July 23, 2008
Treating Internal Candidates Right
In my last entry, I discussed how job seekers can take advantage of late openings to gain a foothold in academe. One commenter noted that temporary, non-tenure-track positions are just that — temporary — and that no one should go into one believing anything different.
My own job history includes getting a visiting position that led to one on the tenure track, and I know of many other Ph.D.‘s who have made similar transitions. However, it is certainly true that many non-tenure-track faculty members do not get hired into tenure-track positions at the same (or any) institution, which raises a very important issue: What obligations does a hiring institution have to visiting, temporary, or non-tenure-track faculty members?
At minimum, such candidates should be treated with professionalism and fairness. In particular, when a search is undertaken for a position occupied by a temporary instructor, the search committee owes that internal candidate both an honest shot at the position and fair treatment through the process.
An honest shot does not mean merely a “courtesy interview.” Such interviews give candidates the impression that they have a chance at gaining the job when the very term indicates that they do not. It is much better to eliminate internal candidates from consideration — and let them know — as soon as it becomes clear that they are not competitive in the search.
Internal candidates should also be apprised of the schedules of other interviewees, and allowed the courtesy of avoiding all the associated events. They should also receive full support for their other searches, even if they are highly attractive candidates for the positions they currently occupy.
Many bad feelings associated with the search process are relatively easy to avoid with courtesy, honesty, and common sense. Treating internal candidates humanely even when they are not going to get the job is a minimal, but very important, obligation for hiring institutions.
By David R. Evans | Posted on Wednesday July 23, 2008 | PermalinkComments
Commenting is closed for this article.
Previous: Administrative Hirings and Firings
Next: Baylor Fires Its President
What obligations does a hiring institution have to visiting, temporary, or non-tenure-track faculty members? The institution has no obligation whatsoever to its non-tenure track faculty.
— James E. Hicks Jul 23, 11:29 AM #
I would hate to have James E. Hicks as a supervisor. Common courtesy and empathy never go out of style.
— Donald Ray Jenkins Jul 23, 11:08 PM #
Courtesy interviews are demeaning.
When I have hired temp faculty in the past, I explain at the start that the hiring process for permanent tenure track positions is VERY different. I explain to them that I will not likely be on the committee that makes the recommendation. If they want a job, I will help them by connecting them with committees that will allow them to get to know folks. I stress to them the importance of acting like they want to be here and that they want to contribute. I have some who take me up on that (and who have gotten the next job coming along). I have others who never show up for anything other than their classes and office hours. They don’t usually get interviews.
— M Jul 24, 08:41 AM #
I have had two distinct experiences with being an internal candidate, but both resulted in the same outcome. The first time I was a full-time faculty member (called, interestingly enough, “collateral faculty”) and had a 3-3 load with advising service duties. I truly enjoyed the environment and the vast majority of my colleagues. When my job, along with two others, was condensed into a single job, I applied for the new position with a new, thoughtful cover letter and an updated c.v. Even after receiving well above-average evaluations and being invited to give a lecture at the institution, I NEVER even heard from them regarding the job. EVER. My office was located about six feet from the committee search’s office, and there was no visit…no phone call, no impromptu chat about “psst: you’re not the one we’re looking for”, no rejection letter, not even an e-mail. None of this, though, is surprising given that the institution lowered considerably its requirements for the new position. In all likelihood, I was well over-qualified, even being ABD.
My second experience was as a VAP at a very small liberal arts college. I was treated fairly at all points and came to know that the decision boiled down to me and another being #1 and #2. I did not get the job, and was notified by my dept. head immediately after the candidate accepted officially.
My advice, if I may be so bold, is for candidates in my position to consider carefully that internal candidates are NOT given the same amount of consideration as external ones. The grass is always greener, so to speak, on the other side and with the unknown. As a VAP, you are doing the exact same job as tenure-track faculty—I have a higher teaching load, larger classes, and I still publish, give papers at conferences, got external funding for the summer, and pursue my book project—but for none of the assurance and prestige of the tt’ers. This can be intimidating for many search committee members, who find themselves being “outperformed” by a VAP or the like…why would they want to hire someone who will, in all likelihood, outperform them again?
— Darren N. Aversa Jul 24, 10:16 AM #
When departments ask me if they can do a courtesy interview for a candidate who is not competitive, I suggest that they offer such a candidate a “practice interview” instead — an opportunity for the person to practice a job talk appropriate for a tenure-track search at a liberal arts college such as ours. This allows them to treat the candidate with respect without sending any of the wrong signals. Usually, such practice interviews only involve a couple of department members, so they aren’t terribly time-consuming, and they are helpful to the candidates.
— Teresa Amott Jul 24, 10:19 AM #
Having just been an internal candidate who thought she had a shot at the job, but didn’t ultimately “fit” what the committee was looking for, I know how anxious and stressed the internal is and how the committee also can be really hard working & stressed. And I also know how easy it is for feelings to be hurt, misunderstandings to happen, and an all around awful experience to lead from uncomfortable to worse. My own advice is for committees (even if they don’t have an internal, actually) to NOT give a “courtesy” interview, and to let every candidate who is “out of the running” know as soon as they are. Don’t assume someone knows they are out just because they haven’t been contacted yet. Hope springs eternal until you get the “no”. It will save a lot of future problems.
