[libraries, jobs] Endlesse Searche

[bridgetester]

[No Kidding.]

Endlesse Searche
Todd Gilman

http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2006/07/2006072701c/careers.html

Thursday, July 27, 2006An opening is posted for an academic librarian. Applicants promptly and eagerly forward their materials. Then they hear

Comments

[epi_lj]

Perhaps this isn't as common in academia, but there's a possibility that I don't see addressed here. Many companies put out job opening listings for jobs that don't actually exist. They generally never contact the applicants and nobody gets interviewed. The tactic is not designed to result in an employee. Instead, it's a way to assess the field. They get a lot of information about who's out there, what the job opportunities are, how many people are looking for work, what the relative skill levels are, etc. (And there's always the, "Hey, you never know. If somebody totally blows our socks off, we could find something." aspect.) Personally, I think it's a cruel tactic, but it happens all the time.

[ebongreen]

Idiot job search coordination in academia isn't confined to libraries, as I can personally attest.

When you've applied for an internal position, and the first notification that you hear about it is that "hey, you'll all be involved in interviewing our finalists next week"? Yeah, not good. /B-(

[ymf]

i think some of the points on making the selection process smooth are quite useful to me, though not for librarians! thanks (=