Thank you very much for your support as the AMA seeks to provide recommendations regarding the U.S. Academic Job Market (as it pertains to the “rookie” academic job market for doctoral students seeking to start a position in the Summer/Fall of 2023).
Background
Please allow us to provide some background on how this came about. The AMA has proposed that the community consider an alternative plan for the 2022 U.S. academic placement process for several reasons, including the following:
- The 2022 AMA Summer Academic Conference requires advance planning several months before it takes place, and against the background of the ongoing pandemic, the community needed to be prepared for the reality of another surge that would restrict face-to-face meetings.
- From the series of listening sessions and surveys conducted with over 250 faculty and doctoral students over the last 12 months, we learned that many in the community were uncomfortable with some existing community “job market norms,” such as asking students to participate in interviews in private hotel rooms. Yet, hiring institutions did not want to utilize the pipe-and-drape cubicles.
- An online approach to initial interviews could help level the playing field for candidates with relatively limited financial resources, as well as help address the concerns mentioned in point 2, above.
This recommended change is an adjustment and learning process for AMA and the community. Thus, we acknowledge that this evolution will likely introduce valuable new practices that can be retained over the longer term, and others that will require further improvement and refinement. Therefore, the approach the community takes for the U.S. job market in 2022 may not represent the final approach the community settles on for the long term.
We furthermore note that these are recommendations we make to the community, for the good of the community. Implementation will require hiring institutions across the community to agree to support the recommended timeline (to the extent possible, within the constraints of their institutional requirements).
It is important to express that the AMA is not mandating what any university does; it is merely providing a set of recommendations, based on hearing the needs of the community while factoring in the uncertainty of global events such as the pandemic.
Is the Community on Board?
We have continued to monitor the reactions to our recommended job guidelines, published in April 2022, and we are happy to report an overwhelmingly positive response! We already have buy-in from a good portion of major universities across the world (over 50 universities have self identified as fully supporting these guidelines, including New York University, Hong Kong University, McGill University, Duke University, Indiana University, University of Melbourne, Columbia University, Ohio State University, HEC Paris, Florida State University, Pennsylvania State University, Fordham University, and University of Georgia, to name a few; please see below for a full list). In fact, the majority of respondents (78%) have agreed to moving the job market to Fall, while others (17%) indicated that they foresee only small deviations (e.g., starting flyouts earlier than October) or that they want to ensure they can hire at their own schedule for positions opening at other times in the year (which is fully compatible with our guidelines for the traditional start-of-next-academic-year positions).
Suggestions Regarding Timing of Initial Interviews
Some schools have requested a suggestion regarding the timing of initial interviews. Of course, this is a recommendation (and schools must ultimately work within the constraints of their institutions).
In the spirit of supporting doctoral students and hiring institutions, the AMA further recommends that schools conduct their initial videoconference interviews in September. For schools that would like to follow the same fixed schedule as the rest of the community, we recommend scheduling these interviews in the following time windows after Labor Day: September 8–10 and September 22–24. This will be similar to the three-day window used in the past for face-to-face interviews, and it allows the added flexibility of two different three-day blocks of time.
FAQs
The conference will have Expert Workshops geared toward skill building and a Networking Reception to connect job seekers and employers. It will continue to evolve as a big tent for marketing academics from all research domains and all types of schools.
The AMA is exploring improvements to the formats for future Summer AMA conferences. As an example of creating a space for all the research communities in marketing, this year, 2022 Summer AMA includes a “TCR Impact Festival” pre-conference centered around heightening impact in academic research, and bringing together practitioners and scholars. It also includes a “Marketing Meets Wall Street” preconference. Together with the community, we hope to identify additional research-oriented programming for future summer conferences.
When checking in at the in-person conference event, participants can get ribbons to place on their name badge reading “I’m on the Market” and “I’m Hiring” to facilitate connections throughout the conference.
Yes! The Saturday evening will include a Networking Reception, where doctoral students and hiring institutions are encouraged to connect. In addition, the online virtual platform and event app (Whova) will have a channel for hiring postings during the in-person and virtual events.
