If it's from a very good school--mention the name! Often! If the school where you got the offer from is considered a rung down from the school you are calling, I don't think mentioning the name will help you. However, I imagine some schools would ask for this information if you don't volunteer the information.
Often this question doesn't really matter because they will tell you they are no longer considering you as a candidate.
help..got an invitation for a fly-out, but need to bring along my baby and spouse. any advice on how to address this with the person making the travel arrangements?
5:04 PM- don't take your baby and spouse with you. Seriously, you will be so busy that you won't be able to attend your baby any way. You have to focus on the interview. Plus I couldn't even imagine asking any search committee to pay for my family's airfare. They have tight budgets that's why they are flying in only a number of people. Instead of paying for your spouse's airfare, they would rather bring in another candidate.
If you are breastfeeding and need to express milk, take a hand pump with you, let the chair of the committee know that you need some time in between the interviews to express milk.
thanks for the advice. i see myself being more stressed out by leaving the baby behind though. i have not left overnight yet and i think it would be more of a problem for me. my spouse will do all the work as far as caring for baby goes so that doesn't worry me. we are even willing to pay for the travel, even though things are very tight. but, we want to fly together and since the department will be booking my flight for me i don't know if i should ask if i can make my own travel arrangements so i can book together, or see if they will book my spouse's travel and i can pay them back...thoughts?
Tell them that you will have someone traveling with you and ask to make your own travel arangements (within the guidelines they give you). I have never heard of a school paying for a spouse and the candidate paying them back.
thanks! i like that suggestion. i am more stressed out about making these arrangements than the interview itself, but the idea of just asking to arrange my own travel sounds simple enough to relax me a little.i appreciate it.
Bringing spouse and baby along is fine and a completely personal decision. You can also ask to come early/stay a day late if you and spouse desire to check out the area. There are some schools I have applied to where I will do this. You just pay for the extra hotel night/expenses involved.
I have an interview next week and am meeting with a dean. What should I expect to talk about with him, and what questions should I be asking him? So far all I've got is "how do you think the school will be affected by the downturn in the economy", and I don't think that should be my leading question...
my soon-to-be-husband works in a college writing center and when I (hopefully) get a job offer I would like to try and negotiate for him to get a job at the writing center of whatever college hires me. Would it be appropriate to bring that up in the interview, or should I not mention him at all until I get an offer?
6:39, I just met with a dean and basically we talked about where my work was going over the next five years.
If you can give a clear idea of what you'll be doing with your dissertation, your next articles/books, etc., that is helpful.
Also, make it clear that your work is rigorous and your plan is already being set in motion by what you're doing today.
The dean I met with asked who I could envision as my "conversation partners" if I were to join the department. Who would challenge me? Who could I go to if I had questions or needed to work something through?
I think they also interested in making sure you'd be a good fit/happy in the community. So, saving the department time/energy of having to rehire again if you decided to leave.
My meeting was short and the dean was great. I would ask too about their areas of interest as well--that may be helpful too in knowing where they're coming from.
Deans (and even Chairs) with whom I've met have been impressed or liked questions about the University's strategic plan (growing? working on quality?) and where the College and/or Department fits in that plan? What would Dean like to see the Dept do in the next 5 years? (improve reputation, expand, grow Phd, add new degree programs?) How does the department compare to others in College in terms of quality of research/majors/etc. and what does Chair/Dean think the dept should do to address new challenges.
You can get a good sense of how valued the Dept is to the Dean/University and learn about Dean's relationship to Dept.
E.g.: had an interview where Dean said he'd intervened in a hiring decision in another Dept b/c they were not responsible but thought that unlikely for the Soc department.
taking notes during an interview is a good idea, because it signals you're seriously interested in the position. just don't let the note-taking interfere with your conversations!!
When I interviewed last year, I brought a notepad but took almost no notes. Basically, there wasn't enough time, and I was concentrating too hard on the questions they were asking me, and the answers they were providing to my questions. But I think it probably does look good to be prepared.
12:04: they asked who your 'conversation partners' would be? That sounds like they are asking which faculty members would you be friends with (and how would you know that at this point?). What did you answer? (specific peoples names?)
7:33, I responded with a few specific people's names. At that point, anyone who had asked questions about methods and about strengthening my project, I could say would be great partners in making the work more rigorous.
In addition, I talked about the strengths of one of the specialties in the department because having a group of researchers in this area would be a great benefit.
The advice regarding the dean's vision for the department/college is good. The dean I spoke with laid all of that out in the beginning so I only had a few questions.
7:16--wait for the offer. You never want to be a pain in the tush in advance. Once you have the offer, they've already invested in you. Once they've decided you're the one they want, they're more likely to want to do extra things to get you. And if you have more than one offer, you can that as a bargaining chip.
How many of you have interviewed for a position in a discipline other than sociology and what was it like (did you get an offer?) I interviewed twice last year in non-sociology departments and both times did not get an offer because I wasn't quite what they were looking for (one wanted an economist). This year, I have an interview lined up in department with no sociologists and I'm just wondering if I'm wasting my time. I would really like to hear about positive experiences people have had.
How do ya'll travel with nice clothes, particularly a men's suit? I have an interview coming up and don't really want to cram my suit in one of those carry-on-able suitcases. The other option is a garment bag, but that would count as my one piece of carry-on luggage, right? So, everything else would need to fit inside the garment bag too? What do you all do?
I bought a garment bag that is the same size as a roll-on suitcase. It was a little tricky, but I managed to fit everything I needed in it. Can't remember where I got it, but if you do an internet search you can find a bunch of different styles.
I've been putting my suit in my carry-on bag and then taking advantage of the iron in the hotel room. So far, all of my schedules have included at least an hour to check in at the hotel and freshen up before the first scheduled meeting, so I've had time to press my shirt (my jacket and pants seem to be fairly wrinkle proof).
10:29, I'm interviewing almost exclusively at business schools (two so far), partly because the starting salaries, even at marginal schools, is around 85-90K but largely because sociology seems to be abandoning the study of organizations. The biggest questions I have faced is whether my research/teaching is transferable to the b-school environment. That argument is harder to make in a b-school that emphasizes MBA education, as they are typically looking for folks with practical experience (i.e. several years in the professional workforce). Nonetheless, I think the same rules of the road apply...do your research on the department before you go.
I'm curious how much background research people are doing on the department/university at which they will be interviewing? Any strategies or tips? Thanks in advance!
I'm 12:14, I usually try to read the CVs and at least article from everybody on my interview itinerary. Pore over the department's website to learn weird little details, like the chair being a teacher of ballroom dance (which was the case at my previous interview).
