Musings of a science professor at a large research university.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Wrong and Stupid
In Scientopia today, I present and discuss a reader's question about what a search committee can and can't consider in deciding which candidates to interview, with a particular focus on a common issue..
I am not a science professor, but am female, and although majored in biology in university I went on to do further studies in mental health. I eventually worked as an executive director for a national mental health organization. I therefore have done a lot of recruiting, interviewing, and hiring in my time. My immediate reaction to this scenario is that the hiring committee has overstepped the scope of its terms of references and plunged right into the error-laden thinking of MAKING ASSUMPTIONS. Making assumptions is disrespectful, as well as irrational and illogical. The qualified candidate should be measured only against the position’s requirements and not against his/her life circumstances (although I do not know how what legal prohibitions there are against this error). The committee has ultimately worked against itself be eliminating a qualified candidate.
I am not a science professor, but am female, and although majored in biology in university I went on to do further studies in mental health. I eventually worked as an executive director for a national mental health organization. I therefore have done a lot of recruiting, interviewing, and hiring in my time. My immediate reaction to this scenario is that the hiring committee has overstepped the scope of its terms of references and plunged right into the error-laden thinking of MAKING ASSUMPTIONS. Making assumptions is disrespectful, as well as irrational and illogical. The qualified candidate should be measured only against the position’s requirements and not against his/her life circumstances (although I do not know how what legal prohibitions there are against this error). The committee has ultimately worked against itself be eliminating a qualified candidate.
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