Risk-taking in the academic dual-hiring process: how risk shapes later work experiences

Abstract

This article examines risk-taking in the job search process and whether women and men who are part of a dual-career couple experience different work-related consequences for taking such risks. Specifically, we explore how the decision to reveal dual-career status in the academic job search process impacts faculty members’ later promotions, productivity, pay, mobility, and career-related goals. We draw on a sample of roughly 230 faculty in seven US universities who were part of a dual-career couple at their time of hire. We find that risk-taking during the job search impacts some career outcomes, and does so similarly for women and men. Members of a dual-career couple who took the risk of revealing their dual-career status before a job offer reported significantly more positive career experiences related to promotion and productivity than those who did not reveal their status during the job search. Only the salary outcome was negatively related to revealing dual-career status in the job search process. Because of the nature of academic hiring, revealing a risky status during the job search process may ameliorate barriers to employment. Our study has important implications for research and the development of academic dual-career policies that make dual-career hiring more transparent.