At the same time, I have been told by faculty in my department to know a few things about the faculty, but not so much that you appear obsessive. So, I am aware of the faculty but do not go overboard in my research on them.
I agree with 7:56. Based on my previous experience, faculty appreciate it if you know something about their work, but they don't expect you to have read it unless it's super relevant to yours. I also found there wasn't a lot of time to talk about their work. By the time they asked me some questions about my research and myself, and then I had a chance to ask a few questions about the department, that was generally it for the half hour and it was on to the next person.
For those who have given job talks/are preparing job talks....how much time do you spend introducing yourself, your areas of research, future directions for research, etc. versus time spent talking about the research being presented in the talk?
The job talks I have seen have been almost all about the research.
However, I have one coming up and the SC chair specifically asked me to give a presentation focusing on my work and future plans instead of just doing a presentation. He said "sell us on what you'd in to research-wise".
It is always best to ask the person extending the interview what they would like and how long they expect you present vs. allowing time for Q&A. This varies a lot by institution, so you want to know the norm. Usually, the person inviting you wants you to succeed and will be happy to tell you about audience, what they are looking for, and how long to talk.
Good advice, but let's say they tell you that you have 45 minutes to talk with 15 minutes for Q-A. How many minutes of your 45 should you spend talking about yourself, your broad areas of research, future research, etc and how much should you spend focused on describing the the main research?
Previous poster here. I'd suggest 2-4 sentences @ beginning about how you came to subject. Then fewer than 5 min at end (like your final slide or implications/extensions based on research conclusions) about how the presented research will lead into your next project/overall research program, closing with an offer to answer questions about the presentation and/or your future agenda.
If they say 45 min...I'd shoot for 40, b/c the Q&A is more interesting/engaging for the audience. Wouldn't talk less than 35 b/c then they'll think you don't have lots to say. If you do your job well (i.e., saying something interesting), they will be itching to ask questions and glad that you left plenty of time for it.
--signed, someone who sat through 8+ job talks last year.
Also, it helps to give an outline of where you're going/what you're going to talk about during your job talk at the beginning.
We just had a job talk that was basically terrible. The person's title said they were going to talk about two different locations and then the talk only focused on one. In the Q+A, someone asked about the other location and the person basically said there was no data on that location. Ok...
The individual also jumped into graphs that were complex, losing the audience immediately.
I think the best job talks (having been to a million myself recently) set up a story--how did you become interested in this area (do you already have publications in this area? Talk about this, but briefly!)... give an outline of your talk... begin up front with why the topic is important... tell the people what they can hope to learn from your talk... then go into the details of your research.
At the interview I just had, people seemed sooooo interested in the next steps/next project/next five years. They wanted to know that I had things other than the research I presented already ready to go.
Thank you to everybody giving advice on the content of a job talk! This has been INCREDIBLY helpful!!! If there's anymore advice feel free to keep it coming! I think it's been a useful topic for several anxious job candidates (especially people like me -- about to have a first-ever job talk, yikes!)
What are women supposed to wear for job interviews? I have three suits--one black, one khaki tweedish skirt suit, and one light gray pant suit. Is it better to wear pant suits instead of skirt suits? Is it considered a faux pas to wear light colored suits in the fall?
And please tell me that it's okay to wear flats instead of heels.
I wore a nice skirt set for the day I arrived, then a pant suit for the day I gave my talk, then slacks and a dress shirt for my final day. I wore flats all three days. I figured it was more professional to wear flats and stay upright than to wear heels and end up on my butt.
A woman faculty member in my department said, "suit suit suit!!!"
I asked about skirt suits vs. pants suits and she said it didn't matter.
I would try to present in pants though, I felt like the less skin that was visible, the more comfortable I felt.
I wore heels with my pants suit because my pants were so long... and then a short wedged heel with the skirt suit.
There is a great deal of helpful info about what to wear on the older sociology blogs too. Several people said to make sure your shoes are comfortable. I know at my interview, I went for about a mile-long tour!
I've been on two flyouts, and I've dressed a little more casual for dinner/meals: my nicest shirt, crisp pants, but no jacket. (I'm male.) It certainly depends on the culture of the dept. Where I went I sussed out the place during the day, and opted for changing my outfit between interviews and dinner both times. I think that a good rule of thumb is to look one or two clicks more 'up' from the department, but not to 'overshoot' the culture as to not look too stiff. Pack with options, if possible. Then again, others will disagree, and I have not been offered a position (yet)! Best of luck to all...
question-- i wanted to know what are good questions to ask during the campus visit, particularly questions to ask the dean. i know basic questions about course load, committees, how dept plans to grow/change over coming years, but i wonder what suggestions people have for other questions.
Does anyone have experience teaching a class as part of the interview campus visit? I would love to hear what other people's experiences are with this. Any advice??
I have done a teaching demonstration as part of an interview. First, you will want to get as much info about the class as possible. As for a syllabus so you know what the class has already done. Also, it is acceptable to send ahead something for the students to read before class if you want to.
I did an intro class, and I think that is pretty typical. I did a lesson focusing on my specific sub-field, but did not send anything ahead for them to read.
For a 50-minute class, I did a very short introduction of myself and what kind of research I do (remember, the SC will be there so you need to sell yourself to them also). I would present a part of the material and then break the class in groups for an activity (I like group work!). Then present a little and do another activity. The more interaction you have with students, the more the SC can see about your teaching skills. Build in lots of time for questions - I got a lot of them!
I concluded with an activity that let me assess how well the students understood the material I presented. This was useful later when I was meeting with faculty members because I could reference the fact that my teaching approach worked and the students indicated they understood the concepts.
It sounds like you did a great job! What kind of activity did you end with that evaluated if they learned the material? I find that coming up with in-class assessments (as opposed to tests/papers) is difficult.
Be VERY careful with the teaching demonstrations. I had one a couple of years ago where the SC basically told me "do whatever you want" (it was a Social Problems class), and then when I came in with a general talk tailored for sophomore-level students, one of the committee members basically treated it like a job talk and tried to tear into me with data questions, etc. This person had a candidate in mind I later learned, but it TOTALLY caught me off guard and ruined the rest of that interview (was my first year on the market and a rare bad experience). So my advice is to get as much SPECIFIC information as you possibly can get in advance, without appearing too pushy. Good luck all!
