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Rejection Letters for a faculty position

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Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#71

Post by markchang »

jorgem wrote: post #46
planetguy wrote: post #18

I'm applying for faculty positions at the moment. I haven't even got one rejection letter yet. A few rejection emails, in each case many months after I'd given up all hope of getting the job, is all I've got to show for it. Sigh. Good thing I'm pretty.

I think times have changed. I haven't gotten a rejection letter in years, now. I remember sending out of 200 resumes during the recession at the end of the 80's. Back then you'd always get a letter back -- even if you didn't get an interview! Now, it's so much easier for companies to send a rejection -- yet most don't bother. Sigh.

Times have definitely changed. Along with each application (at least most of them), since they were mailed in (yes, physical form), I got an acknowledgment letter back along with an equal opportunity employment demographic postcard to fill out.

My wife went through this same process last year. Not one single rejection letter.

Times have changed.

Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#72

Post by tjr »

soyummy wrote: post #40
markchang wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at all. But then again, I'm not huge into titles. I also didn't defend until June, so it was technically correct.

I find this surprising. Every professor I've ever had insisted, "I did the work, and as such, you will refer to me as Dr."

Eight years ago I taught as an adjunct instructor. I'm still getting physical junk mail addressing me as "Professor". It's kind of nice. :-)

Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#74

Post by chime »

stellar678 wrote: post #56
inopinatus wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having worn a interviewing & selecting hat for , I can say my objectives for rejection communication were: (1) conveying the fact of it politely and unequivocally, (2) ensuring that the process halts immediately, and (3) leaving an impression such that the candidate's likelihood of thinking & speaking ill of us in future is minimised. The fact is, rejection usually amounts to disappointment and in some people that me…

I think the most-needed advice for people advertising positions is: (pre-1) send any kind of rejection communication at all.

That was my point. Not the specific reason but just a good, respectful letter/email.

Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#75

Post by dctoedt »

eitally wrote: post #68
soyummy wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this surprising. Every professor I've ever had insisted, "I did the work, and as such, you will refer to me as Dr."

At UVA it's against the rules to call anyone doctor who isn't an MD.

At UVA it's against the rules to call anyone doctor who isn't an MD.

1. Academics actually have a better historical- and linguistic claim to the title "doctor" than do physicians and surgeons.

From Wikipedia: "Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre [dɔˈkeːrɛ] 'to teach'. It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the first universities." [1]

2. In the UK, surgeons are called "Mister" for historical reasons, as explained by a FAQ of the Royal College of Surgeons. [2]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_(title)

[2] http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/patient_information/faqs/surgeons.ht...

Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#76

Post by daemon13 »

mkopinsky wrote: post #28
tsotha wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, he might have been drinking too much to get around to applying for all 30.

Unless he did them in batch mode. Apply to 30 positions in January, go drinking for free 26 times in March-May.

Or better yet, apply to 300 positions and go drinking for the whole year!

Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#77

Post by blahedo »

lancewiggs wrote: post #38

Many of the letters started with an apology for being slow, which is a very bad sign. All of them were form letters. Once an interview occurs then I would hope a far more personal approach gets used. The benchmark for this was McKinsey (I was there 10 years ago). I went through the recruitment process there from both sides, and we had a simple policy to call the person back within 24 hours, letting let them know imme…

The reason for the "slow" apology (which I have now been on both sides of) is that when you're running a faculty search, you don't want to close the applicant pool until your chosen candidate has accepted the offer, signed the contract, picked their textbooks, rented an apartment, and moved to town. Well, I exaggerate slightly. But there's always this lurking worry that if you send the rejections too early, you may have to re-open the pile if your hire backs out.

That said, June is still ridiculously late. The search should be done by March or so at the latest, with maybe some contract details lingering until April if there's a hard negotiation.

I've often thought that it would be nice to keep candidates a little more apprised of where they stand, but another problem that faculty search committees run into here is that in our litigious culture (in the US at least), we have to be very, very, very careful what we say for fear of a lawsuit. Sigh.

Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#78

Post by [deleted] »

reader5000 wrote: post #13
endtime wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know that people disagree. I didn't downvote him, but I can imagine that people might have because his comment is a no more than an uninteresting summary of the blog post. It's not really adding much to the conversation.

Actually what the comment does is simultaneously satirizes the blog post author as a person of a highly privileged status feeling sorry for himself because of the "emotional trauma" of his highly successful job search AND thusly questions the relevance of the post at all. I guess I should have spelled it out more clearly.

[deleted]

Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#79

Post by rm445 »

mkopinsky wrote: post #23

Just curious - I found it interesting that most of the letters (with the exception of two) referred to you as Mr. Chang rather than Dr. Chang. I just since you had not technically finished your PhD by that point they were technically accurate. (The letter from Brown seems to be dated June and begins with an apology for delay, so maybe by that point you were actually a Dr.) Did you find it demeaning that they didn't r…

Why would they address him with a title he didn't possess? And why would that be demeaning?

Academics tend to guard jealously their hard-won academic titles, and also to strive for accuracy in the things they do. An unsolicited 'Dr' might be extended as a courtesy to a graduand, i.e. someone who has already submitted and successfully defended their thesis viva voce. But surely not to someone who is merely 'finishing up' - a process that might never terminate.

Re: Rejection Letters for a faculty position

#80

Post by mdonahoe »

markchang wrote: post #25
mkopinsky wrote: post #23

Just curious - I found it interesting that most of the letters (with the exception of two) referred to you as Mr. Chang rather than Dr. Chang. I just since you had not technically finished your PhD by that point they were technically accurate. (The letter from Brown seems to be dated June and begins with an apology for delay, so maybe by that point you were actually a Dr.) Did you find it demeaning that they didn't r…

Not at all. But then again, I'm not huge into titles. I also didn't defend until June, so it was technically correct.

"Dr" Chang. :-)
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