorry you're having to deal with this; people are idiots sometimes. 

[dalekk]

I think that experience was probably much more about the secretary being an unprofessional psycho than a statement about the job market.

[aprilmay]

Her response may not have been professional, but it seems yours may have been a bit pushy, too. You asked that the entire search committee, say about 5 people, rearrange their schedules to accommodate yours. It is perfectly reasonable that you have a conflict with the initial time, but you will not be able to give very specific requirements ("before X am and after X pm") unless that is a very huge range. If you were friendly and respectful in your email (e.g., "Would it be at all possible. . .") rather than demanding ("I can only do . . .") and gave them a lot of options for the interview, you were not out of line. You cannot afford to look high maintenance. I have a little sympathy for the secretary here who is trying to deal with your schedule and that of multiple faculty members as well.

[peitho]

I tried not to seem pushy by adding the "if at all possible" and the usual modal verbs that signify serious mitigation, but it may not have come across that way.  I usually try to get secretaries on my side no matter what the position, since they can stop the world on its axis and you may see them more frequently than faculty. 

There really is no room for negotiation in low-status jobs, even at the interview stage.

[larryc]

I think that experience was probably much more about the secretary being an unprofessional psycho than a statement about the job market.

This. What a jerk.

[aprilmay]

I tried not to seem pushy by adding the "if at all possible" and the usual modal verbs that signify serious mitigation, but it may not have come across that way.  I usually try to get secretaries on my side no matter what the position, since they can stop the world on its axis and you may see them more frequently than faculty. 

There really is no room for negotiation in low-status jobs, even at the interview stage.

Then it seems you did the best one could do.

[liberta]

You were not acting as a prima donna, not at all.  You were simply requesting a time that you could realistically do given your teaching schedule.

If the secretary/admin doesn't want to work with you in a way that considers your teaching duties, what kind of institution does the admin/secretary represent?