Interviewing for Jobs

1. Interviewing for Jobs Jane Grande-Allen, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Bioengineering Rice University with grateful acknowledgement of resources from Rice University ADVANCE program

2. Overview • Application process • Faculty position interviews • General advice • Expectations and questions • Research presentations • Teaching considerations • Note on industry position interviews

3. Your Application Packet for a Faculty Position • Cover letter • Research experience and plans • Teaching experience and philosophy • List of referees • dissertation advisor, postdoc supervisor, others • You may be asked for: • Reference letters • Representative/best manuscripts

4. Process for the Department • A search committee selects 3-4 candidates from 50-200 applicants. • May need to get entire faculty to agree. • The search committee chair or department chair calls the candidates and schedules visits. • An itinerary is constructed for each candidate. • The interview occurs. • The chair and search committee re-evaluate the candidates. A recommendation to the department is composed. • The department votes to make an offer. • The Dean must sign off. • You get the call. • It may take some time to get a formal letter with the offer.

5. You Got The Call! Now What? Congratulations! A committee has judged you as a potential good fit. The interview is your chance to seal the deal. There are lots of details arranging a visit. • Have a calendar at hand. • Visits are usually >1 day • Being asked to interview first may be a very good sign. • Are you ready with talks, interview outfits, haircut? • If you are fortunate enough to be asked by several institutions to visit, think carefully about conflicts. • Time frame of highly ranked vs. lower ranked departments • What if you interview on Jan 8 and get an offer good for two weeks, and your first choice interview is on Feb 12? • (You can only say “yes" once.)

6. Start Preparing ASAP! • Putting together your talk is the most important item. • Preparation (and practice) are key. • Gear up for interviews with 10-20 faculty • Anticipate one-on-one interviews with • Department chair • Dean of the School • Several senior faculty (and junior faculty) • A selection of graduate students • Read everything you can about the department

7. Preparing to Meet with Faculty • KNOW EVERYBODY ON YOUR SCHEDULE • Focus your attention on the Chair and on key faculty in your research area. • Read CVs carefully and thoroughly. • Have relevant questions planned. • The conversation will not just be about your thesis research. • How will you complement the department's current work? • What new area(s) of expertise will you offer? • Read several papers by these faculty. You can suggest possible collaborations. You can ask probing questions.

8. Do Your Homework • Read about the institution, the department, and the research group you would belong to • Are there other local institutions where there could be possible collaborators? • Ask ahead as many questions as necessary to prepare an appropriate-level presentation of your research • Ask to meet with people you think will help you evaluate how good a fit the position is • Assistant profs in the department • Potential collaborators in the department and other departments • Female or minority faculty • Graduate students • Human resources staff

9. Prepare to Ask Questions • You do not want to leave after two days uncertain if you would take the job if offered. • You should ask about the tenure process • How many assistant professors have received tenure? • Does the department have a strategic plan? • Teaching expectations (and load) • Research priorities? Publication expectations? • External funding expectations • Opportunities for internal, local, or bridge funding? • Startup benefits (lab, reduced teaching) • Shared equipment? (what are your needs?) • Social / collegial interactions?

10. “Interview”= entire campus visit • One-on-one meetings • Formal presentation(s) • Informal meetings and interactions • The interview visit starts when host picks you up at the hotel and ends when host drops you off at the hotel or airport • You are on even during dinner on the last day of visit • Bring breath mints!!

11. What Should You Expect? • Some faculty will view their role as educating (“selling") you about the department, the university, and the town. • Some faculty will focus on your teaching interests, and curriculum development. • Some faculty will probe your understanding of the “big picture." What directions interest you? • The Dean or Department Chair may ask you “What do you plan to undertake in the next five or ten years?” • Some faculty will ask probing questions about your research. • Have answers ready! Ask for clarification rather than ramble. It is OK to say “I don't know," or qualify your answer.

12. Describing Your Research • Prepare to do this in numerous ways • Elevator version • Past/current research seminar - formal • The research you propose to do – less formal

13. “Elevator Speech” • In the elevator on you way to your next appointment, you are introduced to Dr. Smith, Associate Dean for Research. Dr. Smith is not in your area so after shaking hands he asks: “So, what do you do?” • must have a short speech that describes your research interest in a compelling way to someone outside your area • Must prepare for this: find someone outside your research area, practice • Start with the handshake • Remember it is not a very tall building (key: 1-minute but compelling) • Review: figure out what messages you want to convey

14. Past/Current Research Seminar • Plan for no more than 45 minutes • Keep track of time and plan for flexibility – have slides you can skip • Expect questions, at end or within your talk • Who is your audience? FIND OUT • Not your professional society meeting, not your lab meeting • Err on side of being more formal • Omit explanations of common methods • Rule of thirds • Practice your talk before coming to campus

15. Your Talk -Step By Step • Good technical presentation: • Well organized, clear • Outline, Introduction, Main presentation, Conclusions and Outlook • Don’t use formulaic outline – be descriptive! • Keep time! • Consider numbering your slides

16. Introduction –10 minutes • Get the audience interested and excited: • Why is the topic important? • What is the background and context?

17. Main presentation –30 minutes • What you did: • Give enough details to make point, show how important your work is • Keep it simple –OK to leave some details out for clarity • Most important results • What they mean • Only experts may follow the last 10 minutes of this part • Plan on some flexibility: • Watch time and be prepared to skip or add slides to keep time –decide beforehand what to skip or add

18. Conclusions and Outlook –10 minutes • What are the implications? • “the new technique I developed could be applied to reinvestigate this decades-old question” • “the long-lasting prediction is confirmed by this new material I developed” • Where is the field going as a result of your work? • What direction is your work going to take from here?

