Liklihood of offers before winter break?

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Liklihood of offers before winter break?

anon (guest) 03 Dec 2014 17:23

For the positions that are interviewing right now, what is the liklihood that offers will be made before the winter break? Or will we have to wait in anticipation until faculty go back to work in January? At least I have all the holiday festivities for distraction!

devanon (guest) 03 Dec 2014 18:20

Very strong likelihood if you're the top candidate, I'd say. If you're interviewing, feel free to ask the search chair for their anticipated timeline.

socialanon (guest) 03 Dec 2014 19:42

The reason these places interview before the winter break is because they want to be able to make the offer before the holidays. If you're top choice, you're very likely to hear back before the break. If you are not top choice, then only after the holidays (unless if first choice is quick to turn down the offer).

J-Dot (guest) 03 Dec 2014 19:59

What reasons would a site have to offer before the holidays? It seems like a rush, especially with most faculty busy with end of semester tasks and preparing for the holidays.

It would seem logical to me that if it happens, it happens, but that sites certainly wouldn't be rushing to do this just to beat a holiday deadline.

anon (guest) 03 Dec 2014 20:54

Most top places are interviewing/making offers to people before the holiday because they want to make offers to the top candidates before those candidates are taken by other top schools. Schools that wait too long will lose out on several top people who were already made offers before the holidays.

BeenThere (guest) 03 Dec 2014 21:20

Anon, socialanon, and devanon are correct. Why else would a place interview so early? If you are not going to make an offer before the holidays why on earth would you bother bringing people out so early? Most places that interview before Thanksgiving are going to make an offer before winter break. Otherwise, they have gone to all this trouble for nothing.

ComMember SLAC (guest) 03 Dec 2014 22:02

Offer before holiday break is the goal! Not sure if we'll make it.

asstprof (guest) 04 Dec 2014 06:01

I think that basically every school that has a fall term campus interview (even December ones) will make every effort to make an offer before the holiday break for the reasons people stated. They want that person snatched up. They can still say, "you have 1 week to decide" (or 2, or whatever), knowing that you will not be able to get another offer within that timeframe, because your next campus interview won't be until late January at the earliest. This is why, as a candidate, it is next to impossible to consider concurrent offers that interview in separate semesters. There are basically two hiring cycles, in fall and spring. When I initially applied, I had two offers in the fall and eventually had to take one, even though I was in the phone and being-invited-to-campus process for a number of other schools for the spring that I might have ultimately preferred. I took the bird in hand. It's working fine for me, but I still often consider what could have been!

J-Dot (guest) 04 Dec 2014 13:38

Interesting (and useful) information. Thanks to all.

Given this, I wonder why sites have a Nov 1 or Nov 15 or Dec 1 deadline? It doesn't seem like enough time to get in all the applications, review, discuss, decide on a short list, schedule interviews, host interviews, then make offers before Dec break.

asstprof (guest) 04 Dec 2014 15:00

The sites with Nov 15 and later deadlines will not be able to make an offer before the holiday break. Those people will be doing a spring round of interviews (well, winter, but spring term). Sometimes it's out of their hands - sometimes the cycle for authorizing positions isn't until later in the fall. Or, in this financial situation in higher ed, the authorization gets delayed. But truthfully I don't know why schools would, given the choice, have a deadline after Oct 15.

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