One of the bizarre aspects of the job market is that everybody wants to be everybody else’s first choice. Sure, candidates want to be a department’s first choice, but departments also want to be the first choice of candidates. Because members of a department typically don’t know to whom an offer will be extended, they need to be nice to everybody to increase the chances that they are their first choice’s first choice. Thus, departments and candidates alike may sugar coat certain things during a campus interview, leaving the reality for subsequent interactions.
I recently had the first of those subsequent interactions during a trip to look for housing. On my trip I visited campus again, stopped by the provost’s office, met with HR and had dinner with a faculty member. Each of these interactions held the possibility for some of the sheen of my successful candidacy and their successful sales pitches for the school and department to wear away. Second impressions of the school centered on the effects of the current economy. Compared to a number of other schools, things are not particularly bleak, but faculty members will not be receiving cost-of-living raises this year. I can’t be sure of their second impressions of me, but they may have noticed that I’m more of a sarcastic asshole than they originally anticipated.
Largely, my second impressions reinforced my first impressions: the school seems to be on solid financial footing; the sense of community that was conveyed during my interview remained; and my future coworker was friendly and gave me good advice about navigating the transition from graduate student to junior faculty member. He may regret this in the fall when the sarcastic asshole down the hall won’t stop asking him questions.