I recently sat through some number of job talks and I wanted to share some advice. If you are ABD or a recent PhD, you really should present your job talk on your dissertation. We had a candidate recently who presented on something other than the dissertation, something probably en route to publication and on an interesting & relevant topic. Yet overall, it went just OK. Why? One reason it faltered was that when it came to fielding questions or developing ideas further there was very little below the surface. The dissertation-based job talks typically are on topics that the candidate knows really well in terms of BOTH breadth and depth. The non-dis. topics: not so much. While it's understandable that you personally may be really tired of your dissertation (happens to many of us), it's still the thing you know best and probably better than anyone else in the room.
If you want to show that you have other research projects going, then by all means mention those topics. If you have a slide about future research, you certainly can mention that you have other fascinating projects in the works. Think of it as a little tease: hey, look I could've presented other great stuff, but ya know time just doesn't allow...
One of the hardest things about being left out in the cold job-wise is the uncertainty about where I went wrong. It would be so helpful for the next job market cycle if I could get feedback from the couple of places where it really seemed I was a goof fit.
Is there any way to do this? Has anyone gotten this kind of feedback, and did it help later on?
It feels like too much of an imposition to ask my advisors to inquire on my behalf, but maybe that's the only way to find out what turned these SCs off.
I've never asked my committee members to help me get feedback, but occasionally someone I am acquainted with who graduated from my department a few years previous has been able to give me some feedback about why I didn't make it from a long shortlist to the shortlist. Unfortunately, in most cases this info hasn't been terribly helpful. It often ends up being a variant of "The SC was looking for someone who does XY and you do XZ and they thought your work was impressive, but there were other people who do XY so that's why they got the interviews and you didn't." All I conclude from this is that even though ads often sound broad, some SCs have a very specific idea of what they are looking for and there's not much you can do about that!
I'm an SC member. If you have gotten an offer, or are fairly close to getting an offer, from School A, then do let School B know if B is your real target. B can speed up their decision-making.
If you have an offer from A, and B is also making you an offer, let B know because B may increase your salary offer.
Generally you do not have to tell one school where the other offer is from, but some schools want to see the offer letter. As in love, being sought by others makes you more desirable to the one you want, who will try harder to win your hand. Also as in love, schools that are traditional academic rivals will try even harder to steal you away from the competition.
It's a good skill to develop -- playing off one against the other. Later in your career you may pursue outside offers to leave, in order to get your home department salary raised in a retention package.
Question...I have an interview coming up and I am scheduled to leave on a flight to come home very early on the 3rd day. Would it be acceptable for me to dress comfortably (jeans/sweater) when someone from the department picks me up at the hotel to drive to the airport?
I had the same question and opted not to wear jeans; I felt more professional, yet equally comfortable, in a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt with comfortable shoes. Maybe wear your sweater but with nice pants instead of jeans?
I can be a great asset to your department in the areas of medical sociology, quantitative methods, social stratification, race and ethnicity, and political sociology.
I have several sole-authored peer review publications written and published while a graduate student. Various drafts of papers are in the pipeline now.
I have also prepped and taught nearly eight different courses at a large Research 1 in the Northeast where I am finishing my doctoral degree.
I have sent out many applications and only made a few long-lists. Most faculty said I would have an easy time on the market, but as we all know this is not the case for anyone.
I work very hard and would love the opportunity to work as a tenure-track assistant professor in your department.
I understand making sacrifices in hard times.
I will take a $5,000 pay cut for my first two years (depending if there is a loophole in your faculty contract that allows such). I can also teach an extra course each semester for the first two years.
I will defend my dissertation in early Spring of 2009.
While I recognize this is unorthodox, I really hope you might consider contacting me. I am a serious person.
For those with interviews or just knowledge of your department did you have to pay for your flight upfront then wait on reimbursement? How long did the reimbursement take? Did you have to pay for more than the flight out of your own pocket?
I have 2 interviews set up. One had me pay for the flight and they will cover the rest and the other asked me to pay for everything out of my pocket and its going to cost $800 - $1300 after everything (expensive flight). On the other hand, my department (Southern R1) does not ask the candidate to pay for anything out of pocket.
I have one campus interview scheduled and they are having me pay for everything upfront before they pay me back. I was told I would be reimbursed "after the interview." I actually think this is a pretty common occurance. I'm giving the receipts to the department secretary, who will submit the receipts to the school, and the school will then cut me a check.
4:41 here. I meant that it was common to have the candidate pay upfront for the flight, parking, etc. The schools I'm familiar with pay do for the hotel directly.
I interviewed at a regional teaching-oriented school. They paid up-front for the hotel and flight. They provided all my meals and even reimbursed me for meals I bought while traveling. I assumed that was standard; now I feel lucky!
So far they've covered the hotel every time and I've only had to pay for the plane ticket myself (with promise of reimbursement) one time out of my four interviews.
Job-talk: rehearse, rehearse, rehearse...with a critical audience. Some programs require students to practice job-talks. Don't go into that recruiting faculty audience "on a wing and a prayer." Every blunder loses some votes for you.
Interview: Practice, practice, and (guess what): You know what some questions will be: Why do you want to be with us? What are your goals in teaching? What is the future direction of your research? and more. Work out your answers so they are fluent yet not spoken as though rote memorized (even if they were).
Study the faculty roster; know what each has done, no matter how modestly. Find out who is on the hiring committee and be sure that you know their work and its relation to yours.
Study the department, but be yourself. Don't try to be something you are not. Be nice to the secretaries. Be nice to the graduate students? Why? Because it's the human thing to do.
I have been sending an email to each member on the search committee. And, if I met with somebody outside of the search committee that I really connected with, I sent them a short email as well. Good luck!
Be nice to everybody is HUGE. I worked at a school where they decided not to bring someone in for an interview because the secretary didn't like the way he had spoken to her on the phone. Everybody matters.
I was told by an adivser to send thank you emails to the chair, each member of the search committee, and anyone with whom I spent "significant" time. I personally did all of those, plus I sent an email to the secretary that set up my schedule and carted me around to each meeting, plus the grad students who took me to the airport.
I always get tongue tied on the question "why do you want to work at this department/school?" I have another interview coming up next week and am looking to really nail this one...any advice on how to respond to this question without sounding like a kiss ass?
The question "why do you want to work at this department/school? is really asking:
1. Show how much you know about our department and campus, as one indicator that you are a serious, thorough person who knows what he/she is getting into? and
2. What forces will keep you at our department and campus once the honeymoon wears off so that we won't waste all this time recruiting you for just a year or two?
To answer those questions, study the department, know the faculty, and try role-taking so you can imagine how you appear to an SC member with those concerns.
