I am teaching at a certain college. Said college is hiring someone in my field. I applied for the job, but was not interviewed.
Now the finalists are making their visits to campus.
Do I go to the job talks, or not?
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I don't think I would go, myself, but I don't know whether that's wise or not. One of them, after all, will be a colleague. Mainly however I wanted to say, my sympathies over the lack of interview. If it's any comfort, the last time this happened to me the person they hired was so good I couldn't disagree, and that person proved to be a huge help unto this day so it worked out sort of well in the end.
*Will* one of them be a colleague? Or will your current colleagues be made uncomfortable by your presence? will you be comfortable there?
I find it useful to attend jobtalks, however, in that situation (since I've been disappointed by every jobtalk I've heard recently) I think it would just kick me into a state of obsessive "*my* talk would have been better than that", and since it's not so much about the talk, that's probably an unhealthy place to be.
So, maybe, treat it like any other lecture---go if you want to hear the talk.
I am strictly temporary, so one of them won't be a colleague. Except in the sense that I may run into the chosen one if I stay in the area.
I would normally go to medieval studies talks, as a matter of solidarity with other medievalists, but these might indeed be awkward for both the dept. and me.
That's a toughie. On the on hand, I always feel like getting to know people in the field is a good thing: hearing new ideas, gaining new contacts... However, this is definitely awkward. Is there anyone on the current faculty whom you'd feel comfortable asking for advice? Perhaps someone at that institution would have a better sense of the etiquette involved.
I'd personally stay away. I mean, I'd be curious to see what all these new people were presenting on, but I'd also feel a bit awkward, and current colleagues might, too. If the talk were in a large room where you could lurk in the back unnoticed, that would be different, of course.
We've had colleagues come to job talks for their replacement--it was awkward regardless of the reason for leaving.
We've had colleagues both come and stay away from talks for which they didn't get an invite. I personally didn't care, but some thought it was strange when they came.
I would attend; it is useful. And if you have a good relationship with any of the Search Committee, it might be useful to take one of them to lunch and ask why you weren't asked to interview. But as for the jobtalks, go, take note as to why this person might have been chosen, and its always useful to watch a successful jobtalk and learn how to do it well.
But sit in the back, don't make yourself obvious, don't ask questions in public of the speaker etc. Don't hang around afterward and arrive only a few moments before so you can stay as hidden as possible. Fly on the wall.
And let me offer my condolences. I'm sorry to hear this. And I say this after receiving a letter about how terrific and impressive my application materials were, but they're not pursuing my candidacy...so I know how you feel. Best of luck!
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