6. Interviews
Scheduling Interviews
Chances are that if you have one interview you probably have quite a few. I applied to over 15 jobs and ended up doing 7 interviews. After that much travelling I'm happy that I don't work for a consulting firm or anything, being a "road warrior" is not really that much fun (although the frequent flyer miles do add up).
I found that scheduling these interviews was pretty difficult. For each job you have to choose a date that both fits both your schedule and theirs. I tried very hard to combine my cross country trips but it never ended up working out.
The Interview
I found the interviews to be quite intense, but fun at the same time. All of my interviews invariably followed a very similar schedule. They were approximately two days long with meetings every 30-45 minutes, one or two talks (the next article will be on job talks) and lunches/dinners with faculty and students. Two days of 30-minute interviews is pretty tiring so make sure you drink plenty of water since you'll probably also be drinking a lot of coffee.
For my first few interviews I really read up on each faculty that I was to meet with. However, this died down considerably as the time went on. I just wasn't able to absorb much of it and I didn't really find that it helped me all that much anyway. I found I was usually better off spending that time either resting or getting some real science done.
For each faculty member you meet with you have to choose in the first minute or so whether you want to talk about science, i.e. their research or yours, or the department/school. I found it useful to try to talk to both senior and junior people about both science and the department. This gives you a bit of an overview of what the research atmosphere is like as well as how the department treats young faculty etc.
Just Be Yourself and Have Fun
I think this is perhaps the most important thing. Besides someone who does great research and can teach the department's classes, the people who are hiring you are making a 6-60 year commitment to working with you. They want to know that you will fit in intellectually with the department and that you want to be there. Even if you are the smartest person to walk this earth, if no one wants to sit on a committee with you, you will probably have some trouble getting an offer.
My advice, which is based on input from multiple advisors, is to relax and enjoy yourself, especially during the social dinners and lunches. Show them that you are at home having a meal with them. This doesn't mean you shouldn't talk science, in fact its almost the opposite. If the faculty think that you'll be a good, smart person to bounce ideas off of over coffee you are probably in good shape.
Chances are that if you have one interview you probably have quite a few. I applied to over 15 jobs and ended up doing 7 interviews. After that much travelling I'm happy that I don't work for a consulting firm or anything, being a "road warrior" is not really that much fun (although the frequent flyer miles do add up).
I found that scheduling these interviews was pretty difficult. For each job you have to choose a date that both fits both your schedule and theirs. I tried very hard to combine my cross country trips but it never ended up working out.
The Interview
I found the interviews to be quite intense, but fun at the same time. All of my interviews invariably followed a very similar schedule. They were approximately two days long with meetings every 30-45 minutes, one or two talks (the next article will be on job talks) and lunches/dinners with faculty and students. Two days of 30-minute interviews is pretty tiring so make sure you drink plenty of water since you'll probably also be drinking a lot of coffee.
For my first few interviews I really read up on each faculty that I was to meet with. However, this died down considerably as the time went on. I just wasn't able to absorb much of it and I didn't really find that it helped me all that much anyway. I found I was usually better off spending that time either resting or getting some real science done.
For each faculty member you meet with you have to choose in the first minute or so whether you want to talk about science, i.e. their research or yours, or the department/school. I found it useful to try to talk to both senior and junior people about both science and the department. This gives you a bit of an overview of what the research atmosphere is like as well as how the department treats young faculty etc.
Just Be Yourself and Have Fun
I think this is perhaps the most important thing. Besides someone who does great research and can teach the department's classes, the people who are hiring you are making a 6-60 year commitment to working with you. They want to know that you will fit in intellectually with the department and that you want to be there. Even if you are the smartest person to walk this earth, if no one wants to sit on a committee with you, you will probably have some trouble getting an offer.
My advice, which is based on input from multiple advisors, is to relax and enjoy yourself, especially during the social dinners and lunches. Show them that you are at home having a meal with them. This doesn't mean you shouldn't talk science, in fact its almost the opposite. If the faculty think that you'll be a good, smart person to bounce ideas off of over coffee you are probably in good shape.
posted by Joshua Shaevitz at 9:17 PM
5 Comments:
Good!
Helpful to me so much.
This comment has been removed by the author.
How to prepare job talk?
Fantastic informaton hub for sure. I've been researching and working on this topic for a long time now. This helps fabulously. Thanks!
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job search
This is great advice. Why don't people teach these things in schools. I would loved to have had this info when I went on my interviews, I only got this advice when I went for graduate jobs and my uni helped a bit.
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