I am not sure of USA practice - though the record for me was a gap of 22
months between been approached in 1970 by head-hunters acting on
behalf of Vancouver BC City Council and being called to interview in July
1972 - three weeks after I started as Director in Leicester UK!

There is however a growing view in Human Resources Management practice
within the sector that closing dates, short-listing dates and final
interview dates should all be agreed and scheduled before a vacancy is
advertised, and for this timetable to be pubished at least in the
"Information for Candidates" and perhaps in the job advert. itself if
this can be afforded.  After all, if they are serious about wanting to
attract the best candidates the recruiters must recognise that good
candidates are probably busy people and need to reserve dates in
their schedule in case they are called in exactly the same way that the
members of the museum's selection board do.  There is also a matter of
straightforward courtesy - professional ethics if you like - to say
nothing of the reputation of recruiting museum.  Word of mouth P.R. can
spread bad news at least as fast, if not faster, than good news.

I certainly try to stress these points in our Master's HRM in Arts and
Museums course module here.

Patrick Boylan
City University, London

=======================================================

On Tue, 23 Apr 1996 [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Hello all,
>         Since many of you have already gone through this, maybe you could
> enlighten those of us just starting  out in the field. What is the usual
> time span between a job notice appearing, closing, and being filled? I
> realize what seems like an eternity if you are looking for a job might not
> be long for an institution, but if one has no reference point, how does one
> know if it is drawn out or not?
>         For me, it unusually strange, because before I returned to school,
> I spent 10 years in the Army. There if we needed a troop, we just
> requisitioned one. When I was in the D.C. area, the hiring process for
> civilian workers was slower, but still only took a few weeks from the time
> the position was announced to when it was filled.
>         Also, since I defend my thesis on the 30th, I will soon be logging
> off the list until I find a position, so thanks for all the informative
> information, from chocolate to Indiana Jones, and even a little bit of
> profession advice in between.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>   "Motivated primarily by their own inner vision, a desire for riches, and
> an unbounded faith in the abundance of nature, they were willing to simply
> go out in the field, dig into the earth, and find out what was there"
>                                         David Kruase
>                         __The Making of a Mining District__
>
>
>
>
> Richard A. Fields
> Graduate Student of Industrial Archaeology
> Michigan Tech. Univ.
> [log in to unmask]
>