ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø

POSTING TYPE: Jobs

Author: Matt Weingarden

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From the Academic Council on the State of the 2020 Job Market and ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø Interviewing

COVID-19 has changed the way we work as Marketing scholars and educators, and this dramatic disruption has created significant anxiety within our community. Over the course of the last six weeks, the ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø Academic Council has sought feedback from and listened to a variety of stakeholders who make up the Marketing academic ecosystem.

Supported by ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø staff, the ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø Academic Council has (1) conducted a survey of over 170 academic Marketing departments and over 250 authors who had their work accepted for presentation at this year’s Summer Academic Conference, (2) conducted a listening session that involved over 100 marketing doctoral students, (3) held targeted conversations with a diverse set of Marketing department heads, (4) closely monitored government advisories and policies related to events with large groups, and (5) tracked the approach taken by other academic groups such as Informs.

The feedback we received clearly indicates that doctoral students are facing a high degree of uncertainty and anxiety related to potential face-to-face interview restrictions and the uncertainty around how many universities will be recruiting for new faculty in the coming future. Additionally, the feedback indicated that a majority of the marketing departments still hope to have some form of in-person interview before hiring a faculty member.

The ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø Academic Council and ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø staff are committed to listening to your concerns, advocate on your behalf, and put measures in place to help doctoral students navigate the current circumstances.

Based on the research, the ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø Academic council has decided to postpone face-to-face (or physical) doctoral student interviews for this year’s Summer ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø Conference. Instead, these interviews will be held at the upcoming Winter Academic Conference in St Petersburg, Florida (February 20-23, 2021).  Interviewing should return to its standard schedule in August 2021.  

By mid-July 2020, the ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø will also introduce a suite of new services to support an improved interview experience for hiring schools as well as doctoral students. These services will provide valuable help for schools that aim to engage in online interviews this summer as well as those aiming to conduct face-to-face interviews this coming winter. In addition, these services will provide a valuable networking opportunity for doctoral students seeking faculty positions.

In addition, the Council will shortly release a series of recommendations to university hiring committees and doctoral students regarding strategies for surviving and thriving in the COVID-19 environment.

The ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø has supported academic job placement in a variety of forms for over 100 years. We will continue to support interviewing, identification of strong applicants, and resources to help nurture the next generation of Marketing faculty. If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, please feel free to contact any of us at any time.

Anders Gustafsson, President
Aric Rindfleisch, President Elect
Koen Pauwels, President Elect Desginate
Vanitha Swaminathan, Immediate Past President
Lerzan Aksoy
Sundar Bharadwaj
Simon Blanchard
Satish Jayachandran
Bryan Lukas
Maura Scott
Anne Roggeveen
Karen Winterich