Is It Time for a Search-Committee Code of Conduct?

My post, “We Regret to Inform You,” prompted several readers to share stories about how they felt mistreated by search committees or hiring authorities. Some told of being invited to a campus when it was obvious that they were not serious candidates and others spoke of being kept in the dark for months (or forever) about the outcome of a search process. Having been on the receiving end of similar behavior during my career, I flinched at each all-too-familiar entry.

Treating candidates with respect is not that challenging, but perhaps a little guidance is in order. I’d like to propose that readers write in to help create a Search-Committee Code of Conduct. I’ll provide a few items to start and invite you add to the list:

1. We will notify candidates as soon as they are no longer under consideration and will not use the phrase, “We wish you luck in your future career endeavors” in any correspondence.
2. We will not invite to campus candidates who don’t stand a chance of being hired simply to demonstrate our commitment to diversity.
3. We will exhibit good manners even if we determine within the first hour that our candidate is not a good fit.
4. We will recognize that candidates are judging us as much as we are judging them and commit to representing the best of our institutions.
5. We will not contact references beyond those provided by the candidates without informing them of our intentions to do so.

What else should we add to the list?