Hi all,

Can I please get some input from those of you who make hiring decisions?

I am a recent Public History MA with prior museum experience.
After receiving the latest issue of AVISO, I quickly responded to 9 ads
for positions for which I qualified. Several of these museums were kind
enough to write me by return mail and say that they had already selected a
person to fill the position, even though the closing date was still
several weeks in the future.

Is it really ethical to advertise a position when the institution has no
intention of playing by the rules and giving all applicants an equal
chance?  I realize that some museums are required to advertise any
openings (although just who sets these rules is never quite clear), but I
think it is very unfair to those job-seekers who spend hours writing
resumes and cover letters to museums that already have chosen their
candidates before placing the ad.

A disgruntled job-seeker