This presentation discusses developing a multi-faceted approach to assisting dual-career couples through higher education recruitment. It emphasizes the importance of institutional commitment, clear policies and funding, and collaboration across departments and with outside employers. Developing these comprehensive support systems can help institutions recruit and retain top talent by addressing dual-career needs, while also advancing diversity, quality of life, and return on investment goals. Research shows dual-career hiring cannot be ignored if an institution wants success in competitive academic markets.

1. Advancing Dual-Careers
Developing a Multi-Faceted Approach
to Assisting Dual-Career Couples

2. Thank you for sponsoring
today’s symposium
Office of the Provost

3. Presentation Overview
• 5 Reasons to invest in a dual-career
program
• How to Develop a Strategic,
Multi-faceted Approach
• Q & A
• Resources

4. Who am I?
Nancy Aebersold, Founder & Executive Director
Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC)
• Fifteen years of experience as a higher education
practitioner with deep subject matter expertise in
dual-career research and programming.
• Dual-career program innovator and speaker who is
passionate about this issue.
• Founder and Executive Director of HERC, a
collaboration of over 700 U.S. colleges, universities,
teaching hospitals, labs, government agencies, and
organizations with a related mission. Members
work together to address dual-career hiring issues
and recruit the most talented and diverse faculty
staff, and administrators.

5. HERCs in the U.S.
HERC regions represented
by darker blue

6. How many of you
have been challenged
by dual-career
considerations in your
own professional and
personal lives?
?

7. How many of you have
lost an outstanding
candidate (or several)
due to dual-career
concerns??

8. How many of your
institutions have a
dedicated dual-career
office to assist:
•faculty?
•executives/senior
administrators?
•staff?
?

9. How many of your
institutions have a
formal dual-career
policy?
?

10. How many of your
institutions have
informal dual-career
practices?
?

11. How many of you feel your
institution is:
a.doing an exemplary job of
providing dual-career
support.
b.doing an adequate job but
could do more.
c.never got the dual-career
memo and that’s why
you’re here today.
?

12. What I Learned as a
Dual-Career Director
• While at the University of California, Santa Cruz
• During a 5 year period
• I assisted 147 dual-career spouses & partners
• From 36 U.S. states & 9 countries
• They were in 97 different fields
• 58% were academics & 42% were non-academic
professionals
• They all had one thing in common. They wanted
OPTIONS and they wanted them NOW (or in some
cases yesterday)!

13. How Can an Institution Successfully
Address Such a Diversity of Needs?
Develop a comprehensive,
multi-faceted approach.
One approach does not fit all.

14. The old paradigm: Dual-career
couple is viewed as a problem
The new paradigm:
Dual-Career couple is
viewed as an opportunity

15. Five key reasons
for institutions to
invest in a dual-
career program5

16. 1. Excellence
2. Diversity
3. Quality of Life
4. Successful
Recruitment &
Retention
5. ROI – Unsuccessful
searches cost $!

17. Research shows dual-career
hiring is an area of recruitment
that can’t be ignored if an
institution aspires to be
successful in a highly competitive
academic job market.

18. Most comprehensive
dual-career study
Released by Stanford
University’s Clayman
Institute, August 2008
The Clayman Institute surveyed
9,043 Full-Time Faculty from 13
Leading Research Universities.

19. 72%Of full-time faculty in the study
reported having employed
partners
36%have academic partners
Partner Status of
U.S. Academic
Workforce

20. Key Takeaways from
Clayman Study
• Unresolved partner predicament is the one of the
most cited causes of recruitment failure, especially
for women candidates.
• 88% of dual hires surveyed would not have
accepted offers if not for attention to the spouse’s
predicament.
• The majority of dual-career survey responders are
unaware of any dual-career policies or supports
available to them; institutions with written policies
are perceived as offering the most support.

21. The partner status of same-sex
couples is on par with that of all
partnered respondents.
Partner
Status of
Same-Sex
Couples

22. Partner Status of
Underrepresented
Minorities
The partner status of
underrepresented
minorities is on par with
that of all partnered
respondents.

23. Men and Women have Different
Partnering Patterns
Women are more likely than men to have academic
partners. Dual-career issues therefore impact women
more than their male counterparts.

24. Multi-year study released
in 2010 by University of
Virginia finds…
• Of the 74 individuals who declined tenure track
positions between 2005-2009, who had a
spouse/partner, dual-career concerns ranked #1
(61%) in reasons why they declined the offer.
• Second to dual-career concerns (42%) was salary.
• Underrepresented minorities found dual-career
concerns to be even more important (83%) than
the white respondents (53%).

25. Continued…
• When asked how much various individuals
affected the candidates’ final decision, the score
for spouse/domestic partner ranked higher than
all other factors.

