Candidates

It looks like the decision of my future boss has been made. Of course, I had no input in that decision. However, I think the right person is getting the job.... Unfortunately, I don't think that person is going to be the easiest person to work for.

This entire selection process has been a nightmare from the very beginning. Then, after the candidates were decided, we found out the hard way that some were never really prepared to move and fill the position. Why then, pray tell, did you apply for the job to begin with?! They wasted our time and their own by pretending to take this job search seriously.

In a time with so many people out of work, this makes me sick. It also undermines a tedious search. Here's how it works.... An academic department posts a job. Applicants apply. A committee narrows it down to about 20-25 candidates who are interviewed for half an hour at the annual national meeting. After those interviews, they narrow it down to 10-12 candidates. The entire faculty decide to bring 3-4 candidates to campus for a 3-day long interview process. This interview is not fun for anyone; it's grueling, especially for the candidate. After this, the faculty vote on who gets the job.

This entire process takes a year. So, you can imagine everyone's frustration when one - or a few - of the final candidates never really wanted to move to assume the position. Arg!

And now I have to move one boss out and another in. Fun times.