Your Career: How to Deal With the Politics of Partner Hires

You can’t expect to hire the best people while ignoring their life circumstances. ADVERTISEMENT [Your Career Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You can’t expect to hire the best people while ignoring their life circumstances. Up until the early 2000s, it was not uncommon to hear some version of “over my dead body!” when proposing a partner hire. It was symptomatic of a strong feeling that “partner” (or at the time “spousal”) accommodation was risky, unfair, and presented more downsides than opportunities. Since then, the hiring rules and priorities have changed radically, and plenty of institutions now trumpet their commitment to partner hiring. But that doesn’t mean all of the prejudices and concerns have faded away. Here’s how to cope with lingering suspicions about these hires: - Don’t be too quick to dismiss the opposition. When you encounter resistance to a partner hire, your first step in dealing with the enmity is to acknowledge that it is not always groundless. Recruiting disasters do still happen. But in managing this process, you can take steps to soften some of the opposition and head off trouble. - Run a real hiring process for the partner, not an appointment by fiat. The more a hiring accommodation becomes a back-door deal — bypassing standard governance protocols, HR norms, and screening criteria — the less popular and justified it will be. Forcing a partner on a department does no long-term favor to the candidate or to the unit’s morale. Continue reading: “[Admin 101: The Delicate Politics of Partner Hires]( by David D. Perlmutter Share your suggestions for the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here](. 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