I just finished a campus interview and I'm writing thank you notes. I planning on sending a quick note to all the facutly members in the department I met with--do I send something to the administrators too?? I spent about 30 minutes meeting with the vice-president and 45 minutes with the dean. Do they get any kind of email/note too?
re: thank you notes I sent a thank you note to everybody I met with (including faculty, dean, and the administrative assistant who made my travel arrangements and organized my day).
What is the best way to ask whether or not a department will be offerring any visiting professor positions. Just saw one for UCI for 2009-2010 in Soc. of Sexuality (not my forte), and made me wonder if all of the VAP positions are actually advertised or if they're given out more informally.
With on-site interviews, is it common for schools to vaguely treat everyone being interviewed as if they were the top choice candidate and the interview process was really a formality/confirming of that? Even if it isn't the case (clearly, since all the candidates can't be the first choice)?
I keep hearing about phone interviews, but was just invited to a campus interview without any phone interviews. Is that common?
Or is this a sign that this place had so few applicants that they didnt even need to screen people?
Im just asking because if this is a place that is struggling to get applicants in this economy, there might be something going on there that I need to find out about.
We don't do phone interviews at our R1 - mainly I think b/c we are lazy/busy and don't want to take the time. It's also a testament to the fact that it's the pubs on your CV that matter more than anything else - we can figure out who is crazy or a jerk at the campus interviews. This does result in some real doozies being brought to campus and entertained for two days. Anyway, bottom line, I wouldn't read much into it either way. Be thankful you have an interview!
Yes, I think that schools do this in the same way that, as candidates, we probably act like each school we visit is at the top of our list. A lot of times the members of a department don't know which candidate the other members will like the best and they want to cover their bases so that whoever they give an offer felt like they were treated well.
As a SC member, campus interviews are part vetting / part recruiting. We want to see if you are a good fit, but we want you to take our offer if we extend it.
I know I felt like I was the top choice after my interview as a candidate, but I turned out to be the 3rd pick.
On the topic of whether or not you are "first pick" out of the candidates at campus interview:
I feel like I was called first for both my campus interviews (due to the number of dates open that later filled in). Do you think this means anything? My last name also starts with one of the first letters of the alphabet, so part of me wondered if they were making the calls alphabetically. I know this is a silly question, but it's something I have been wondering about . . .
Again, N of 1, so take it for what it is worth. I'm pretty sure I was the first phone interviewee, and the first on campus visit... yet the third in line to get an offer. But, I got the job, and I like it, so it all worked out.
I think it is pretty random who gets called first. Whomever doing the calling likely just takes the list and sits down to make all the calls. Whomever answers their phone first is the first to get called.
In my case, the SC chair sent an email asking when would be a convenient time to speak over the phone and make arrangements for a fly-out. I ended up being the first interview probably because my schedule was very flexible and I could fly out as soon as possible.
As for getting the feeling that you're the top pick - I only had 2 interviews and I felt that way both times. I ended up getting offers from both places. I do know that my grad department always treated everyone that way and we obviously didn't make offers to everyone who applied.
The (the department) understand how stressful interviewing is and want to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Its not being misleading, just considerate and open-minded.
It's smart to treat everyone that way, as the 1st choice may not accept--as Karl has already evidenced. My department has gotten several second/third choices over the last several hires, and I'm happy to say that no one ever thinks about the fact that the person was not number one--except maybe to wonder why they weren't. This should give everyone hope. Remember that all those people getting multiple interviews can only accept one job. Not to sound Pollyanna-ish, but here may still be more options than you think.
Recently, I went on an interview and was told MULTIPLE times by the department chair that I was 1) the candidate that looked best on paper 2) the candidate with the best job talk (last one to interview of 3) and 3) best fit for the department and position. I even heard the chair tell the deans that I was the best fit for the department. So yeah, I felt confident in getting an offer. Well, by the looks of the wiki...an offer has been made and it wasn't to me. I don't think it was necessary for the chair to go overboard in making me think I was the #1 choice, because in the end I feel like a fool. I think it's just plain cruel to go to that extent to lead a candidate to think that s/he will get an offer. If there are any SC members reading this, please don't say things like "you're the best of all candidates or You're our top choice", without having an offer to back it up. You can make a candidate feel welcome without saying absolutes and getting his or her hopes up.
2:02 - I agree. I would actually rather know up front I am not the top choice. I would still feel grateful if I got an offer later on. On the other hand, being made to feel I was the top choice and then not getting the first offer would make me feel mislead and think twice about an offer if it did come later.
2:02 - I've heard a number of similar stories over the years. I think the important thing to remember in situations like this is that one person cannot make a hiring decision. You may be the chair's top candidate, but there is no guarantee that the other SC members will agree.
Also, when I served on a search committee last year, the Dean stepped in and made us hire our second choice because he/she did an area that the Dean wanted brought to campus.
You never can tell what it will come down to!
. . . but yeah, I would have been frustrated too if people told me several times that I was their top choice and then they offered the job to someone else:(
thanks 4:21 and 4:29. I realize this and that's why I'm trying not to take it personally, but given the variability of the whole process I would have rather not heard all of those absolutes (like best). Just tell me you enjoyed the job talk, think I'm a good fit, etc. Oh well, the only thing I can do is put it behind me and move on to the next interview.
Do folks generally wait patiently when weeks (4+) go by since a campus interview or do they contact the SC chair to see about the status of the search (if no other offer in hand)?
I have a question. I sent out my home number on all my applications, however, due to extenuating circumstances, I may be moving before the end of the year. Will a SC try to contact me by email (assuming I'm fortunate enough to earn contact) if they cannot reach me by phone? Should I contact departments in which I'm particularly interested and give them an alternative phone number at which to reach me? Any suggestions?
I think contacting the departments that are your top choices and/or who have not already called in candidates for campus interviews would be fine. I would just send a quick form email to the person who you sent your application to letting them know that you are a job candidate and saying that "after (add date), I can be reached by telephone at (add new number). By email, I will continue to be at (add address). I apologize for any inconvenience."
I had a job talk awhile ago where I met with the entire SC and it became quickly clear that not a single member of the search committee had read the writing sample from my diss that I had had to send in as part of the application, or even looked carefully at my CV. They literally had no idea what my dissertation was about--I got questions like "so, you do work on stratification or something like that right?" And I'm like "no, gender and media discourse." And they were like "oh...okay...well...uh, that sounds very interesting."
The SC was made up of a bunch of junior people who did work that was totally different from mine, and who had probably been made to be on the SC against their will....but still. Also, most of them clearly thought my research was stupid, because it was a heavy quant department and I do 'touchy feely" sex and gender stuff, but a few members of the SC actually sat in the back rolling their eyes and passing notes to their friends during my job talk.
