If you are interviewing for an Academic Success position at a law school, congratulations: you are considering the wonderful world albeit where a job description can sometimes resemble The NeverEnding Story.
The posting may read “teaching, advising, and service.” Seems manageable. But what, exactly, does that mean?
Before you accept the offer and discover that “other duties as assigned” is actually the sequel nobody warned you about, ask these five questions.
1. What is the actual teaching load?
Don’t settle for “You will teach Academic Success and Bar Related Courses.”
Follow up questions to ask include:
- How many courses and sections am I expected to teach?
- What compensation will I receive for teaching in addition to my baseline salary for academic success administrative responsibilities? (this is an important one!)
- What workshops, and student sessions (if any) am I expected to teach?
- Are you developing new courses?
- What is the grading expectation?
- When and how does the institution run bar-related programming?
You want to know whether you are stepping into Dead Poets Society (Only the ASP version includes intervention courses with initially apprehensive students embracing academic success and bar skills to seize the day… reads like a dream, right?) or accidentally auditioning for Mission: Impossible (and yes… you do your own stunt work like Tom).
2. What does “service” really mean here?
“Service” can mean a reasonable committee assignment. It can also mean admissions, orientation, faculty committees, student organizations, recruitment, retention initiatives, bar exam data reporting —and approximately 47 meetings that somehow all occur on Tuesday afternoons.
Follow up questions to ask include:
- What committees and institutional responsibilities are typically assigned to an incoming faculty or lead staff member?
- How much time does service take?
3. What other responsibilities aren’t in the job description?
Ask directly about advising, academic counseling, bar preparation, student programming, recruitment, special projects, evening events, weekend obligations, and anything else that tends to appear after you have signed the contract. Look over the student handbook for insights into academic status requirements and check on how those requirements are implemented at the institution.
You are not being difficult. You are simply trying to avoid the Indiana Jones moment when you realize there is a giant boulder rolling toward you.
4. What happens during the summer?
If you are hired on a 12-month contract, your “academic year” does not mean “summer vacation.”
Follow up questions to ask include:
- What are the expectations during the summer and other periods when classes aren’t in session?
- What ability is there for remote work opportunities and flexible work schedules? Is there summer teaching?
- If so, what is the pay for the summer teaching?
- What involvement am I expected to have for orientation?
- How does the school currently administer bar support?
- What expectations are there for advising enrolled students over the summer?
The important question is not whether the work exists. It is whether you know about it before you agree to do it.
5. How is workload actually managed?
Finally, ask the questions that can reveal everything:
What is the process for evaluations and whom do I speak with about my tracked workload? (Yes, you should always document your workload in our profession.)
A good academic success position should have clear expectations about the work, the resources available to do it, and how competing demands are handled. Otherwise, you may find yourself starring in The Graduate, except instead of someone pulling you aside and whispering “plastics,” they’re whispering, “We were hoping you could also coordinate orientation.”
Academic Success work is meaningful, demanding, and often deeply rewarding. But it is important to understand what work you are actually being hired to do.
Because the best job search isn’t just about convincing a law school that you’re the right person for the job. It’s also about figuring out whether the job is the right job for you.
(I also know that my recommendations aren’t exhaustive… to my seasoned colleagues in the community, any insights or additional advice you have on this subject are welcome comment.)
Cheers everyone,
(Amy Vaughan-Thomas)