Also, I took not being hired from a school where I was NOT an internal much less personally and the experience was much easier to put on a “back burner” and forget. And I don’t think there is a way for an internal to not think it’s a little personal, but I tried to get over it and be a big girl. When I ultimately failed a bit, I apologized and hopefully moved on.
But finally, if someone is an internal candidate that means they probably have ties to the area that someone from outside the area does NOT have. Committees really ought to be allowed to think about that— will the outsider stay or leave for greener pastures in two, three years and the committee be searching AGAIN, and AGAIN? The person who is a local is HERE. That could mean a lot or a little, but it should mean something. This, of course, is just my own humble opinion.
— Kim Wells Jul 24, 10:30 AM #
“The institution has no obligation whatsoever to its non-tenure track faculty.”
There is nothing quite like failing to see the moral dilemma. Is it a reasonable inference that James E. Hicks is tenured someplace? In hell, perchance?
Landrum Kelly
— Landrum Kelly Jul 24, 11:27 AM #
If you kiss the right arse you will get the job. University of Wisconsin just hired an internal candidate to be chancellor of the whitewater campus and the best that they could say about him is that he has been on the job for 18 years.
— malcolx Jul 24, 12:05 PM #
My first job after receiving my Ph.D. was a VAP job at a fairly prestigious public university. The position was for one year, renewable for a second. The teaching load was decent, and the pay OK, though somewhat low for the area’s cost of living.
I did well in my first year as a VAP in terms of publishing and teaching, and during that year’s job cycle I got a job offer. It was NOT an offer that was particularly attractive, but it was TT. When I went to inform the chair of the department in which I was a VAP, I was encouraged to turn it down, since I didn’t think it was a very good position and since I could stay as a VAP for another year. The chair, and several faculty members in my field, also told me that the following year they would be conducting a TT search in my field, and I was a very strong candidate for the job.
So, I turned down the offer and stayed for a second year as a VAP. Well, once the job was advertised, in spite of the fact that I had published still more and continued to do well with teaching, suddenly I was no longer an attractive candidate. Indeed, I heard nothing whatsoever from the search committee (two members of which were supposedly my friends and self-styled mentors) until long after the hiring season was over. At that point I received a rejection letter of two sentences from the chair, with the signature stamped rather than actually signed.
Fortunately, my story has a happy ending. I got a TT offer that year, better than the one I turned down the previous year, though at a school less prestigious than the one where I was a VAP. In the subsequent decade, I’ve been reasonably successful, and I’m now a full prof at a different, better school than the one where I had my first TT job.
Here’s the moral of the story as I see it: I should never have been so naive to believe the school where I was a VAP really viewed me as a strong candidate for the job. They have a strong pro-Ivy / Oxbridge bias, and my graduate institution was neither. They most likely just wanted to avoid the headache of filling the VAP job for another year. They had someone who was doing a good job (though not good enough to do it on the tenure track, evidently!), and it was in their interest to keep me there for another year.
Here’s another moral, though: I’m now in a position where the very people who treated me so shabbily are writing letters of recommendation for their graduate students addressed to me, hoping my current department will hire said students! Of course, I’m a consummate professional, and I don’t hold the advisors’ bad behavior in the past against the students. But the irony is sweet indeed! Also sweet is the fact that my record of publication now outstrips those two members of the search committee (my so-called “mentors”) who acted so shabbily, and it outstrips that of the person who was hired to fill the TT job. Just some little details that continue to please me!
— Ella Jul 24, 12:18 PM #
I’ve noticed on this blog that instructor level faculty issues of temporary hires aren’t discussed very much. What about ‘local hire’ in foreign institutions? My university (in the Middle East) quite often hires locals for one year contracts either foreign or host country. I know many of them hope they will be hired as full time faculty. Any comments?
— K Saville Jul 24, 01:45 PM #
The chair of the regents search committee personally asked me to apply and said I would be the only internal candidate for the CEO post at Old Siwash. The chair of the regents supported my candidacy, as did several other regents. I was one of a handful interviewed. They chose an external who dazzled the regents.
After the chair of the regents told me I was not selected, she went on to tell me that the chair of the search committee, who was also a regent, submitted her own name as a candidate after she had reviewed the candidate pool late in the process. Although she had no advanced degrees and no experience in higher education or administration, she told the regents that she was better qualified than any candidates in the pool. I was staggered that the person who asked me to stand for the post had a conflict of interest that destroyed the integrity of the selection process. I was even more staggered that the regents did not stop the search when the conflict of interest of one of its members emerged. I and the other candidates in the pool were unaware of the conflict of interest. I told the regent chair I would have withdrawn my candidacy immediately if I had known of the ethics breach that occurred. Somehow the regents did not see this as a conflict of interest and saw no reason to disband the search. I learned a great lesson in how lay boards view their responsibilities to the candidates in the pool.