No, we believe quite the opposite. Shifting the first-round job market interviews to virtual will help prospective employers see a wider range of candidates and judge them more fairly on their merits, rather than giving those who are physically in attendance at a conference an advantage. Furthermore, it promotes safety and acknowledges different cultural customs.
Please allow us to provide some background on how this came about. The AMA has proposed that the community consider an alternative plan for the 2022 U.S. academic placement process for several reasons, including the following: (1) The 2022 AMA Summer Academic Conference requires advance planning several months before it takes place, and against the background of the ongoing pandemic, the community needed to be prepared for the reality of another surge that would restrict face-to-face meetings. (2) From the series of listening sessions and surveys conducted with over 250 faculty and doctoral students over the last 12 months, we learned that many in the community were uncomfortable with some existing community “job market norms,” such as asking students to participate in interviews in private hotel rooms. Yet, hiring institutions did not want to utilize the pipe-and-drape cubicles. (3) An online approach to initial interviews could help level the playing field for candidates with relatively limited financial resources, as well as help address the concerns mentioned in point 2, above.
These recommended changes are an adjustment and learning process for AMA and the community. Thus, we acknowledge that this evolution will likely introduce valuable new practices that can be retained over the longer term, and others that will require further improvement and refinement.
We suggest that hiring institutions and candidates follow the suggested guidelines for the 2022 rookie job market (for rookie faculty positions that begin in Summer/Fall 2023).
However, we note that the approach the community takes for the U.S. job market in 2022 may not represent the final approach the community settles on for the long term.
We furthermore note that these are recommendations we make to the community, for the good of the community. Implementation will require hiring institutions across the community to agree to support the recommended timeline (to the extent possible, within the constraints of their institutional requirements).
We recognize that there is no legal authority over hiring doctoral students. These guidelines are about self-regulation. It is in universities’ best interests to agree on a process that creates the best environment for doctoral students entering the job market now and in the future. These guidelines can help universities nurture the discipline by creating a hiring system that ensures equity and inclusivity by establishing norms, so that students entering the job market know what to expect.
It is important to express that the AMA is not mandating what any university does; it is merely providing a set of recommendations, based on hearing the needs of the community while factoring in the uncertainty of global events such as the pandemic.
Universities that Have Agreed to AMA’s Job Market Guidelines (Alphabetical Order)
If you want to add your university to this list, please fill out this survey. We’ll update this list periodically. Thank you!
- Alvarez College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio
- Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Kent State University
- Carroll School of Management, Boston College
- Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Universidade Católica Portugues
- D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University
- DeSautels Faculty of Management, McGill University
- Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University
- Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University
- Florida State University College of Business
- Foster School of Business, University of Washington
- Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
- Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
- FW Olin Graduate School of Business, Babson College
- Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University
- Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Hankamer School of Business, Baylor Univeristy
- Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
- Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee Knoxville
- HEC Paris
- Heider College of Business, Creighton University
- Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Ivey Business School, Western Ontario University
- J. Mack Robinson School of Business, Georgia State University
- Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
- Koç University Graduate School of Business
- Lam Family College of Business, San Francisco State University
- LeBow College of Business, Drexel University
- Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado
- Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon
- Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
- Mays Business School, Texas A&M University
- Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne
- Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame
- MIT Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Muma College of Business, University of South Florida
- Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University
- NUS Business School, National University of Singapore
- NYU Stern School of Business, New York University
- Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University
- Paul Merage School of Business, University of California Irvine
- Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire
- Questrom School of Business, Boston University
- Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago
- SC Johnson School of Business, Cornell University
- SDA Bocconi School of Management
- Shidler College of Business, University of Hawai’i
- SIUE School of Business, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- Smeal College of Business, Penn State University
- Stony Brook University College of Business
- Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa
- University of Alabama Huntsville College of Business
- University of Hong Kong College of Business
- University of Louisville College of Business
- University of The Andes School of Business
- University of Wyoming College of Business
- W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
- Walker College of Business, Appalachian State University
- Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College