By Bradley Woodruff, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin

5 Things I’ve Learned Serving on Search Committees

If you’re given a chance to serve on a search committee, do it. Do it for the free meals. Do it for the cross-campus connections you’ll make. But most of all, do it because you’ll learn about life on the other side of the interview table. Here are five things I was surprised to learn while serving on academic searches.

1. We consider every single applicant. 
I don’t know how I thought this process worked. Intelligent software maybe? Tossing the applications in the air and choosing the ones that land a certain way? At my institution, every single applicant is considered. If 100 people apply, 100 applications are reviewed. Often, that means every member of the committee looks at 100 applications. This reinforces how important it is to convey why you’re perfect for the position. You have your MLIS? That’s nice, so do all these other people (except that one applicant who seemed confused about what job they were applying for). What’s going to make us want to bring you to our campus?

2. Generic cover letters really stand out (in a bad way).
I heard this often when I was applying for jobs. “But how will they know?” I wondered. “What if I write a really a-MA-zing generic letter?” As it turns out, it really is apparent. After reading 50 letters that name the institution, the position, and discuss specific traits called for in the posting, the reviewer is going to be unimpressed when you come at them with a vaguery like “I would be an excellent candidate for the position at your institution” and go on to talk about qualities you have that only tangentially relate to what the position asks for. In the Hierarchy of Cover Letter Impressiveness, generic letters rank lower than letters addressed to the wrong school.

3. Sometimes the search committee doesn’t agree on what is important.
Not all members of the committee agree on what qualifications matter most, or even how to interpret a person’s qualifications. As an example, imagine a posting that calls for two years of experience. Some might insist that two years of experience means two years of experience, even arguing that two years’ worth of part time work equates to one year of actual experience. Other members may count student involvement or volunteer work as valid experience, while others feel that “years of experience” is more of a preference than a requirement.

4. Candidates occasionally forget they are being interviewed.
I had been told this happens, but I assumed it was rare. It’s actually quite common though, so here is a reminder. You are being interviewed from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave. Just because dinner is more casual doesn’t mean it’s time to share information you wouldn’t share during your formal interview. It’s draining, but stay on point for your whole visit. I’ve seen a candidate drop out of consideration because of the way they behaved between meetings in an all-day interview.

5. The committee makes a recommendation, but the director makes the final decision.
After reading 100 applications, spending weeks discussing candidates, conducting phone interviews, bringing interviewees to campus, and talking about the position until we’re experts in the area we’re hiring for, the committee makes a recommendation to the director. And that’s it. It’s just a recommendation. The director can decide to go with whichever candidate they want, or none of them. So, while you’re there trying to impress the search committee, don’t forget to connect with the decision maker(s) as well.

What about you? Have you learned anything from searches you have been on or interviewed in front of? Share them in the comments below.