I'm not sure why they brought me in.... it was a fly out too!! Must have been a unilateral decision by the chair
How strange for you! I'm sorry you had that experience. I did a fly-out for a position that was totally outside my sub-field, but the faculty members I met with seemed to try very hard to connect the two.
For example, they would ask if I studied marriage and family and I would say no, I study economic sociology. They would respond with, but economic situations change across the lifecourse, right? So you kind of study family!
It was clear to me that the stated sub-field for the position was not really that important in terms of selecting a candidate.
I'm sorry that happened! I had a similar situation happen at a campus interview, but it was only one faculty member (not all of them) and he/she was respectful. I am also a qual person and do a lot of grounded theory stuff. This quant person kept quizzing me afterward about what theory I was testing. Clearly he/she didn't get it. I'm hoping the others did!
The situation is clearly not your fault. Hopefully you will get another interview and it will go better.
I have a question for the group: I had a campus interview a couple of weeks ago. The department chair said he would call or email everyone this past week with their ranking (not just the top choice). I haven't heard anything. Do I just need to be patient, or at what point is it okay to email the department chair asking for an update? Thanks!
That chair may have been told by higher administrators that it's risky to tell candidates their ranking because they could sue if ranked 1st but not hired, or ranked 2nd but then passed over to #3 when #1 demurred.
Hiring is a dangerous legal area, which is a major reason why applicants will get little information about the circumstances of their candidacy.
I was trying to make the same decision as 5:06. I told them the name of the other school, because what you really need is for them to share confidences, so the more open you are with them, the more open the conversation will be. I'd be afraid that if you're cagey, it will prompt an equally guarded response, which might not give you all the information that could be useful to you.
How long should it take for an offer to be made after the last candidate has interviewed...the process is taking a lot longer than the school stated it would. Thanks!
Simply say that you have an offer. There's no good reason to share which school you received an offer from.
My reasoning may not be perfect, but: If the school you have an offer from is not as good as the schools you are contacting, then you aren't giving them any incentive to hurry. If the school you have an offer from is better, they may realize they can't compete with that offer. Either way, your goal is primarily to let schools know that you are now on a deadline and are interested in knowing your status.
Side note: I had an offer last year and used it to light a fire under the butts of my current employer.
Oops. I was responding to post #200, which is at the bottom of the first page of the thread, not realizing that I would be terribly late in my response. My apologies.
To be more up-to-date: Several factors determine how long it takes a school to communicate after interviewing. The department's choice usually must travel to the Dean, who then may take awhile to move on it. They may have made an offer to someone else and are waiting for that response. The end-of-the-semester may have slowed progress.
The longest I had to wait was a month. The shortest was a couple days (I was the only interview).
I think this question has been asked before, so forgive me, but is it horrible to call a school and inquire about the status of a search? Who do you call? Not knowing about the last few on my list is killing me and it's entirely possible (since they never made the wiki) that they have hired someone and that someone isn't active on the list. They could have also been cancelled, or who knows. I'm trying to be patient, but I just want to know. Of course, they could just be slow. Urgh.
My view on this, and I have struggled with wanting to call too, is to ask myself why I want to call: Is it just out of the frustration of not knowing or do I have a need for that information in order to make other decisions. For me, if I had another offer then I will call to check my status, otherwise I will leave them alone. If they are going to call, then they will. I am totally with you though. The not knowing is the worst, especially since many places don't notify you at all if you didn't get the job. Good luck and try to enjoy the holidays!
Similar Question: After an interview, how long before one should call and ask where they stand, assuming there's no information on the wiki? I'm going on 2 months since the interview...
Usually I'm all for the wait-and-do-not-contact-the-school approach, but 2 months is a really long time.
If it was me, I would send the chair a brief email just asking "what is the status of the job search?"
If you did a campus interview with them, I feel like you deserve some sort of information. Maybe they won't be able to tell you anything, but it's probably worth asking.
I applied for a job and wasn't a finalist, but the chair emailed me to encourage me to apply for another position (a visiting short-term job). They only ask for a cover letter- can it essentially be the same one I sent for the initial job? With just a few changes noting the fact that the chair asked me to apply and also tailoring the details to the different position?
Okay, I have no experience with this, but if it was me I would change part of it (tailoring it to the new position, classes that might be taught, etc) but the parts about my teaching experience and research would be unchanged.
There must have been something in your application materials that made the chair call you, so I don't see a reason to re-write all of it.
2:56, I had the same experience. I interviewed in mid Oct and was told I would be contacted by Thanksgiving to let me know the result either way. After not hearing anything back I emailed the search chair yesterday only to be told that the college of arts &sciences had decided not to fill the position! I would have appreciated an email with information weeks ago, feel like it was a bit disrespectful not to notify me. And, what does that even mean? Does that mean the position was cut due to budget constraints or that they were not satisfied with the candidates? I had already moved on mentally from this position, but still...
So, I would suggest going ahead and sending a very short email asking for the status of the search. Hopefully, your answer will be better than mine was. Good luck!
The Davidson news is surprising. I heard (from someone in another department there) that there was a strong inside hire. I also heard that they really want a diversity candidate, however that may be defined. Good news for some lucky person who gets a crack at it! Good luck!
Are interviews for postdocs (affiliated with a University) similar to academic job interviews (i.e. campus visit with faculty, students, job talk, etc.)?
Re: 12:04 - it certainly can be; mine was the same as a tenure-track interview, including a job talk, individual meetings with faculty, and meeting with the Dean. You should ask your contact what is to be expected and plan accordingly.
How can you tell if there is an inside candidate for a position? I'm suspicious because I'm not going to be fed on the evening of my arrival for an interview. Could just be my travel arrangements or other timing conflict. Even with a tight budget, my dept feeds candidates breakfast, lunch & dinner. What have your experiences been?
I had four interviews and had dinner the night of my arrival at three of the schools. The school where I did not have dinner the night of my arrival was one of two schools that made offers and is where I will be employed in the fall, so I wouldn't read too much into it.
Are there any questions that are important to ask when a position is a joint appointment with another department. They have specified that tenure will reside in the Sociology Department, but nothing beyond that. Any suggestions?
I did a couple of interviews for joint appts and found that universities seem to vary greatly in what they mean by it. In one place I was to be 51% in one dept 49% in the other, with teaching split in half. In the other place I was 100% in the soc dept. but had to teach half my courses for the other dept and that was it.
