If you are offered a job, how long do you usually have before you must accept it?
If you are offered a job
(94 posts) (16 voices)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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I was given 48 hours for my tenure track position. In retrospect that kind of sucked. However, I was not in a position to say no.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I believe that the APSA guidelines say that you should be given 2 weeks. Anything less is really unfair.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Most places conform to the 2-week standard. This can often (though not always) be negotiated up if you have good reason (waiting to see if other offers come in; spousal hiring issues; etc.). A lot will depend on how worried they are about losing out on people below you on their list and whether they even can make another offer if you turn them down.
If you're given less than two weeks, you have the right to complain (politely) and ask for more time, but for those seeking their first job, the hiring department has all the power and if they're giving you a short fuse, they probably won't negotiate it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
For my offer I was given 6 days to respond. I "pushed back" for the full two weeks (per APSA guidelines etc) but was not accommodated.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Huh. I was pleased to find that the "onerous" process of registration had effectively cut down on the number of self-entitled, snowflake ABD postings. After all, how can one be expected to know how to use the search function if you can't even figure-out how to register an alias? But apparently a few are beginning to sneak through anyway. (By the way, great handle, OP.)
Here are some previous discussions you might find helpful, should you indeed be so fortunate as to get a call, an offer, or multiple offers that might prompt you decline one in this market.
http://www.poliscijobrumors.com/topic.php?id=441
http://www.poliscijobrumors.com/topic.php?id=1488
http://www.poliscijobrumors.com/topic.php?id=21114
http://www.poliscijobrumors.com/topic.php?id=21329Posted 2 years ago # -
Maybe two weeks is common among PhD-granting departments, but that really doesn't fit my experience. All of my tenure-track offers (all from public regional comprehensives) came with deadlines significantly shorter - all were around 5-10 days at most.
Posted 2 years ago # -
"All my tenure-track offers ...". Good to know someone is off-the-chart successful, having so many job offers he just refer to them as a collective whole. Two weeks, in my vast experience, does seem pretty standard.
Posted 2 years ago # -
^ Well, none were in the same year (and I didn't accept most of them). I just spent a while on the market before a seemingly good fit came along.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Back in the good old days, I assume? In this market if you get offered a job, you take it. And if they demand an answer in 25 minutes, you give them one. And it's yes.
Posted 2 years ago # -
depends on the department (a lot). Good departments tend to be a bit more self-confident and will give you time. Bad departments may not
Posted 2 years ago # -
<And if they demand an answer in 25 minutes, you give them one.>
Look, it's abusive and unprofessional for a department - no matter the size or stature - to demand a response in a short period of time. I don't care if it's a good or a bad market. People have personal lives, spouses, other interviews, things to think about, etc. We do NOT have to sit idly by while departments are engaging in this kind of bad behavior. When this happened to me, I simply reminded the department that 2 weeks was APSA standard and that I would need the time to make an informed decision that was right for me. And they rightly gave me the time.
Posted 2 years ago # -
If a department dicks you around, and insists on a snap answer, give them one. Say yes. But keep looking (quietly) for another offer. Two can play that game.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Thank you all (well most of you) for the useful answers. I am not so brazen to believe that I will get more than one job offer, I just want to be prepared on the off-chance that I do.
Otis- thank you for taking the time to provide links to related posts...Yes I forgot to use the search feature. This error on my part must mean I am the worst kind of human being
Posted 2 years ago # -
No, givemeajob, you are the second worst kind. The worst kind is the kind that constantly reminds you that you are doing something differently than he likes it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
^^^
Really bad idea to keep looking after you've signed. Sure, you're being screwed, but that's because the department holds all the cards, knows it, and lacks scruples (or is being pressured by the Dean or whoever).
Consider the downside risk: you may not (likely not) get another offer, the department will likely find out (it's a small world), and you have to live with these people -- and be evaluated for tenure by them.
Bottom line: it is unfair. Suck it up, make your decision, but also remember, and don't do it to someone else twenty years down the road.
B.
(who had the statutory 5 minutes to decide about his first TT position)
Posted 2 years ago # -
And one might add - why are you applying, interviewing, and wasting everyone's time if you don't want to take the job? Buyer's remorse?
Oh, I know. If they like you enough to make an offer, then you should be able to get a *better* job somewhere else...
:rend hair:
:wring hands:
:gnash teeth:Posted 2 years ago # -
In this context--in which the hiring department provides the applicant with much less than the two-week norm to decide--the buyer's remorse is probably not something that the applicant could have foreseen. Personally, I think it's both risky and wrong to renege once an offer has been accepted. However, I still can see why one would be tempted to do so when, during the decision-making process, the person comes to learn of, as Bianco phrased it, a lack of scruples at the hiring department. It's possible to apply and interview in good faith, but then to sour on the position as a result of experiences during the interview or during negotiations. So, before you inflict permanent damage from too vigorous of gnashing of your teeth, keep the context of the thread in mind.
Posted 2 years ago # -
It may be a bad idea to ACTIVELY seek another job after you signed. But if you had applications still out, then they are fair game. Just like it is fair game to go back on the market your first year at a job.
The idea that the department holds ALL the cards is problematic. Yes, they hold MOST of the cards. But we sometimes hold a few as well.
I think it all comes down to context. If they are asking for a decision quickly, be up front and ask why. It may be that they have funding deadlines or something. The more information you have, the better. If they just say "this is how we do it" ... well, then all bets are off. You should probably play it safe and say yes to the offer. But you may end up looking for an exit strategy ASAP.
Posted 2 years ago # -
How did this become a discussion of "looking after you've signed"? That was not at all what the OP was asking about.
Posted 2 years ago #