— saeder anne weiser Jul 24, 08:19 PM #
I don’t really understand why anyone would hire somebody for a VAP position unless you would consider this person a serious candidate for a fulltime tenure track position. If you think that little of the person that you hired to teach your students, then what are you doing hiring that person in the first place.
Not that I’m saying the VAP should get the position but barring a lack of job performance, they should definitely be a serious candidate. The chance to get a inside track on a position is the primary reason that a person may consider taking a VAP position. Treat your VAP’s in a bad way and you may find that qualified candidates may stop showing up.
— Brad Gill Jul 24, 09:57 PM #
I am a VAP at a state university that conducted a TT search for my position last year. The department has had trouble retaining faculty and many of the positions are constantly re-opening. I applied for the job because I like the school, department, and the region. I would be happy to settle down here and continue to be a productive scholar. Although I am a competitive candidate who landed other job talks for similar positions, the search committee did not consider me nor have they said a word to me about the position and my application…not even a rejection letter. The kicker is that SC chair and one of the members of the search committee were themselves secretly on the market last year…so they were hiring for a department in which they will no longer reside.
— VAPtoria Jul 25, 08:09 AM #
TT = tenure track. What does VAP stand for? I understand it is not tenure track. Just unfamiliar with the acronym.
— Jan Jul 25, 09:18 AM #
#12, it may happen that you’d hire someone for a VAP (visiting assistant professor, #14) that you wouldn’t consider for the TT job due to the lateness of the opening, the fact that you couldn’t find someone who had the exact specialty you want/need, or other similar reasons. (Say, for example, you can get by with a 19th-century American lit person for a year, but really need an early Americanist for the permanent job.)
These factors don’t, however, change the imperative to treat such people ethically, which obviously many institutions fail to do.
— David R. Evans Jul 25, 10:05 AM #
VAP=Visiting Assistant Professor.
— jon Jul 25, 10:32 AM #
#3 said: “I stress to them the importance of acting like they want to be here and that they want to contribute.”
#3 should understand, however, that often visiting and part-time (adjunct) professors bend over backwards to be present and receive absolutely nothing for their efforts. I have held an adjunct position while finishing my degree. I not only hold excessive office hours (more than most of my tt colleagues), I raised money last year to bring a Guest Lecturer in a “hot topic” to my small campus. Let me repeat: I am an adjunct. I did it because I believe in the mission of the university, I want to contribute to the intellectual environment and exchange, and I wanted to add to my own professional development and cv. But it would be nice if these efforts were recognized by hosting depts. I bring this up, because some candidates who are in the position of applying hear you say “you should behave like you want to be here” and know that when we do, nothing will come of it and we should have been spending that time publishing and applying elsewhere. I feel that this disconnect is just another symptom of the divide between those who have been comfortably ensconsced in their university positions for 10, 20 or more years, and those of us very aware of market conditions…
— phd Jul 25, 07:23 PM #
#1 The harsh and nasty James Hicks is certainly a classic administrator whose presence in his University is real misfortune.
As for hiring temps, a few years ago we had one (ABD at the time) who was brilliant at ingratiating himself with the faculty, including quickly becomeng aware of the Department politics. Despite accepting offered and requested help, even from those who were anathema to the Chair and his gang, this young person played his cards very well. As it became apparent that he was a prime candidate for tenure track and had kissed enough asses to enhance his chances, he slowly distanced himself from those who were not fawning acolytes of the Chair.
This includes betrayal of a commitment to participate in a Department, University and State project because it would piss off the Chair
I acknowlege the man was quite competent in both teaching and research,t and fit for the position. Although his appointment was a virtually a forgone conclusion, others who might have been better, were interviewed. Thus we hypocritically went through the motions and every ones time was wasted by a charade.
Now, several years later, Dr “Smiley” has achieved tenure and promotion. Those that assisted and advised him have faded into oblivion as we can no longer further his career.
Internal hiring would seem to require more substantial scrutiny and evaluation than a hopeful candidate that has flown 3000 miles and often at his or her own expense.
Prof Emeritus (possibly awarded due to time served) eastern State University.
— AW Jul 26, 11:27 AM #
I was offered a one class one year contract after graduating last year in the arts. Because I was also being considered for more classes in another department, I turned it down due to being pressured to make a decision. Both were last minute – 1 week before school starts. That same dept. now has openings. Since I didn’t get the other job but am in the same area, how can I best present myself for these, or am I screwed because I said no once. The person hiring took offense even though it was an awful situation and soooo last minute.
— AM Jul 28, 04:24 PM #
I will be teaching one class a piece at two different colleges in the fall — both slac’s — and I would love to be TT at either of them. But I am not holding my breath. I’ll be on the job market this year — first time as PhD, though I was on as ABD last year and heard nothing. I’m not even giving myself the anxiety and heartache of thinking I might end up at one of the schools I’m teaching at in the fall. If an opportunity comes, fine; if not, there’s a whole country of colleges out there that I’ll be applying to.
— MEH Jul 30, 04:03 PM #