My advice is to make sure you get them to be very clear on what the expectations are and (most importantly) who you have to answer to for tenure. Some schools will put this in writing for you. Regarding expectations, make sure you are told ahead of time what your obligations are to each dept re committees. It is easy for them to forget you are part of 2 depts and you could end up with double the committee work if you don't stand up for yourself and remind them. Ideally there should be a senior faculty mentor who will protect you from this as well. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Re: joint appts. I recommend finding out if you can get credit for publishing in venues associated with the interdisciplinary program. Also see if you can find out if others in joint appts. at the university have gotten tenure or had successful 3rd-year reviews. If the university is testing the waters with joint appts., I wouldn't want to be one of their test cases.
Can anybody givem me any insight into phone interviews? I've had three of them and I don't think I'm doing very well with them. It's such a hard medium for conducting an interview and I find it very difficult and I get so nervous! Anybody know what search committees are trying to learn from a phone interview?
I had a phone interview this year that I thought at the time didn't go so well. They ended up inviting me for a campus interview, so it can be hard to tell. One way that phone interviews are hard is if there are more than two people on the phone with you, especially if their voices are somewhat similar. (Who's who?!?) On your end, you should make sure you're in a quiet, comfortable space. You want your application materials in front of you. And you should do your homework about the place. Ask them questions about their program, even if it seems crystal clear from what you read in their catalog. Don't pressure yourself to answer immediately -- pauses are ok (in teaching sometimes I silently count to 10 or 20 before saying my next point) -- pace yourself, speak clearly, take notes, get them talking too so it's not just an inquisition of you or a lecture by you. Good luck!
In the cover letter, is there any way to gracefully account for the fact that you are a middle-aged (say 45, for example) applicant and have had a life prior to graduate school in the work world (are there reasons to do this)?
I would think there would be good reason to do so if you were applying at a university that primarily served "non-traditional" students...otherwise I'm not sure how it would be particularly relevant.
So perhaps in your opening paragraph when you're giving an outline or overview of your credentials, you could mention "prior to completing my PhD at [uni], I worked in [sector] doing [interesting task]."
I say this as someone who is a "traditional"-aged new PhD also searching for a job, for what it's worth. Good luck!
1- I was interviewed at one of the universities I applied to. The way they set up the interview was pretty straight forward: they called me, asked if I was interested, then a few days later called me again and gave me a choice of dates for the interview. Yet, when I read the blog and check wiki, I see that other people were notified they were on the short list, had phone interviews, etc. In fact, I was even surprised when I got that call, as 2 months since the application deadline had passed and the blog was already discussing phone interviews and short lists. What does it mean that I didnt have to go through any of that? I also didnt have to fill out any of the paperwork before I got there. Originally I thought that would make me the favorite, but now I fear it might be that I am fulfilling a quota or was asked just as a favor to my advisor or something, given how little information they have on me. I didnt even have a 1 on 1 interview with the head of the search committee.
2- More to the point, its been almost a month. Should I contact them about the search? There have been no updates on it from the blog or wiki.
3- One of the members of the search committee is an alum of my alma matter. Is it ever ok to email him and ask for feedback on the interview and so on?
4- what to make of the fact that they asked me about whether I was married, about my partner, and whether partner was an academic? They acknowledged it was an illegal question but asked anyways.
Sounds like the previous candidates did not work out (either took different jobs or were not good matches). In such cases, departments often dip back into their list and streamline the interview process to ensure that they net someone before the position is pulled for the year by the Provost. I'd say, you are their only hope (OB1). But if you haven't heard anything yet, this could mean (1) they don't think you're a good match; (2) they're also bringing in another candidiate; (3) the Dean, Provost, President are out of town an unable to sign-off on an offer to you.
Personally, I think you should refrain from asking them formally or informally. It may be difficult to wait, but hang in there...
The same thing happened to me, and I got the offer and the job.
I would definitely say that it is okay to contact them at this point to inquire about the status. However, you must be prepared for bad news.
I wouldn't make too much of the questions regarding your spouse/partner. Most places are interested in knowing about this for different reasons. To be clear, it is not illegal for them to ask you about this. It is only illegal for them to use the information against you in making a hiring decision. This is why most departments just do not...in order to avoid any potential controversy when making a hiring decision.
Thanks for the replies. I know I wasnt their only hope because I know I was part of their first round of interviews (I was notified of it in late november), and know they had another 2 interviewees coming in.
Looking at the other post, it might just be erroneous information on the blog.
About not meeting with the search committee chair...
I was offered a job at school where I saw the search committee chair at the first group dinner and then never saw him again. So, I wouldn't say it is a bad sign that you did not meet one-on-one with the search committee chair.
I have a question. I'm receiving an offer from a school that I really love. The position starts at the end of August. If I take it, it is going to be very challenging to finish my diss. Has anyone ever asked a department to do a mid-year hire? In other words, I don't think I can prep new classes, move my family, sell my house and buy another one -- all in 10 weeks. Thoughts?
341 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 341 of 341If it's from a very good school--mention the name! Often! If the school where you got the offer from is considered a rung down from the school you are calling, I don't think mentioning the name will help you. However, I imagine some schools would ask for this information if you don't volunteer the information.
Often this question doesn't really matter because they will tell you they are no longer considering you as a candidate.
help..got an invitation for a fly-out, but need to bring along my baby and spouse. any advice on how to address this with the person making the travel arrangements?
5:04 PM- don't take your baby and spouse with you. Seriously, you will be so busy that you won't be able to attend your baby any way. You have to focus on the interview. Plus I couldn't even imagine asking any search committee to pay for my family's airfare. They have tight budgets that's why they are flying in only a number of people. Instead of paying for your spouse's airfare, they would rather bring in another candidate.
If you are breastfeeding and need to express milk, take a hand pump with you, let the chair of the committee know that you need some time in between the interviews to express milk.
good luck mama!
thanks for the advice. i see myself being more stressed out by leaving the baby behind though. i have not left overnight yet and i think it would be more of a problem for me. my spouse will do all the work as far as caring for baby goes so that doesn't worry me. we are even willing to pay for the travel, even though things are very tight. but, we want to fly together and since the department will be booking my flight for me i don't know if i should ask if i can make my own travel arrangements so i can book together, or see if they will book my spouse's travel and i can pay them back...thoughts?
Tell them that you will have someone traveling with you and ask to make your own travel arangements (within the guidelines they give you). I have never heard of a school paying for a spouse and the candidate paying them back.
Good luck!
thanks! i like that suggestion. i am more stressed out about making these arrangements than the interview itself, but the idea of just asking to arrange my own travel sounds simple enough to relax me a little.i appreciate it.
