On not being an ass.

Departments in our field are treating job candidates very poorly.

Today, I share with you the ongoing saga of Mr. Squirrel and the Campus Interview.

Mr. Squirrel has had several phone interviews with Teaching University. Each time, TU has been very positive, and told him where he stands in the process: "we're down to five people," "you're in the final three," and so on.

After the last phone interview, they told him they'd be deciding on campus interviews (we assumed they were bringing two people) and gave him a specific date to expect a call, either way. Several days after that date, they finally called. Mr. Squirrel was not home, and the chair left a message saying "I'll reach him tomorrow (Wednesday)." After waiting 'til 2pm Wednesday, Mr. Squirrel called them, and left a message with his hours for the rest of the week.

No call on Thursday, no call today. Finally, Mr. Squirrel calls - this was about half an hour ago - and the department secretary says "oh, yes, the chair is in... let me transfer you." The chair does not answer his phone, and when Mr. Squirrel calls back to leave a message with the secretary, she doesn't answer her phone.

This is horrible, and ridiculous. When someone makes it to the final three, you simply don't treat them like this, whether or not you're bringing them to campus.

I realize people are uncomfortable when they have to break bad news and all that, but it's part of their job. If they can't handle it professionally, they need to delegate it to someone else. Similar things have happened over and over again in our job searches, and I really hope each department realizes that people remember this shit... unless you're some highly ranked school, being an ass to your candidates is a really bad idea. It's a bad idea in any case, but it seems as though the departments who are trying to build their reputations should make a special effort to avoid this kind of thing.