Academic

FAR and Away!

By Tim Zinnecker

Recent posts here and elsewhere have started to address the topic of faculty hiring and the upcoming AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference.  For the candidate who will be attending the Conference for the first time, helpful information is only a click away (visit The Faculty Lounge, Prawfsblawg,  Taxprof, Concurring Opinions, etc.).  I?d like to offer a few remarks on the FAR form itself.

1) Deadlines.  A visit to the AALS website indicates that the deadline for inclusion in the first distribution of FAR forms is August 5.  The first distribution becomes available to law schools on August 13, and committees often begin their deliberations sometime before, or just shortly after, Labor Day.  DO NOT MISS THE DEADLINE OF AUGUST 5.  Yes, some folks whose FAR forms appear in the second or third distributions may be granted interview opportunities.  But don?t bet on it.  First, given the current state of the economy (especially as it has affected state schools), the number of candidates is likely to increase (might the first distribution break the magical mark of 1,000 this year?) and the number of hiring slots may decrease.  Every year the talent pool seems to get deeper, and this year we might be up to our necks in impressive credentials.  Many interview slots will be taken by those who make the first distribution and become the focus of attention at a committee?s initial meeting, leaving few interviewing opportunities for those in the second or third distribution.  Second, your commitment to the process may be questioned if your FAR form dribbles in late.

2) Geographic restrictions.  Think long and hard about listing any geographic restrictions on the FAR form (e.g., ?within 40 miles of Boston,? ?New York City area,? ?east of the Mississippi River,? etc.).  Sure, committees don?t want to court a candidate who is NEVER going to move to its location, and the honesty is appreciated.  But given the ever-increasing difficulty in landing a teaching gig, candidates may wish to keep an open mind and not foreclose numerous possible opportunities by imposing a geographic filter.  And if you do have location restrictions, consider mentioning any non-obvious reason.  A restriction to a particular city or state presumably means you have family constraints.  But telling hiring committees that you?ll relocate ?only to a blue state? or you won?t relocate to ?Texas, Arkansas, North Dakota, Tennessee, Iowa, Nevada, Wisconsin, Ohio, and South Carolina? only sends a message that you?re a bit goofy (absent additional details).

3) Subjects you wish to teach.  This field of information often is a school?s primary filter.  While some schools may hire ?the best athlete available,? many slots are subject-sensitive.  Be honest, but be somewhat flexible.  For example, if you?re a securities lawyer and want to teach in that field, don?t list ten securities-related courses to the exclusion of all others (maybe tax candidates can get away with this, but I remain skeptical).  And regardless of your primary teaching interests, add one or two first-year courses to the mix.  Almost all of us teach in the first-year program at some point during our academic career.  One upside of teaching a first-year course is that you can develop a ?following? for your upper-level courses and seminars.

4) Scholarship.  If you?re constrained by the limited space on the FAR form, be sure and drop additional information in the ?comments? section.  Consider adding any works in progress here, also.  But any work you list should be far enough along that you can provide a lengthy draft on request.  Don?t mention works that are mere ideas, abstracts, tentative outlines, etc.  Save those for your research agenda memo.

5) Proofreading.  Ask at least three people to proofread your form for accuracy before you submit it to the AALS.  Committees get to know a candidate (and the candidate?s potential for quality teaching and scholarship) initially through the FAR form.  Make a good first impression!  Avoid typographical errors, spelling mistakes, etc. 

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on June 24, 2009 (boomark / email).