Bringing spouse and baby along is fine and a completely personal decision. You can also ask to come early/stay a day late if you and spouse desire to check out the area. There are some schools I have applied to where I will do this. You just pay for the extra hotel night/expenses involved.
I have an interview next week and am meeting with a dean. What should I expect to talk about with him, and what questions should I be asking him? So far all I've got is "how do you think the school will be affected by the downturn in the economy", and I don't think that should be my leading question...
my soon-to-be-husband works in a college writing center and when I (hopefully) get a job offer I would like to try and negotiate for him to get a job at the writing center of whatever college hires me. Would it be appropriate to bring that up in the interview, or should I not mention him at all until I get an offer?
6:39, I just met with a dean and basically we talked about where my work was going over the next five years.
If you can give a clear idea of what you'll be doing with your dissertation, your next articles/books, etc., that is helpful.
Also, make it clear that your work is rigorous and your plan is already being set in motion by what you're doing today.
The dean I met with asked who I could envision as my "conversation partners" if I were to join the department. Who would challenge me? Who could I go to if I had questions or needed to work something through?
I think they also interested in making sure you'd be a good fit/happy in the community. So, saving the department time/energy of having to rehire again if you decided to leave.
My meeting was short and the dean was great. I would ask too about their areas of interest as well--that may be helpful too in knowing where they're coming from.
Good luck! :)
Deans (and even Chairs) with whom I've met have been impressed or liked questions about the University's strategic plan (growing? working on quality?) and where the College and/or Department fits in that plan? What would Dean like to see the Dept do in the next 5 years? (improve reputation, expand, grow Phd, add new degree programs?) How does the department compare to others in College in terms of quality of research/majors/etc. and what does Chair/Dean think the dept should do to address new challenges.
You can get a good sense of how valued the Dept is to the Dean/University and learn about Dean's relationship to Dept.
E.g.: had an interview where Dean said he'd intervened in a hiring decision in another Dept b/c they were not responsible but thought that unlikely for the Soc department.
Taking notes during interviews...good idea or bad idea?
taking notes during an interview is a good idea, because it signals you're seriously interested in the position. just don't let the note-taking interfere with your conversations!!
When I interviewed last year, I brought a notepad but took almost no notes. Basically, there wasn't enough time, and I was concentrating too hard on the questions they were asking me, and the answers they were providing to my questions. But I think it probably does look good to be prepared.
12:04: they asked who your 'conversation partners' would be? That sounds like they are asking which faculty members would you be friends with (and how would you know that at this point?). What did you answer? (specific peoples names?)
7:33, I responded with a few specific people's names. At that point, anyone who had asked questions about methods and about strengthening my project, I could say would be great partners in making the work more rigorous.
In addition, I talked about the strengths of one of the specialties in the department because having a group of researchers in this area would be a great benefit.
The advice regarding the dean's vision for the department/college is good. The dean I spoke with laid all of that out in the beginning so I only had a few questions.
7:16--wait for the offer. You never want to be a pain in the tush in advance. Once you have the offer, they've already invested in you. Once they've decided you're the one they want, they're more likely to want to do extra things to get you. And if you have more than one offer, you can that as a bargaining chip.
How many of you have interviewed for a position in a discipline other than sociology and what was it like (did you get an offer?) I interviewed twice last year in non-sociology departments and both times did not get an offer because I wasn't quite what they were looking for (one wanted an economist). This year, I have an interview lined up in department with no sociologists and I'm just wondering if I'm wasting my time. I would really like to hear about positive experiences people have had.
Regarding fly-out interviews:
How do ya'll travel with nice clothes, particularly a men's suit? I have an interview coming up and don't really want to cram my suit in one of those carry-on-able suitcases. The other option is a garment bag, but that would count as my one piece of carry-on luggage, right? So, everything else would need to fit inside the garment bag too? What do you all do?
Anyone interested in defining how good it is if you:
a) are 2nd, 3rd or 4th author on a journal article
b) are first author of a journal article with just one other person
c) are first, sole author of a journal article
I know which one is best, I'm interested in the distance between each category. thanks!
re: luggage.
I bought a garment bag that is the same size as a roll-on suitcase. It was a little tricky, but I managed to fit everything I needed in it. Can't remember where I got it, but if you do an internet search you can find a bunch of different styles.
I've been putting my suit in my carry-on bag and then taking advantage of the iron in the hotel room. So far, all of my schedules have included at least an hour to check in at the hotel and freshen up before the first scheduled meeting, so I've had time to press my shirt (my jacket and pants seem to be fairly wrinkle proof).
10:29, I'm interviewing almost exclusively at business schools (two so far), partly because the starting salaries, even at marginal schools, is around 85-90K but largely because sociology seems to be abandoning the study of organizations. The biggest questions I have faced is whether my research/teaching is transferable to the b-school environment. That argument is harder to make in a b-school that emphasizes MBA education, as they are typically looking for folks with practical experience (i.e. several years in the professional workforce). Nonetheless, I think the same rules of the road apply...do your research on the department before you go.
re: researching potential employer
I'm curious how much background research people are doing on the department/university at which they will be interviewing? Any strategies or tips? Thanks in advance!
I'm 12:14, I usually try to read the CVs and at least article from everybody on my interview itinerary. Pore over the department's website to learn weird little details, like the chair being a teacher of ballroom dance (which was the case at my previous interview).
My department has placed several grads at B-schools over the past couple of years...very good B-schools at that!
At the same time, I have been told by faculty in my department to know a few things about the faculty, but not so much that you appear obsessive. So, I am aware of the faculty but do not go overboard in my research on them.
I agree with 7:56. Based on my previous experience, faculty appreciate it if you know something about their work, but they don't expect you to have read it unless it's super relevant to yours. I also found there wasn't a lot of time to talk about their work. By the time they asked me some questions about my research and myself, and then I had a chance to ask a few questions about the department, that was generally it for the half hour and it was on to the next person.
re: preparing job talks
For those who have given job talks/are preparing job talks....how much time do you spend introducing yourself, your areas of research, future directions for research, etc. versus time spent talking about the research being presented in the talk?
Re: 8:58 AM
Good question! I'd like to see the responses too.
The job talks I have seen have been almost all about the research.
However, I have one coming up and the SC chair specifically asked me to give a presentation focusing on my work and future plans instead of just doing a presentation. He said "sell us on what you'd in to research-wise".
It is always best to ask the person extending the interview what they would like and how long they expect you present vs. allowing time for Q&A. This varies a lot by institution, so you want to know the norm. Usually, the person inviting you wants you to succeed and will be happy to tell you about audience, what they are looking for, and how long to talk.
