How good are my chances of landing this job?

[Double J]

I interviewed with a local university -- one that I attended and graduated from years ago -- for an administrative position Tuesday. The interview went well. I was told they received hundreds of applications and that I'm one of a few candidates remaining. I had reached out to my counselor after applying for the position and he told me he happened to sit on the screening committee. (A stroke of luck indeed.) Given that I got called for the interview, it's obvious he must have pulled for me.

 

There are two open positions, not just one, so they must need a lot of help in this department. I realize how rampant cronyism is in higher education and figure at least one or two of the candidates must already work for the university.

 

I worked very hard to prepare for the interview, and even harder on the multiple writing exercises I was required to submit yesterday (added pictures, did thorough research, etc.) I incorporated the university's mission and vision statements, stressed how passionate I was about education, and mentioned that I've stayed in tune with everything taking place at the institution over the years. I really gave it my all. I still plan on sending thank you letters to all the interviewers this weekend.

 

Do I have a fighting chance?

 

In a perfect world, they might decide to give one position to an internal candidate and the other to someone coming from the outside. I just hope that all my hard work wasn't in vain. The committee seemed friendly and actively involved (e.g. jotting down my responses), but it's hard to gauge whether that really means anything.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

[BellaDonna]

I sure sounds like you have a good chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had reached out to my counselor after applying for the position and he told me he happened to sit on the screening committee

 

That is a really good edge to have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I realize how rampant cronyism is in higher education and figure at least one or two of the candidates must already work for the university.

 

 

Are these positions associated with unions?

[banal]

Your chances are decent. You are aware though that university "appointments" are very political. Cronyism may be a factor, but so may be race or sex or orientation. I know that, in my department, we were told explicitly by the administration to hire a homosexual African-American candidate (who had met the job's minimum requirements, yet he was not even close to being the "best choice") to improve our diversity statistics.

 

So if you don't get the job, don't take it personally. But yeah, the fact that you interviewed, that you have some pull, that there are multiple vacancies, and that you went there before, means you have a good shot. What kind of position is it though? Tenure-track?

[Double J]

It's actually an administrative/marketing position (not teaching)

[banal]

Better chance then, imo.

[MissIndigo]

I've been on the job hunt for the better part of a year and honestly I've had to adopt the attitude that if I am selected as a finalist for a position, then my chances are as good or bad as my competitiors until somebody gets that offer. I can't worry about who may or may not be an internal candidate or a crony of the search committee or hiring manager, and focus on doing as well as possible in the interview. If you feel you did well, just be proud of that, and don't fixate on your chances too much. Bottom line is that one way or another they were highly interested in you

 

I will say that at my unis it's been near impossible for an outsider to break in. Cronyism is rampant, and most jobs are internally advertised before they are brought to the attention of the general public. If the job is announced outside the uni then it means they couldn't find suitable internal candidates to interview, which is rare given how people move around from department to department, especially at the secretarial and admin levels. But that's just one model; your uni may be different.

 

I hope you get an offer though. Good luck.

[lucasky]

Based on experience working at a top-end University in North America:

We get about 300-500 applications for admin type jobs. We interview 3-5 people for the position.

 

You're doing VERY well I think. No one can say for sure... because we don't know the other candidates, but those are pretty sweet odds. Even if you don't get the job - you can have confidence that you write one mean cover letter and resume. Its a great skillset to have!