Tips for going on the market as an Associate Prof?

In our new "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I could use some advice on navigating the job market as an associate professor. Unfortunately, my university is going through a budgetary crisis, and so I'm going back on the job market. This season, I applied to a few open-rank positions, but is it common practice for senior candidates to apply also to tenure-track jobs? Do committees hire senior candidates into t-t positions? Do they then grant those candidates tenure in the new position, or do the new hires have to start all over again on the tenure track? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

All good questions. Do any readers have any helpful insights to share?

Comments

[The Real SLAC Prof]

I think the answers to your questions all vary from institution to institution.

In my recent experience, I'd say maybe 20% of applications for positions advertised at the "Assistant Professor" level came from people at the level of Associate or Full.

Are you willing to give up tenure? If so, the magic words to say are something like, "I understand that I'm applying for a position at the Assistant level; I am willing to give up tenure in order to be considered for this position. [Fill in why you'd be willing to do such a thing]."

At my institution, we would, in principle, be open to hiring someone at the Associate or Full level for an Assistant position, if they really would be open to giving up tenure. In these circumstances, a hire would have a shortened tenure clock, but they would need to jump through all the hoops for "re-tenure," and this would take a year or two.

In practice, we have hired less senior people for Assistant positions, usually people who are from 0-3 years out of their graduate programs. There are many reasons for this, but part of it is that SLACs often see themselves as seeking a very particular kind of person, and there is a general sense that it is easier to "mold" a less senior person into this type of person; more senior candidates are often perceived as being less malleable. Having said that, a clear advantage that more advanced candidates can bring is administrative experience; if you have previous experience Chairing, that is certainly something to highlight.

I'm sorry about the budget problems. Good luck with your search!

[Bill V.]

In all four searches we have had for assistant professors in the last seven years, we have had applications from people who were on the tenure track already. Several went as far a campus interviews, and we hired one. So it is not unusual, there is nothing wrong with it, and it sometimes works.

At our university (and most, I think), it is not possible to hire at a different rank than was advertised. The rules will be different in different places, but according to our faculty union contract,
during hiring negotiations the dean can award up to three years credit toward tenure on the basis of the candidate's prior record. Plus the candidate can go up for tenure early (though that isn't always well received: some folks think someone needs "time in the saddle" to prove fit).

People already in tenured or tenure track roles have both advantages and disadvantages on the job market. One advantage is successful experience in the kind of role we are hiring for. One of the main things search committees are looking for is evidence that the candidate will earn tenure (i.e., have a successful record of teaching and research), and there is no better evidence for that than already having done it. Having taught a full set of courses is a big differentiator over candidates fresh out of grad school. Disadvantages can include the file not being prepared in a way that is comparable to the rest of the pool, it not being plausible that the senior candidate would accept a junior role, the slightest hint that this is an attempt to get a competing offer just to negotiate higher pay where they already are, not understanding the institution to which they are applying, being close to retirement (departments are planning to make a 20-year hire, most of the time), and coming off as thinking you are too good for the role.

You have to be willing to take the lower rank and you should mention that in your cover letter. (There's likely going to be a pay cut, too, so have that in mind already.) You need a plan for earning tenure in the new place, and that plan of new work should be described in your application materials. Crucially, remember that the hiring department does not care at all why you are leaving your old role. They only want to be convinced that you genuinely want this role in this university for good reasons, and that you are a good fit. (Needing to leave the old place is not a reason for the new place to hire you.) If there are big differences between the kind of institution you are at and the one you are applying to, you need to show that you understand the differences and how you will navigate them (teaching load, kinds of students, research expectations, etc.). What you need to sell is that you would be good for the department's needs, not that the department would be good for you.

[Deep applicant pool]

I'm not too sure how prevalent this is, but our last three assistant professor hires were filled with associate professors who gave up tenure elsewhere to take assistant professor positions with us. They had accelerated tenure clocks, but had to go through the process again. (We're an R1, but not a top program).

There was no chance of the people we hired coming in with tenure - once the job ad is finalized, no changes can be made based on quality of applicants, etc.

[Assc prof]

I'm a recent associate professor on the market. I got four interviews last year, three of which were at the assistant level (the fourth being either assistant or associate). Contrary to what Bill V. said, I think it's important to say why you're leaving a tenured place, because it makes it more plausible that you're not just looking for a raise. At least, that's how my department looks at associates applying for assistant positions. Of course, don't just complain or make it seem like you'd take just any job to leave, but I think you should say something. I understand that YMMV.

[Tenured now]

I think this will vary wildly. My current job was advertised at Assistant level, but I applied while putting my tenure packet in at my previous job, and was hired at Associate Level (I did have to go through the tenure process again, but put my packet in literally before I taught my first class, and got tenure the first spring I was here). On the other end of the spectrum, a friend of mine had a fly-out at a UC school when we were in I think year 3 on the tenure track, and the department wasn't able to make an offer because the union contract required a higher salary for someone with that level of experience than the department had been authorized to search for. My sense is that as a rough rule of thumb, private universities will have more flexibility - although it will probably be at the discretion of the Dean and/or Provost.

I echo, though, three things that others have said: 1) In many, many cases, your *only* chance of being hired into a job advertised at Assistant level will be to be willing to give up tenure and go back to the rank of Assistant for at least a few years, 2) you should be very explicit in your cover letter that you are willing to do this, and 3) risk-averse search committees (which I suspect is most search committees!) will only take your stated willingness seriously if you offer a very good reason for being willing to give up tenure and take a lower salary (where I at least would take serious financial trouble at your current university to be a very good reason).

Good luck!