19. The Good Slide(images courtesy of Emilia Morosan)

20. The Bad Slide

21. Just Plain Ugly!!

22. Important Considerations • Clean slides, no typos, large font • Don’t use crazy animation or slide transitions • Appropriately cite other’s related work, especially if in the audience • Have backup of your presentation • If possible check out the room and AV equipment before talk • Beware of “wandering laser pointer”

23. More Considerations • Begin by saying, “Good Morning! It’s such a pleasure to be here.” • Face the audience as much as possible • Don’t read off slides • At the end, say, “Thank You, I’d be happy to take any questions.”

24. PRACTICE!! • Practice talk in front of varied audience (if possible your lab mates, your supervisor, family or friends outside area, undergraduate students) • It may be very helpful (and sometimes painful) to record your talk and then review

25. Practice Answering HARD Questions / Comments • Don’t get defensive! • “You acknowledge all these collaborators –what exactly did you do?” • “This is a project you started working on as a postdoc in Prof. X’s group. Will you be continuing this work? How will your work be distinct from that of your postdoc (or graduate) supervisor?” • “Have you any validation for this model?” • “Why did you not consider the effects of _____?” • “I don’t think that ____ is a good approach.”

26. Good Responses to Hard Questions • “That’s a really good question...thank you for asking it.” • “You make a very good point…I have a couple responses…” • “We’ve discussed this question a lot in our research group and here’s what I think…”

27. Possible: Seminar on Your Planned Research / Teaching • Audience is more likely just faculty • Plan a 30 minute talk since you will have interruptions • What is your big picture goal for your research lab? • Go over 3-4 anticipated research projects • Have motivation/aims/strategy well defined for 1-2 projects • Think about time frame and personnel to perform this work • Where will you submit these proposals for funding? • Teaching capabilities • Summarize your teaching experience • What existing courses in the department could you teach? • What courses would you like to create?

28. Sample Teaching Lecture • Rare but a possibility, depends on type of school • You ought to have your choice of topic • Ask questions about expectations • Reasonable to plan for mixture of: • Motivation for study of selected topic • A fundamental concept behind topic • Historical development of topic • Explanation and evidence for competing theories • Applications – classical and cutting edge • Close with questions people are now pursuing about topic • Someone in audience may know this topic well. Don’t let this unnerve you. They are not the students who will be taking the course.

29. The Interview is the Whole Visit • The interview does not end with interviews and your talk. • Conversations at meals/receptions are just as important. • You probably have been incredibly busy with your research and writing. • You may have given up reading the newspaper or watching TV news. • It is not OK to have nothing to offer on current events. You need a crash course. Pick up a copy of The Economist, TIME, etc. • Be prepared to engage in a conversation about hobbies/activities you enjoy. The total package: what is your favorite movie? • Have at least a couple of conversation starters ready. Re-use questions from earlier if needed. • Obviously, don’t bad-mouth anybody.

30. Just Plain Illegal to Ask • The faculty should have been clearly instructed that it is illegal to ask you about • Marriage, children, religion, active military service • Age, disability, pregnancy, health issues • Sexual orientation, criminal record • Race, ethnicity, native language • However, if you bring up an issue they are allowed to answer your questions. • Some bonehead may ask anyway • Options: answer; decline to answer; answer the intent of the question as it pertains to the job; ask how question relates to the job requirements

31. Pregnant? • Not visibly pregnant • Reveal pregnancy after getting offer • Visibly pregnant • Best to acknowledge during interview • Do HW ahead of time about family policies • Express enthusiasm for family-friendly dept, school, etc. • You may get asked “When would you be available to take this position?” – legitimate question for anyone; better to be honest

32. As the Interview Ends • Typically, you will have a final meeting with the Department Chair • “Do you have any last questions?" • Don't be disappointed if the signals are ambiguous • “We'll be in touch." • It is appropriate to express your appreciation of all the work and time spent on your interview. • If someone drives you to the airport, keep the conversation going. “I was very impressed by the questions the graduate students made..."

33. After the Interview • A thank you note to the Department Chair is a good idea. • If you promised Professor X a copy of your paper, be sure to follow through. • (Keep notes. You will be completely exhausted by the end and your memory may blur important details.) • Think critically about what you learned during the interview. • If during a later interview, you realize you did not cover a particular topic, you can contact the Chair. • Or maybe you should wait for “the phone call."

34. More Academic Search Tips • Tips for a massive academic job search by Ellen Spertus (Mills College). Highly detailed, deals with 2-body problem: • http://people.mills.edu/spertus/job-search/job.html

35. Note on Non-Faculty Interviews • It is just as important to do your homework ahead of time, to be “on” the entire time, and to follow up afterwards • Headed to an “industry” interview? • Review case studies of relevant products and how they were developed and marketed. • Become familiar with product regulations. • Dress code for interview – find out from HR. • You may still have to give a seminar, but consider audience! • Be prepared for psychological interview questions.

36. Psychological Question Examples • What color best describes your personality? • How do you define success? • What is your dream job? • If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? • Mainly intended to see how you think on your feet. • Reiterate: don’t bad-mouth anybody.

37. Stay Healthy!! • Here’s hoping you have oodles of interviews • Travel takes its toll – prepare your own emergency kit Thank you!