Serving Dual-Career Couples
We welcome the chance to work with partners of prospective faculty. We're committed to meeting the needs and challenges faced by dual-career couples.
Prospective faculty should contact the chair of the search committee or the unit chair or director to ask about the Medical School's dual career services. Usually, the department chair or director gathers initial information from the faculty member's partner, such as a CV and career objectives. The chair then shares this with the Dual Career Program manager to get started.
Melissa Dorfman, Dual Career Program Manager
Services Available to Everyone
The Office of the Provost maintains a dual career website with information about employment opportunities and career resources at the University of Michigan and other area colleges and universities, major employers in the area, career search resources, and the Ann Arbor community.
Southeast Michigan — well known as the headquarters of the automotive industry — also has many technology, life sciences, consumer and financial services businesses and organizations, as well as several dozen institutions of higher education.
Services for the Partners of Current or Potential Faculty
The Medical School Dual Career Program manager can assist in the following ways:
- Consult with partners about the job search and help arrange informational interviews and/or identify positions of interest
- Provide career guidance and counseling
- Review résumés and cover letters, and assist with revisions
- Assist in enhancing interviewing techniques
- Provide information about the local job market and area companies, as well as the range of employment opportunities in Ann Arbor and southeast Michigan
- Explain where and how to apply for lecturer and non-academic positions at the University of Michigan
Due to limited resources, services are available only to the partners of faculty members who are at the rank of Assistant, Associate or Full Professor in any of the tracks within the Medical School (Clinical, Research or Tenure Track).
Partners With Academic Careers
As used here, the term academic career includes instruction, research, and/or clinical work. Working together, the department or program and the Dual Career Program manager will help the dual career partner connect with appropriate faculty and staff across campus. At such meetings, the partner can learn more about the University and begin to explore career options. In other cases, a more proactive approach may be taken to look for ways the University can utilize the partner’s expertise and experience. If for some reason the partner is more suited to a position at an institution other than the University of Michigan, contacts at nearby institutions may be arranged. Every effort will be taken to ensure that the partner has an opportunity to network both at U-M and other institutions in southeast Michigan.
Partners with Non-Academic Careers
The Medical School, the Medical School Dual Career Program Manager, and the Dual Career Specialist from the Provost’s Office all may work with partners to search for non-academic jobs. This group of partners is defined as those looking for staff or professional positions in private industry, education, the nonprofit sector or government. Partners willing to commute outside Ann Arbor will find the widest range of opportunities.
Job Search vs. Job Placement
University faculty and staff who assist in dual career efforts do a great deal to help partners in their job searches, but the University cannot and does not guarantee job placement. The success and duration of any job search depends on many factors, including the partner’s level of effort in the job search and flexibility, the economy, and the “fit” between a partner’s credentials and job openings. Career searches are most successful when the partner takes a great deal of initiative. Partners are urged to conduct an active job search, using the Dual Career Program as one of multiple sources of information.
