'The Golden Rule' Applies

At The Chronicle of Higher Education's On Hiring blog, Allison Vaillancourt says it's time that search committees adhere to a set of standards for the courteous treatment of job candidates. "Treating candidates with respect is not that challenging," Vaillancourt says. But in response to reading anecdotal accounts of search committees' mistreatment of job-seekers, she suggests that "perhaps a little guidance is in order." Suggesting a preliminary list of courtesy standards, Vaillancourt says that search committees should "notify candidates as soon as they are no longer under consideration," and stop sending invitations "to campus candidates who don’t stand a chance of being hired simply to demonstrate our commitment to diversity." In recognizing that candidates are judging their prospective colleagues just as much as they, themselves, are being evaluated, search committees ought to "commit to representing the best of our institutions," she adds. Further, Vaillancourt proposes that committees refrain from contacting references beyond those a candidate has supplied without making their intention to do so known. In a comment to this post, gmsenarighi adds that search committees should "confirm [the] receipt of each candidate's application materials" and "offer hiring communication timeline promises only when ... able to fulfill them."