Job Interviews

I've been invited for an interview: now what?

Interviewing panels can vary in size from two to 20, and in make-up from just philosophers to a whole assortment of people. You can never predict exactly what you'll be expected to talk about in an interview, but here are some tips to help you prepare. Preparation is absolutely essential; don't expect to just be able to go in and make all your answers up as you go along.

  • Find out as much as you can about the interview: You may already have been contacted by someone in the department that wants to interview you. If you've only heard from Personnel, and there is no contact in the department who is listed in the job details, ask Personnel who in the department you can contact for further information. It's perfectly OK to ask them roughly who will be on the interview panel: the more you know beforehand the fewer nasty shocks you're likely to receive. Find out the research interests of the panel: do any of them know a lot about your research area? Are any of them likely to take exception to your views, or be sceptical about the importance of your research area?

  • Find out about the department: Check out their web page. If this doesn't give you much information, ask for their undergraduate and graduate prospectuses. Get a feeling for what the department is like, how they like to do things, what their strengths and weaknesses are.

  • Ask who else is being interviewed: They probably won't mind telling you - and they certainly won't mind you asking. Try and find out about the other interviewees by checking their web pages, the Philosophers' Index, etc. This might sound a bit sneaky, but really it's just sensible. You can tell a lot about what the employer is looking for from who they've shortlisted. Compare yourself to the other candidates: what are their research areas, do they have more teaching experience than you, is your publication record better than theirs? Identifying your weak points relative to the other candidates is something the interviewers will have done too, so it can give you an indication of the areas they're going to be particularly interested in in the interview.

  • Check the job details and your CV carefully: Have you done anything since you sent them your CV that you want to tell them about? Put yourself in their position: if you had to fill that job and had that CV in front of you, what questions would you want to ask?

What sorts of questions will I be asked?

  • Teaching: For all the areas of competence listed on your CV - particularly any specified as desirable in the job description - you should have something to say about how you'd teach that course. Find out from the department's web page how courses get taught: how many lectures in a course? Are there seminars/ tutorials as well? What assessment methods are typically used? Once you know all that, think about a rough course outline, which texts you would use, what you think the crucial issues in the topic are, and so on. US departments tend to base courses around one particular text book, so have a view about which book you would use and why.

    You may also be asked questions about teaching and assessment methods: how to engage students' attention in lectures, how to deal with students with different levels of ability, whether you make use of "innovative" teaching techniques, and so on.

  • Graduate teaching: You may be asked if you would be happy teaching or supervising graduate students. Think about this, and answer honestly: if you claim that you would be happy supervising advanced PhD students when you haven't finished your own thesis, you are likely to do yourself more harm than good. But would you be happy supervising beginning PhD students if their topic is in your research area? Would you be happy teaching masters courses?

  • Research: You may be asked:
    • to spend 5 minutes or so talking about your PhD thesis: rehearse this until you can do it without slipping up or having to stop and think
    • about publication plans in the near and/or distant future
    • about the importance of your research topic
    • specific questions about your writing sample and/or job talk.

       

  • Miscellaneous: There's no limit to the variety and bizarreness of the questions you may have to face. Try answering these:
    • What do you expect a student to get out of a philosophy degree?
    • What are your long term career plans?
    • What's the point in doing philosophy?

There are rules about what interviewers are and are not allowed to ask you. Roughly speaking, they are only allowed to ask questions that are directly related to your ability to do the job. They are not allowed to ask you whether your partner would be able to find work there, or whether you are planning on having children, or whether the local night life would be to your taste. Still, you may find yourself being asked questions like this, and it's best to think in advance about how you would respond. Looking shocked, being lost for words and losing your rag are probably all bad responses: it's best just to answer or to politely evade the question.

Any questions? You may be asked at the end of the interview whether you have any questions of your own to ask the panel. If you have any genuine concerns about the job, the department or whatever, think about how to raise them in a way that doesn't make it sound like you're less than enthusiastic about joining the department. If you don't have any obvious concerns, it's good to have one or two questions up your sleeve anyway: it'll make you come across as someone who's thought seriously about the job.

I have to give a job talk ...

Again, be prepared:

  • Know your audience: find out who will be present: undergraduates? postgraduates? just staff?
  • Make sure your talk runs for just the right length of time - this is extremely important - and find out how long has been allocated for the question period.
  • Find out exactly what they want from the talk. They'll normally have a fairly specific agenda: a sample undergraduate lecture, or a general overview of your research, or a regular research talk. Make sure you pitch it at the right level.

Beyond that, the advice is the same as for any job interview: look smart, and be confident, friendly, interesting and punctual. Remember that they're looking for someone who not only does a stack of teaching and/or improves the research profile of the department, but for a colleague who they'll like having around the place.

Remember too to act like you want the job; and think beforehand about how you are going to make sure this comes across in the interview. If the interview is for a job that isn't your first choice, or if you feel less than enthusiastic about the prospect of living in Dullsville, Arkansas (or wherever), hide it. If you seem less than enthusiastic, they're likely to be less than enthusiastic about you too. Nobody wants to offer a job to someone who they think will turn it down, or who will be desperately trying as soon as they arrive to get another job somewhere else. Get the offer first and think about whether to accept it later on.

Philosophy @ ANU