Cal State-Sacramento's Philosophy Dept. behaving badly--gives job candidates five hours to respond to e-mail offer of a Skype interview!

A job seeker writes:

I thought it might be of interest to you, as it seems to be the product of a challenge to see how many professional norms can be violated in a single email.  The highlights: they want a response within 5 hours, or cannot guarantee an interview; for spots beginning at 8am tomorrow.  Nowhere in the body of the message does the author identify his university (it's Cal State Sacramento).  They were, however, kind enough to attach a list of questions to be asked--fittingly, this single act of kindness is also odd as far as I'm aware.  Incidentally, this is the school that required applicants to create a special web page just for them last year, simply to apply.  (I've heard there were more such hoops later on in the process.  Perhaps this year there will be a fight to the death during flyouts.)

The invitation e-mail, sent five hours before a response was required, follows below the fold: 

 

 

Thank you for your interest in our tenure-track assistant professor position. The search committee has reviewed your application and we write to invite you for a preliminary Skype interview within the next three days--Wednesday January 18, Thursday January 19, or Friday January 20.

We are on a very tight timeline for completion of this phase of the search. As such, we are only conducting preliminary interviews via Skype and only on these days.

Please respond to this email no later than 11:59pm (Pacific Time) tonight (Tuesday, January 17) with the following information:

1. Your acceptance or rejection of the interview offer.
2. Your preferred top six (6) interview slots.
3. Your Skype account (in case of technical problems).
4. Your available contact number (in case of technical problems).

Due to our very tight timeline, candidates whose response is not received by 11:59pm (Pacific Time) tonight (Tuesday, January 17) will not be guaranteed an interview opportunity.

Interviews will be 30 minutes. Attached is a complete set of the interview questions. We ask that you prepare your answers with brevity, to allow for each question to be asked within the timeframe, but also with the possibility that follow-up questions might also be asked.

Below is the list of available times. All times are Pacific Time, so please plan accordingly. Schedule times are set on a first come first served basis. Please be sure to submit at least six (6) times for which you can be available. Interview times will be confirmed later tonight, perhaps after midnight (Pacific Time).

 

Slot Label	Day	Time	Name	Skype Account
A	Wed Jan 18	8:00-8:30am
B	Wed Jan 18	9:00-9:30am
C	Wed Jan 18	10:00-10:30am
D	Wed Jan 18	11:00-11:30am
E	Wed Jan 18	1:00-1:30pm
F	Wed Jan 18	2:00-2:30pm
G	Wed Jan 18	3:00-3:30pm
H	Wed Jan 18	4:00-4:30pm
I	Thurs Jan 19	8:00-8:30am
J	Thurs Jan 19	9:00-9:30am
K	Thurs Jan 19	10:00-10:30am
L	Thurs Jan 19	11:00-11:30am
M	Thurs Jan 19	1:00-1:30pm
N	Thurs Jan 19	2:00-2:30pm
O	Thurs Jan 19	3:00-3:30pm
P	Thurs Jan 19	4:00-4:30pm
Q	Fri Jan 20	9:00-9:30am
R	Fri Jan 20	10:00-10:30am
S	Fri Jan 20	3:30-4:00pm
T	Fri Jan 20	4:30-5:00pm

Once again, we thank you for your application to join our faculty. We look forward to the opportunity to meet you!

Best,

-- 

Russell DiSilvestro

Chair, Department of Philosophy

California State University Sacramento////