No way to run a university

[nmg]

Right. I'm applying for a lectureship at my own University, having failed so far to get one anywhere else. I've been told by my head of school that I won't get this job, but that I should apply anyway because it may give them the incentive to move me onto a teaching fellowship which they'll then use as a two-year probationary period before trying to find a junior lectureship for me (if I perform well enough that is, and I'll still have to go through the probationary period for new lecturers). I know this sounds like jam tomorrow (or rather, jam the day after tomorrow), but that's all I have. I'm not entirely pleased about it.

I received the invitation to interview from HR yesterday (actually on Monday, but ias didn't tell me about it until yesterday). The interview is for the 22nd, which is next Tuesday. Unfortunately, the 22nd is also ias's birthday, and I've had that day booked off as leave for the last couple of months. Quite why they sent the notification out by post at such short notice, I know not. The letter from HR mentions only the interview, and doesn't say anything about a research seminar, which would be the norm for a lectureship application.

What really rankles is that I've just had an email giving me the date for my research seminar, namely the 21st, or next Monday. Two working days' notice is far less than adequate, to put it bluntly. I cannot believe that they've given similarly short notice to the other candidates, most of whom will presumably not be internal candidates.

Comments

[professoryaffle.livejournal.com]

Is there anyway you can ask for more notice for the seminar?

they don't seems to have been very good about this. they can't have given external applicants so little notice

[cabd.livejournal.com]

This is academia. Of course they might have given the external applicants such short notice.

[nmg.livejournal.com]

Have a biscuit for getting the right answer! They *have* given all of the external candidates exactly the same notice, including those that are from overseas. Having had a chat with one of the bearers of bad news (the secretary in my school that sent out the notification of the seminar date), the delays are entirely due to HR; she was asked to delay the mails she sent until the middle of this week in order to give the HR letters time to arrive.

Still no reply from HR, of course.

[ias.livejournal.com]

Well, it's going to cost the University a fortune on last minute airfares at least...

[sshi.livejournal.com]

They pay airfares for interviews?? Wow. The lot over here wouldn't even pay a Dublin-Galway return train ticket.

[professoryaffle.livejournal.com]

I am undoubtably being incredible naive here but how anyone can believe giving an overseas candidate less than a weeks notice for a job interview and seminar is a good idea is beyond me

[nmg.livejournal.com]

Quite. If their interview invitations were sent by post, even by airmail, they probably wouldn't have received them before Tuesday - and that letter didn't even contain the correct dates, since the seminar is a day earlier than the interview.

btw, nice icon - where's it from?

[professoryaffle.livejournal.com]

The icon came form this story

Hubble telescope snares space bug

good luck

[fire-kitten.livejournal.com]

since I think all other angles on this discussion have been fairly well covered elsewhere.