- Nominations (including self-nominations) for the LSA Executive Committee are due by March 22. Please send nominations, supporting statements, and inquiries to Richard P. Meier, Chair of the Nominating Committee.
- Proposals for Organized Sessions for the LSA's 2011 Annual Meeting are being accepted through April 23, 2010. Read more ...
- The LSA has launched a free membership program for new PhDs. Learn more.
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Guidelines for Interviewing
In an effort to better serve participants in the Job Placement Center, a service at the LSA Annual Meetings, and in response to concerns about the conduct of the interview, including sexual harassment, these guidelines should be read and followed by all participating in the interviewing.
1. Interviews should proceed in such a manner as to respect the professional and personal integrity of candidates and interviewers.
2. Interviewing and hiring should be based solely on professional criteria. Questions on marriage and family, race or national origin, age, or personal lifestyle are not applicable and should not be asked.
3. Interviews should take place on time, and candidates should be allowed enough time in interviews to develop their candidacies in some depth.
4. The LSA strongly urges participants to use the Job Placement facilities provided at the annual meeting. This includes such activities as scheduling, channelling communications, and supervising conduct.
5. The LSA discourages interview activities in hotel bedrooms. If an interviewer feels it is necessary to use a facility outside the Job Placement Center, the Society strongly advises that a parlor rather than a sleeping room be used and that a third person always be present in the room with the candidate. Interviewers using facilities outside the Job Placement Center bear sole responsibility for establishing an appropriate professional atmosphere and should take special care to ensure that all interviews--with both male and female candidates--are conducted courteously and in a proper and professional manner.
6. If for any reason the interviewers choose not to take advantage of the LSA facilities, then they should be specific when making other arrangements. Let the candidates know with whom they will be meeting, when, and where.
7. Most importantly, give the candidates a phone number to call in case of an emergency. Many candidates travel great distances at great expense, and it is very distressing when they cannot locate their appointments. Do not leave it up to the hotel or LSA staff to locate either the interviewers or the interviewees. Convention hotel staff do not give out room numbers and have been known to confuse names.
8. At the Job Placement Center, candidates should seek interviews only for those jobs for which they are qualified. Job applicants should not hound the interviewers.
9. Candidates should be prompt for appointments and should not schedule interviews too close together. Appointments often run over the allotted times.
Job discrimination is illegal. The LSA recommends that all employers adhere to the following guidelines:
1. All positions should be advertised in the Job Placement Catalog unless vacancies occur after the catalog has gone to press.
2. Advertisements for positions should contain specific information regarding qualifications and clear indication as to whether a position has actually been authorized or is contingent upon budgetary or other administrative considerations.
3. All applications and inquiries for a position should be acknowledged promptly and courteously (within two weeks of receipt, if possible), and each applicant should be informed as to the initial action on the application or inquiry.
4. At all stages in a search, affirmative action/equal opportunity guidelines should be respected.
5. As candidates are eliminated, they should be notified promptly and courteousy.
6. All participants should be organized, prompt, and courteous and should bring a sufficient supply of c.v.'s and writing implements to the meeting.
These guidelines are based on those developed by the American Historical Association as published in Perspectives, December 1995. We acknowledge and appreciate their willingness to share this document.
