Law Professor Lateraling 101: Part 7 (Rejection Is A Dish Best Served Cold)
posted by Paul Secunda
I know, I know, before I start getting smart ass comments from the likes of Slater and Moss, that it is “revenge” that is the dish in question, but it seems to me that rejection is also quite a frosty platter as well. And believe me, anyone who goes through the lateral market will be rejected at some point.
As my co-blogger, Rick Bales, at Workplace Prof aptly puts it, “Folks entering this market need to know that they’re not going to hit a home run every time, and that what may be a home run in one school’s ballpark may well be a foul ball in another school’s ballpark.”
And I have had my share of foul balls. We’ll talk home runs tomorrow.
In the last couple of posts, I have described the ways in which I heard about the rejection of my candidacy and for my own mental health, I do not review them again hear. Instead, I want to focus on how to turn rejection into a constructive enterprise or better put, how to respond to rejection properly.
It may be obvious to some, but a rejection may only be an initial rejection. Because committee members, curricular needs, and just school politics change, it is conceivable that you may have another opportunity to revisit a candidacy with that school in the near future. The point is not to burn any bridges if there is even a remote possibility that you could see yourself going to that school in the future. Don’t respond to a rejection by saying: “Fine! That’s just fine! I’ll be laughing my ass off when I am choosing between Harvard, a federal judgeship, and a sweet government position in a few years!” Suppress the urge.
Indeed, in a frank discussion with the head of a lateral appointments committee that ended up not having me back to their school, he explained that lateral hiring is a multi-year process, not just because you might be offered a look-see visitorship instead of a permanent position in the future, but because it may take a few years of interaction with a school before they are ready to move on your candidacy. As an example, he discussed a situation where his school identified a prospect in the Fall of 2002, invited her for a visit in the Spring of 2006, she visited in the Fall of 2006, and then they made her an offer that she accepted in the Spring of 2007 to join that faculty in the Fall of 2007. So five year courtships in the lateral market can and do happen.
So, as Monty Python pointed out in the Life of Brian, one should always look on the bright side of life. When in your most lonely of loneliness moments, just remember that the lateral market has a funny way of working out and that rejection call or email may be just the start of something great.
February 12, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Posted in: Law School (Hiring & Laterals)
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Responses (2)
Chris - February 12, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I thought the idea that revenge is a dish best served cold is that it’s best to wait until one’s passions have cooled before inflicting vengeance. Now, I’m not sure that’s anything remotely like a sensible principle, but I take it that’s what the “served cold” is supposed to be. But rejection is something I want right away. Don’t leave me hanging! I sympathize with someone who “insists on hearing bad news immediately.” Rejection is much more palatable if I at least get the feeling that you care enough about the stress of the job search process that you let me know right away.
Joseph Slater - February 12, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I might reject somebody for using the phrase “the likes of” inaccurately: you clearly meant the two people mentioned, not people “like” those two.
More substantively, having been on the other end of hiring (chair of my school’s appointments committee), I’ll say that there are various reasons candidates fall in and out of favor that are largely unrelated to the candidate’s qualifications or personality — shifts in what the faculty or dean thinks the school needs, arguments over hiring laterals as opposed to new folks, budget issues, etc., etc. Rejected candidates really shouldn’t take it personally. Easier to say/type than do, I know, but it’s true.
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