tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post9019388380960966589..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: Job Search - Interview QuestionsBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-81935326444747918492012-11-19T19:15:13.216-08:002012-11-19T19:15:13.216-08:00Flavia, that is a brilliant interview question--I ...Flavia, that is a brilliant interview question--I can imagine it would indeed be revealing.<br /><br />Nitewriter, I have been thinking more about my response to your question. My partner, also an academic, has a mobility impairment that makes it difficult for her to stand for long stretches of time. She did a campus visit once that did not result in a job offer. During her job talk, she ended up sitting down on the table at the front of the room, and some people in the dept thought this was very unprofessional. She later wished that she'd mentioned to someone that she couldn't stand that long and would need a way to sit (although as I type this, I end up thinking "really? you didn't like that someone sat at the front of the room?"). So I guess that sort of thing might be a reason to self-disclose. And also a reason to wish for more generous interpretations of others' behavior.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000470374101306070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-91588329682866493472012-11-19T08:50:11.169-08:002012-11-19T08:50:11.169-08:00When I was on the market, the question that I foun...When I was on the market, the question that I found most revealing to ask the committee was: "What do YOU like best about teaching at X School?"<br /><br />That should be an easy question, but boy did I get committees who muffed it--by which I mean, who revealed their own ambivalence or dissatisfaction with their institution, and in some cases their downright contempt for their students. ("Well...it's nice being just a short train ride from New York City!" or "the 2/2 teaching load is pretty nice!") Maybe they were overthinking it, or trying to give answers they thought someone with a fancy degree would like. But I was surprised by how many committee members were really at a loss, and communicated so little warmth or enthusiasm for their students or institution.Flaviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-83620943842955258332012-11-18T18:02:45.242-08:002012-11-18T18:02:45.242-08:00The last two searches I've been on we had suff...The last two searches I've been on we had sufficient consensus based on the file (including a writing sample) to skip the phone interview stage. While our pools were deep, we were all in agreement about our top candidates.<br /><br />When we interview -- on campus or at the convention -- we start with a softball about the dissertation, where they see it going. Then we address the ways we are unusual by asking how someone thinks our interdisciplinary contexts might serve their work. Then we ask about teaching -- the basic course, and upper level courses. <br /><br />We're eager for questions, happy to talk about our students. <br /><br />In all of this we are listening -- how much do you know about us? Will the diversity of our students be an issue? Will you function well in our particular culture? In other words, your answers give cues beyond what you actually say.<br /><br />By the way, this is also true with the job talk, where we pay lots of attention to how you answer questions. I've been surprised in recent years that people haven't understood that the job talk is in ways a proxy for teaching.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-70044104401738546242012-11-18T17:37:18.489-08:002012-11-18T17:37:18.489-08:00Susan, I appreciate your thoughts. That all makes ...Susan, I appreciate your thoughts. That all makes a lot of sense. In my case, the disability is mobility-related and, while I can for short periods of time, hide it (i.e. walk normally, stand for certain periods of time, even walk up or down stairs), on a daily basis, working full time would necessitate mobility aids which make the disability quite obvious to all. Nitewriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02003748081529399564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-16022550532452876712012-11-18T08:05:29.163-08:002012-11-18T08:05:29.163-08:00I don't think I would bring up disability issu...I don't think I would bring up disability issues during the interview process unless an accommodation of some sort is required for the convention interview (I'm thinking here in terms of English processes, obviously). The people on the search committee aren't necessarily the people who will actually know anything about accommodating disabilities, and in general I think it best to use the convention interview to focus most closely on the job-related issues that will help you move to the campus visit. I could imagine that you could actually get some very wrong answers from a search committee about disability issues.<br /><br />I would self-disclose the issues on an as-needed business in terms of what you need to interview successfully (so if you need a chair during a presentation or need interview locations close together because of a mobility impairment, e.g., ask for that). If you get a campus visit, you should get asked if there are any particular people or offices you want to meet with, and perhaps ask then for some time with the registrar or access office or whomever might be a useful resource (although it can be hard to figure that out from afar). <br /><br />It might be helpful to reframe the issue here not so much as "when should I self-disclose" but "what information do I need to know about this dept/campus?" and work back from there (who has that info, and when do I need it?) . It's not like the search committee needs to know about anyone's disability. But candidates dealing with a disability might need info about the campus--so is that info necessary before accepting a campus visit? is it info necessary while arranging logistics of a campus visit? or it is info that you need while weighing a job offer?<br /><br />susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000470374101306070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-30475435926236533602012-11-18T07:11:17.621-08:002012-11-18T07:11:17.621-08:00Thank you so much for doing this series of posts a...Thank you so much for doing this series of posts about the job process, Bardiac! And thanks to all of the helpful and informative commenters who chime in, as well. As someone on the job market for the first time, this has been an invaluable resource and extremely useful perspective, and I'm sure that other readers feel the same way.Jobseekernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-32170176134615468712012-11-18T04:05:40.646-08:002012-11-18T04:05:40.646-08:00I am at a more research-oriented place, and some q...I am at a more research-oriented place, and some questions that regularly come up are:<br /><br />What is your next project and how would you set up a research team for it (postdocs, PhDs)?<br /><br />Where would you seek funding for your research?<br /><br />Why are you interested in our university/department?<br /><br />What can you bring to our department that we don't already have?<br /><br />How would you link your research to [randomly chosen] one of the [specific areas] of our department?<br />(our department spans very different research areas, so this question is usually dependent on the search topic)<br /><br />The procedure is more or less the same though, with selecting a set of questions that everyone gets in the right order.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-48711066790122653272012-11-18T03:27:27.085-08:002012-11-18T03:27:27.085-08:00I've been asked how one brings up disability i...I've been asked how one brings up disability issues during the application/interview process. I have invisible disabilities but it doesn't much matter because I work full time online teaching. I don't have to go to campus to teach classes; in fact, none of the colleges where I teach are even in my state! Still, there are applicants who have disabilities and wonder how/when to self-disclose. Any suggestions?Nitewriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02003748081529399564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-5416570985269976432012-11-17T20:04:46.232-08:002012-11-17T20:04:46.232-08:00In my department, we tend to ask research question...In my department, we tend to ask research questions before teaching questions, and teaching questions before everything except research. The name of our university can suggest that we are purely a teaching school, and it probably is best if we remind candidates that research is very important in our department (as the ad says, we have a 2/2/ teaching load). <br /><br />On at least two searches in which I was involved, we finished with “Where do you see yourself in five years?” <br /><br />The question I found most thorny when I was interviewed for assistant professorships was the last one: “Do you have any questions for us?” I found it most prudent to make my questions as professional as possible, figuring that more personal concerns could wait for the campus visit. Here I agree with Susan. <br />EngLitProfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-91937669607847064452012-11-17T19:17:34.265-08:002012-11-17T19:17:34.265-08:00I actually think that the questions for the commit...I actually think that the questions for the committee--at the convention interview--should focus more on professional considerations and less on personal matters (like local recreation opportunities or child care or schools). The point of the convention interview is to generate a campus interview; if the campus interview doesn't happen than everything personal is moot. At the convention interview stage, I'm most interested in getting a sense of how someone thinks about professional issues. <br /><br />Other good questions: ask about how the department supports junior faculty; ask about mentoring programs on campus; ask about how research and teaching are weighted in P&T matters; ask about community engagement programs. Maybe ask about work/life balance....but I think, given that the convention interview doesn't allow all that much time for questions from the candidate, I'd be more impressed by questions that focus more on the professional side than the purely personal.<br /><br /><br /><br />susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000470374101306070noreply@blogger.com