|
|
Post by maldoror on May 9, 2009 14:04:31 GMT -5
What would be the minimum time to follow up an application without appearing like a neurotic windbag?
|
|
|
|
Post by jphil on May 9, 2009 15:43:54 GMT -5
What are you looking for exactly? Confirmation that your application materials were received? Or an update on the search process?
I think the answer to your question depends on what sort of information you'd be asking for. It wouldn't really be annoying to ask for confirmation quite early into the process, but asking for an update on the search early in the process may come across as annoying.
|
|
|
|
Post by maldoror on May 9, 2009 16:35:16 GMT -5
Update on search process - sorry forgot to mention that.
|
|
|
|
Post by anon on May 10, 2009 7:34:43 GMT -5
OK here's a follow up:
Suppose you have an on-campus, and the committee says "We'll let you know by the end of the week." Flash forward 3 weeks. At what point, if any, is it reasonable to inquire about their decision? Presumably, they have made a hire, but they also said they'd let you know either way.
All hypothetical, of course...
|
|
|
|
Post by GTron on May 14, 2009 7:03:23 GMT -5
It doesn't necessarily mean they've made a hire. It may mean they've made an offer, maybe even two.
A friend had an on-campus at MidWestU. He was told he'd hear something by time X. At tX+4 weeks, my friend hadn't heard anything, so he emailed the search head. The search head responded positively and said something about "delays." The note said, more or less, that no decision had been made yet, and that my friend should just hold on a bit longer. At tX+6 weeks, my friend heard from the search chair that someone else had been hired. Here's what happened.
At tX, Candidate 1 was offered the job, and given two weeks to make up his mind. At the end of the two weeks, C1 asked for two more weeks, because he was waiting to hear from a better school. At the end of this extra two weeks (tX+4), C1 finally turned MWU's offer, because the better school had finally offered a job to C1. (This is when my friend first emailed search head, and search head responded with note about "delays" in the process.) Then MWU offered the position to Candidate 2. (They said nothing to my friend about this.) Two weeks later, at tX+6, C2 accepted the position at MWU. At this point, the search committee contacted my friend to tell him the search was over.
Did MWU lie to my friend? Yes. Why? They didn't want to let him know that he was choice 3, and that offers had been made to others first. They were afraid that he'd get annoyed, and they thought they might end up offering him the position, in the end. They didn't want any hard feelings to screw up their search.
Do all search heads lie in this way? No. I know of some that are up front about making offers to others, and who will tell a candidate where s/he stands in line.
Anyway, a polite inquiry at this point seems fine. It's been a couple of days -- what did you do? Did you learn anything?
|
|
