visiting prof positions

[ohh]

I am wondering if it is gauche to contact a dept. that is listing a one-year visiting professor position, and asking them more about the position, especially if there is the possibility for renewal or the position turning into tenure track?

[also curious]

Does anyone have a sense of how competitive these searches are at this time of year? How many apply, how much prior teaching experience is needed to get hired?

[raig]

Jun 20, 2011 13:38:13 GMT -5 ohh said:

I am wondering if it is gauche to contact a dept. that is listing a one-year visiting professor position, and asking them more about the position, especially if there is the possibility for renewal or the position turning into tenure track?

The question itself suggests you know there might be downsides to posing such a query to the employer. You never want to give anybody on the other end a reason to doubt your sincerity or commitment.

You should ask yourself if this information will influence whether you would choose to apply or not, or whether you would put together a weaker portfolio. If the answer is "no" then there is no upside to asking (other than satisfying your curiosity). This rule applies to every stage of the application process until you have an offer in hand and are in negotiation mode, and by that time you would probably have a good sense of the answers to these questions anyway.

In general, take the information from the listing as the complete statement of what the institution can state about the position as of its writing. If there was a possibility for renewal, for example, that would make the position more attractive and the department would want to put that out there. Not seeing this information implies that at best they aren't in a position to say that right now, or at least they aren't allowed to by the administration. More likely is the fact that they don't know, since they'll have to go through the authorization process for this all over again next year.

[GoForIt]

I have frequently contacted departments to ask for further information. I think it shows interest and initiative and helps get your name on the map (out of that vast pile of apps that has to be sorted quickly). Go ahead and contact them. And as a member of my school's personnel committee, I have never found these contacts to be annoying or inappropriate.

I recommend email - you can ask your questions over email or ask to set up time for a phone call. If they don't respond to your email, then don't worry about it. If they do, then obviously you have a green light.

[huh]

I completely disagree with raig. Both of those are completely reasonable questions and directly relevant to the nature of a VAP-type position (for both you AND the department). I say ask away.

[doit]

When I applied for a VAP position two years ago, I contacted the department chair with tons of questions about the position and about the possibility of a TT position. After going through two search processes (one for the VAP and one for the TT), I'm about to start my second year on the TT there. I absolutely recommend being aggressive if it is a place you can imagine working long term. Why not?

[Testing the water]

I am curious about the second posters question. How competitive are these last minute VAP positions? How fast do search committees make these choices?