When during the application process should a candidate mention that their spouse is also looking for a job When during the application process should a candidate say that their spouse is also looking for a job?   

The issue of academic spouses who want to find employment close enough to live together is colloquially called the "two body problem", and it is a perpetual challenge for job applicants. 

The italicized question came up in a recent comment thread on this site, and I realized there is no post on Academia.SE about it. So I am making one.

I have seen many answers to the question, which usually fall between two extremes:


Don't mention your spouse in any way until you have a job offer, then bring up the question of a job for your spouse. Sometimes the advice even recommends taking off wedding rings during interviews. 
Mention the spouse immediately in your application cover letter.


Each has its advantages and disadvantages, certainly, depending on the specific circumstances of the applicant and school being applied to.

Because many people, like me, have a perspective limited by their own life experience and the schools they have worked at, I expect that there should be many different answers to the question, expressing different perspectives. I think that collection of answers would provide an extremely useful resource for job applicants.

In the thread I linked, another user left a comment:


  ... I'd particularly be interested in seeing answers supported by data, as there seem to be a wide range of opinions, each supported by apparently convincing logical reasons and/or anecdotes.


I don't want to limit answers here to ones based on data, but answers that do include broad data would be particularly welcome. 

This kind of question has also been asked on MathOverflow.
I'd mention it during an on-campus interview.

In my department, we don't factor "the two-body problem" into an initial evaluation (i.e., do we bring someone for an on-campus interview). So it's up to you about mentioning it in a cover letter or not. I don't think I have ever read that in a cover letter in chemistry, though.

During an on-campus interview, sometimes it comes up, and sometimes it does not. Keep in mind that usually, the department cannot ask. We prefer if it comes up, so that we can work on solving the problem at the same time we make an offer.

When we decide about who gets an offer, the two-body problem doesn't factor into the decision at all.

Why? Well, for one, we want the best person we can get. For another, almost all of our candidates have a two-body problem of some sort. Sometimes, it's another academic job. In other cases, the spouse is a doctor, or a lawyer, or another scientist or ...

Suffice to say, once we make an offer, we're trying to do the best to get the candidate to come, and that includes making sure a significant other would be happy here.

I'll be honest. We're much happier if we know there's a two-body problem (of any type) before we make the offer (i.e. during the on-campus interview), so that we can start working on finding another position. As I said, we want you to come. Sometimes, we don't find out until after we extend the offer, but that just makes our job more difficult because we have much less time.