The Recruitment Committee

Extract

People seeking academic positions will find themselves dealing with a small, mysterious body which will either end their hopes or bring their candidacy to the brink of final success. Few applicants will ever be in a position to influence a department to hire them unless they first pass the scrutiny of a committee which screens credentials, arranges short interviews at major professional meetings, and decides which candidate or candidates will be invited to campus for inspection by their colleagues. Since the activities of a recruitment committee are generally puzzling to job seekers, who are likely to receive only short, formal, and perhaps tardy communications at irregular intervals, this description may be interesting, even if it does not reduce the anxiety level of prospective academics.