26. Double Jeopardy? Gender Bias
Against Women of Color in Science
"Women scientists are far more
likely than male scientists to be
married to other scientists, so a
dual-career hiring program is
vital to successful recruitment of
women.“
- WorkLife Law, UC Hastings College of Law, Tools for Change -
Boosting the retention of women in the STEM pipeline. © 2014
Joan C. Williams, Katherine W. Phillips & Erika V. Hall

27. What does this mean for campuses?
We’re not just recruiting individuals
anymore- we’re recruiting families.

28. How to Develop
a Strategic,
Multi-faceted
Approach

30. Campus
commitment
to effectively
addressing
dual-career
needs
Essential to have the support of
individuals in the highest levels of
leadership about the value of
investing in dual-career assistance.
Grant funding is great but have a
plan in place to continue funding
when grant funds expire.

31. Develop a
common
language
Helpful Unhelpful
Partner Spouse
Accompanying
Partner
Trailing Spouse
Dual-Career
Opportunity
Dual-Career Problem
Dual-Career
Assistance
Dual-Career
Placement
Partner Career
Assistance
Spousal Hire

32. Clear,
accessible
policy &
statement
Policy makes processes and
decisions transparent. Consider
the following during policy
development:
Engage key stakeholders from
faculty and administration.
Cleary address anti-nepotism in
policy.
Aim for consensus.
Make policy visible and
accessible to hiring committees
and to candidates.

33. Set-aside $
for bridge
and
matching
funding
Consider the following during
developing a dual-career resource
allocation plan:
Assess multi-year divisional
hiring needs.
Evaluate upcoming hard to
fill/highly specialized positions.
Develop a clear procedure (may
be separate from the policy) for
making request/ coordination
among stakeholders.

34. Cooperation
among
departments
& Provost’s
Office
Consider the following when
setting up a communications plan:
Communicate regularly the
importance of and institutional
commitment to addressing
dual-career concerns as part of
the campus’ commitment to
excellence and diversity of its
faculty from the highest levels.
Incorporate information about
dual-career policy, programs,
and practices at department
chair and search committee
chair trainings.

35. Dual-Career
Advisory
Committee
Consider the following when
assembling a dual-career
Advisory Committee:
Invite faculty and administrative
leaders who are passionate
about the dual-career issue and
will be campus ambassadors.
Find meaningful ways to engage
the Advisory Committee
members in making strategic
recommendations.

36. Dual-Career
coordination
Consider the following during dual-
career coordination development:
Determine the role and
expectations of the office.
Define who the office will serve
(faculty, staff, rank).
Articulate at what point in the
recruitment process the office
engage with dual-career clients.
Decide if services include relocation
information.
Design a robust outreach plan to
make candidates, faculty, and
administrators aware of its
services.

37. Strong
relationship
with
community
employers
Consider the following when
establishing relationships with
area employers:
Assess the major employers in
the area: government, industry,
Chambers of Commerce, other
higher ed employers.
Meet face-to-face to develop
contacts and help them
understand how the dual-career
spouses and partners are often
a highly educated, diverse, and
excellent employees.

38. Participate
in a regional
Higher
Education
Recruitment
Consortium
(HERC)
Collaborating with campuses
within a commutable distance is
one of the most effective ways
of broadening employment
opportunities for spouses and
partners.
Regional HERCs play a critical
role by leveraging technology,
member collaboration, and
demonstrating an institutional
commitment to addressing dual-
career concerns.

39. Train search
committees
about what
support is
available
Ensure you include a section in
all search committee trainings
about the dual-career
programs, policies, and
practices on your campus.
If your campus is a HERC
member, provide dual-career
postcards to be included in
recruitment packets and at
campus interviews

40. Collect data,
review
outcomes, &
make strategic
adjustments
It is critical to evaluate the
effectiveness of each dual-career
initiative. Consider the following
when designing an evaluation
plan:
Utilization
Candidate & spouse/partner
experience
Effect on recruitment &
retention goals
If something failed, WHY?
Use Advisory Committee to
develop strategic adjustments

41. A Few Final Tips…
• No two dual-career couples are the same
• The more lines in the water, the greater the
odds you’ll catch a fish…(that and good bait)
• It’s important to make a sustained
institutional commitment
• Don’t ask, DO TELL!
• An investment in dual-career programming
is an investment in campus climate

42. Yes, dual-career initiatives
require funding…
…but consider the alternative
The cost of hiring a
new faculty member is
on average $96,000.
Source: Harvard University’s Collaborative
on Academic Careers in Higher Education, COACHE)

43. Q&A

44. Resources
Download Stanford University Clayman Institute Dual-Career Report:
http://gender.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/DualCareerFinal_0.pdf
Refer candidates & partners to the HERC website to find jobs in your region: www.hercjobs.org
Visit the HERC website for research, articles, and links to dual-career programs at other institutions:
http://www.hercjobs.org/dual_career_couples/dual_career_resources/
http://www.hercjobs.org/dual_career_couples/campuses_with_dual_Career_programs/
International Higher Education Dual Career Association (IHEDCA) website, listserv, and conference:
http://ihedca.com/wp/
AAUP dual-career recommendations: http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/comm/rep/dual.htm

45. Nancy Aebersold
Founder and Executive Director
Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC)
831.336.4406
nancy@hercjobs.org
www.hercjobs.org
Contact: