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Interview candidates who are self-confident and demonstrate enthusiasm for their research are most likely to succeed, say those who’ve sat on the other side of the hiring table.
Doing your homework is key, according to Michael Piva and Neil Tudiver, two veterans of the academy who’ve served on several hiring committees. They advise candidates to learn as much as possible about their prospective department and the interests of the people in it.
You should read the department web site, course descriptions, and staff members’ biographies and papers, and be prepared to engage the faculty both during the formal process and during informal discussions and chance meetings.
“Throughout the process you’ll meet many people informally, and you should use these opportunities to network and get people interested in you by showing interest in their work as well as talking about yours,” says Piva. “The best way to do that is to ask people about their research area, and somehow find a way to connect your interests with theirs.”
Tudiver says this is a very good reason to arrive well rested.
“Candidates need to remember that the informal discussions will be as important as the formal ones, so there really will not be any ‘off’ times in the process,” explains Tudiver. “The people meeting and interviewing you are looking for a good colleague who will fit in with the department and who is good in the classroom.”
Be “modestly confident”
Another piece of advice from the experts is that candidates must show enthusiasm for teaching, their research and their future plans.
“The trick is to be modestly confident,” says Piva.
Piva recommends that when presenting your research, you should stick to providing the general findings, rather than going too far into the details.
“Choose the most interesting aspects of your research, what you’ve done and how it will lead into a research career,” adds Tudiver.
Piva empahsizes that candidates should always connect what they have done in the past with what they intend to do in the future.
“Interviewers want to see an ongoing research commitment. They want to know that what you’ve done is not an end in itself, but a step in an ongoing research strategy,” says Piva. “As the saying goes, all good research poses the next question, so be sure to get the next question into the presentation.”
Don’t talk to a crowd
Both these experts agrees that you have to avoid speaking in dull monotones or reading your presentation word for word.
“A kiss of death is to bring a written paper and simply reading it,” says Tudiver.
“This may seem obvious, but I have seen people do it, and fail the interview process as a result,” adds Piva. “When planning your presentation, assume that people have read your C.V. — so reference aspects of it without repeating it verbatim.”
Piva says a trick he used in the classroom works in the interview room as well — make a personal connection with everyone in the room by looking each person in the eye at least once.
“Don’t talk to a crowd, but talk to one person at a time,” explains Piva. “If you are reading you are not establishing a connection, and they won’t hire you if they don’t like you. Don’t appear bored because, like enthusiasm, boredom is contagious.”
“They’re not looking for a uni-dimensional ‘yes’ person, but someone with personality who has opinions, and likes some things and not others,” says Tudiver.
Both Tudiver and Piva have left interviews without enough information about the candidate. In one case, Tudiver wondered why a candidate had spoken only about his teaching. Later he found out that the candidate had been advised not to speak about his research by the hiring committee chair.
“It’s important to ask what they expect in a presentation, but no matter what, be sure to talk about both research and teaching,” says Tudiver.
Stick to your time
You should always ask how long you’ll have for your presentation, and stick to your allotted time.
“Candidates must remember that questions will be open-ended, and you need to be ready to say what needs to be said, and to demonstrate what is innovative and interesting about your teaching,” says Tudiver.
Interviewers will often present you with scenarios to learn more about your teaching strengths. How would you engage a room full of seemingly apathetic students? What kind of assignments would you give and why?
When questions come up about teaching, says Tudiver, you should be prepared to talk about one or two courses in detail. If you’re not asked what you want to teach, you should bring it up and be prepared to talk enthusiastically about one specific course.
Piva says you should also be prepared to show you’re willing to be open-minded and flexible in what you teach.
“If asked whether you would be willing to teach a course you may not be keen about, show you are willing to make an effort,” says Piva. “There is no need to be effusive – if you have doubts, say so, but demonstrate a willingness to be flexible.”
Meet with students
The academic interview is a long process. Over the course of a day and a half to two days, you can expect to be interviewed by the hiring committee and the dean, and in some cases the department chair. The size and structure of the university and department will determine who you’ll meet with and for how long.
If meetings with students have not been arranged, you should ask if it is possible — if you’re serious about research, you should be keen to know the caliber and interest of graduate students.
“Meetings with students are very useful, as they often provide information that can inform your own questions and discussions during the interviews, which in itself offers an opportunity to demonstrate that you listen to students,” says Tudiver.
“The number of students who show up is also an indication of how involved they are in the faculty. If only three out of 100 show up, you may want to find out why,” he says.
Read the Collective Agreement
Finally, both Piva and Tudiver say you should read the faculty collective agreement from cover to cover. In addition to practical concerns such as how moving expenses might be covered, the agreement addresses crucial long-term issues such as how tenure and promotion are handled and what protections are in place for academic freedom.
“This will answer many of the questions you shouldn’t be asking in an interview process anyway, and give you a better feel for the institution,” says Tudiver. |
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