Academic

AALS Faculty Recruitment: "I Wish I'd Known That BEFORE The Conference!"

By Tim Zinnecker

Nine weeks from today the AALS will kick off its annual Faculty Recruitment Conference.  The AALS released its first distribution of FAR forms a few weeks ago, and the second distribution is scheduled for release today.  Faculty appointments committees are poring over tons of material.  And some committees have started to schedule Conference interviews.  The faculty recruiting season is well under way.

I attended my first Conference as a candidate in Fall 1990.  I did not have a mentor or coach to guide me through the process.  I did not graduate from a law school with a well-developed pipeline into the academy.  The internet was in its infancy, so I had little access to the wealth of information now readily available to candidates. 

So what did I discover AFTER getting to DC that I wish I had known BEFORE the Conference started?

I wish I had known that interview suites are located throughout the numerous wings of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel (pictured [only in part!], but known by a different name at the time).  Even at the speed of light it can take at least ten minutes to race from one interview to the next (as over 200 candidates all converge every thirty minutes on a limited number of elevators always slowly moving in the wrong direction and stopping at every floor).  Without this knowledge, I didn't hesitate to schedule a few back-to-backs.  So I found myself dashing down the halls, flailing a copy of my UCC and maiming innocent bystanders who dared get in my way.  Several minutes late, I finally arrive, sweating profusely (I'm so way past "glowing").  I am unable to carry on an intelligent conversation for nearly fifteen minutes because I can't catch my breath.  ("Candidate 1-745, can we get you some water?  Atenolol?  A defibrillator?  Should we inform the concierge that we need the hotel physician?  No?  Then perhaps you can defend, hopefully with the use of Venn diagrams, your scholarly position that a cashless society will lead to anarchy.  And be thorough, yet brief, given that only three minutes remain in our allotted time together.")  Quite the first impression, indeed.

Congrats to those candidates who will have several interviews at the Conference.  This post should not discourage you from scheduling back-to-backs.  But may I suggest that you timely inform your interview teams that you have an interview (i) immediately following a particular interview and may need to leave two-to-five minutes early or (ii) immediately preceding a particular interview and may arrive two-to-five minutes late.   Interview teams are sensitive to the logistical concerns raised by the hotel's layout (and may appreciate the few moments of "down time" to catch their breath, return a phone call, ...).  An email to the hiring chair a few days before the Conference starts should suffice.

Photo source here.

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on September 03, 2009 (boomark / email).