tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post115861607259426415..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: Interview Question: big room or bedroom?Bardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-1158700777212108062006-09-19T14:19:00.000-07:002006-09-19T14:19:00.000-07:00If I recall correctly, the AHA (the history versio...If I recall correctly, the AHA (the history version of the MLA) expressly discourages hotel-room interviews. It seems as though there could be a happy medium, rather than a choice between two evils... I've seen a few conferences where job interviews are conducted in the big cattle-call room, but with the tables separated by fabric dividers, just like the booths often are at publisher displays. Most conference-hosting hotels would presumably be able to offer this option, and it offers a degree of privacy that makes the whole thing at least a shade less undignified.Pilgrim/Heretichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08588407758172717893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-1158669870870194132006-09-19T05:44:00.000-07:002006-09-19T05:44:00.000-07:00I prefer the hotel room, unless there is only one ...I prefer the hotel room, unless there is only one person going to MLA to interview, and then the hotel room is just plain weird. <BR/><BR/>When I did MLA interviewing last year, we had a VERY tiny room to interview in, but we asked the hotel for 2 extra chairs, we squeezed them into the room, and we used the bed as storage for my bag, candidates bags, coats, whatever. My thought is that as long as you don't put the candidate on the bed sitting next to a lecherous faculty member, the room is always much better than the pit. (When I was on the market, I thought the pit meant that people didn't have a well-funded search.)Dr. Crazyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12457967076373916629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-1158634261333394402006-09-18T19:51:00.000-07:002006-09-18T19:51:00.000-07:00This is a really nicely expressed comparison of th...This is a really nicely expressed comparison of the two venues - the pit and the bedroom, so to speak. And I think it's good to be reminded that interviewers are also aware of the stress of interviews for themselves and the candidates (of course they are, but candidates usually can't get past their own fright). There is a certain awkwardness that comes from interviewing in a room with a big honkin' bed in it - who gets to sit on it if there aren't enough chairs? Sometimes, it's the grad students if there are any on the hiring committee (my program usually had one there to observe and report back to the other grad students about the candidates) - but there are all kinds of nuances that go along with a simple seating arrangement - there's so much choreography! We've all heard the (probably urban legend) horror stories of interviewing in the "bedroom", too. But having said that, my most uncomfortable moment was in an interview in the pit, where one of the interviewers started talking about masturbation and the sin of Onan. Yeesh! The other guy turned stone white and I just sat there staring at a spot on the table and wondering if anyone could overhear him.<BR/><BR/>I prefer the hotel room - I get clammy standing in the middle of all those people.medieval womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17278854285443306227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-1158622445265682072006-09-18T16:34:00.000-07:002006-09-18T16:34:00.000-07:00Having had interviews in both situations, I have t...Having had interviews in both situations, I have to say that I'm not sure how much it matters. The intensity is so high anyway, I wonder if our nerves supercede location, to a point. There are pros and cons, as you note, and I think they balance out.<BR/><BR/>Actually, I arrived for my hotel room interview so early that I wandered the halls for fifteen minutes, and that was worse than sitting outside the big room for fifteen minutes the day before. For me.Nels P. Highberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17998283755242261031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-1158622203333826162006-09-18T16:30:00.000-07:002006-09-18T16:30:00.000-07:00I really, really preferred the hotel room. Weird t...I really, really preferred the hotel room. Weird though it was, I knew they were taking me seriously. And the cattle call feel of the big room seemed to be accurate--of all the jobs I applied for, only the cattle call room did the interviewees overlap with my people I knew. It seemed a) cheap and b) like they had no idea what they wanted. <BR/>Oh that I'll be missing MLA this year....Nikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15795554401570611521noreply@blogger.com