Following Up?

[fidgiegirl]

I submitted an application at a community college for a faculty position about a week and a half ago. I've always been a little uneasy with the whole idea of follow-up but wondering if I should do it? What do you all think? Tips?

Thanks . . .

[leslieann]

Do you know their procedure? When I worked in a CC, human resources collected the applications, then forwarded them in a pile for review by the committee. There was usually a closing date for applications, too, and sometimes the apps languished until the closing date. Your app is likely to be reviewed by a committee, and the chair of that committee would be the person to try to contact once the apps have left human resources. However, don't expect much. I have had applications out for academic positions where I heard NOTHING whatsoever for months, and then had a call asking me if I was still interested. This happens because institutions don't want to tell anyone who is qualified "no" until they have an unqualified "yes" from the preferred candidate. It is a weird job situation for sure. In some cases you don't actually hear ANYTHING unless you are called for an interview. This is the most inhumane of the many nasty processes I've encountered.

I'd suggest going gently by asking at human resources what they think the timeline would be, and also asking for the name of the chair of the search committee. That gives you some information, at least. However, you should also know that people on these committees are NOT allowed to talk to applicants (in an effort to make sure that everyone gets treated exactly the same). The chair can often just let you know whether your application has been reviewed or not but they don't usually tell you anything that you really want to know (i.e. if you made the short list). Those bits of info usually go out to all the applicants at the same time. There is a lot of formality around this stuff.

And procedures....we had to review applications, construct a short list, review the short list, do phone interviews, make the list of finalists, have people come to campus for a visit and to teach, and then rank the finalists.....and then someone ELSE (the dean or a vice president) actually made the decision. Community colleges and universities take themselves seriously. All of this for a job that paid forty grand and you taught the SAME course in five sections each semester.

I shouldn't sound so negative; I loved the CC and also the university I recently left. I also really like self employment! But the hiring procedures in higher ed are different than any I've seen elsewhere. It can be frustrating, to say the least.

At least, that was true in my experience. As usual, YMMV. I sure hope you get an interview, Kelli, so you can really check them out.

L.

[iris lily]

.... This is the most inhumane of the many nasty processes I've encountered...

Except that, when you receive 100's of applications, many of which seem to be generic for generic jobs, it's not feasbile to reply.Have you ever been in a hiring situation? Just wondering.

Following up is ok, but my guess is that 1.5 weeks is way too soon. Within that time frame I've not typically even selected my list of candidates to interview yet.

[leslieann]

I am sure you are right, IL, with the generic app for generic job situation. My experiences have been limited to higher ed, with extremely rigid application criteria and perhaps I didn`t even know the worst of it...maybe human resources had actually screened out any that didn`t include the required documentation.

I do agree that decisions are rarely made within two weeks in these situations.

[fidgiegirl]

Thanks girls! That was kind of what my gut was telling me but I am crap at the following up stuff.