Good advice, but let's say they tell you that you have 45 minutes to talk with 15 minutes for Q-A. How many minutes of your 45 should you spend talking about yourself, your broad areas of research, future research, etc and how much should you spend focused on describing the the main research?
Previous poster here. I'd suggest 2-4 sentences @ beginning about how you came to subject. Then fewer than 5 min at end (like your final slide or implications/extensions based on research conclusions) about how the presented research will lead into your next project/overall research program, closing with an offer to answer questions about the presentation and/or your future agenda.
If they say 45 min...I'd shoot for 40, b/c the Q&A is more interesting/engaging for the audience. Wouldn't talk less than 35 b/c then they'll think you don't have lots to say. If you do your job well (i.e., saying something interesting), they will be itching to ask questions and glad that you left plenty of time for it.
--signed, someone who sat through 8+ job talks last year.
Also, it helps to give an outline of where you're going/what you're going to talk about during your job talk at the beginning.
We just had a job talk that was basically terrible. The person's title said they were going to talk about two different locations and then the talk only focused on one. In the Q+A, someone asked about the other location and the person basically said there was no data on that location. Ok...
The individual also jumped into graphs that were complex, losing the audience immediately.
I think the best job talks (having been to a million myself recently) set up a story--how did you become interested in this area (do you already have publications in this area? Talk about this, but briefly!)... give an outline of your talk... begin up front with why the topic is important... tell the people what they can hope to learn from your talk... then go into the details of your research.
At the interview I just had, people seemed sooooo interested in the next steps/next project/next five years. They wanted to know that I had things other than the research I presented already ready to go.
Good luck!
Thank you to everybody giving advice on the content of a job talk! This has been INCREDIBLY helpful!!! If there's anymore advice feel free to keep it coming! I think it's been a useful topic for several anxious job candidates (especially people like me -- about to have a first-ever job talk, yikes!)
What are women supposed to wear for job interviews? I have three suits--one black, one khaki tweedish skirt suit, and one light gray pant suit. Is it better to wear pant suits instead of skirt suits? Is it considered a faux pas to wear light colored suits in the fall?
And please tell me that it's okay to wear flats instead of heels.
Thanks!
I wore a nice skirt set for the day I arrived, then a pant suit for the day I gave my talk, then slacks and a dress shirt for my final day. I wore flats all three days. I figured it was more professional to wear flats and stay upright than to wear heels and end up on my butt.
A woman faculty member in my department said, "suit suit suit!!!"
I asked about skirt suits vs. pants suits and she said it didn't matter.
I would try to present in pants though, I felt like the less skin that was visible, the more comfortable I felt.
I wore heels with my pants suit because my pants were so long... and then a short wedged heel with the skirt suit.
There is a great deal of helpful info about what to wear on the older sociology blogs too. Several people said to make sure your shoes are comfortable. I know at my interview, I went for about a mile-long tour!
Does anyone have thoughts as to what is appropriate to wear to dinners? more casual?
I've been on two flyouts, and I've dressed a little more casual for dinner/meals: my nicest shirt, crisp pants, but no jacket. (I'm male.) It certainly depends on the culture of the dept. Where I went I sussed out the place during the day, and opted for changing my outfit between interviews and dinner both times. I think that a good rule of thumb is to look one or two clicks more 'up' from the department, but not to 'overshoot' the culture as to not look too stiff. Pack with options, if possible.
Then again, others will disagree, and I have not been offered a position (yet)!
Best of luck to all...
question--
i wanted to know what are good questions to ask during the campus visit, particularly questions to ask the dean. i know basic questions about course load, committees, how dept plans to grow/change over coming years, but i wonder what suggestions people have for other questions.
are moving expenses typically part of what is called the "start up package," or are they something separate from startup?
In any job offer I received my moving expenses were always separate from start up.
Does anyone have experience teaching a class as part of the interview campus visit? I would love to hear what other people's experiences are with this. Any advice??
I have done a teaching demonstration as part of an interview. First, you will want to get as much info about the class as possible. As for a syllabus so you know what the class has already done. Also, it is acceptable to send ahead something for the students to read before class if you want to.
I did an intro class, and I think that is pretty typical. I did a lesson focusing on my specific sub-field, but did not send anything ahead for them to read.
For a 50-minute class, I did a very short introduction of myself and what kind of research I do (remember, the SC will be there so you need to sell yourself to them also). I would present a part of the material and then break the class in groups for an activity (I like group work!). Then present a little and do another activity. The more interaction you have with students, the more the SC can see about your teaching skills. Build in lots of time for questions - I got a lot of them!
I concluded with an activity that let me assess how well the students understood the material I presented. This was useful later when I was meeting with faculty members because I could reference the fact that my teaching approach worked and the students indicated they understood the concepts.
Best of luck to you!
It sounds like you did a great job!
What kind of activity did you end with that evaluated if they learned the material? I find that coming up with in-class assessments (as opposed to tests/papers) is difficult.
Thanks!
Be VERY careful with the teaching demonstrations. I had one a couple of years ago where the SC basically told me "do whatever you want" (it was a Social Problems class), and then when I came in with a general talk tailored for sophomore-level students, one of the committee members basically treated it like a job talk and tried to tear into me with data questions, etc. This person had a candidate in mind I later learned, but it TOTALLY caught me off guard and ruined the rest of that interview (was my first year on the market and a rare bad experience). So my advice is to get as much SPECIFIC information as you possibly can get in advance, without appearing too pushy. Good luck all!
I recently sat through some number of job talks and I wanted to share some advice. If you are ABD or a recent PhD, you really should present your job talk on your dissertation. We had a candidate recently who presented on something other than the dissertation, something probably en route to publication and on an interesting & relevant topic. Yet overall, it went just OK. Why? One reason it faltered was that when it came to fielding questions or developing ideas further there was very little below the surface. The dissertation-based job talks typically are on topics that the candidate knows really well in terms of BOTH breadth and depth. The non-dis. topics: not so much. While it's understandable that you personally may be really tired of your dissertation (happens to many of us), it's still the thing you know best and probably better than anyone else in the room.
If you want to show that you have other research projects going, then by all means mention those topics. If you have a slide about future research, you certainly can mention that you have other fascinating projects in the works. Think of it as a little tease: hey, look I could've presented other great stuff, but ya know time just doesn't allow...
One of the hardest things about being left out in the cold job-wise is the uncertainty about where I went wrong. It would be so helpful for the next job market cycle if I could get feedback from the couple of places where it really seemed I was a goof fit.
Is there any way to do this? Has anyone gotten this kind of feedback, and did it help later on?
It feels like too much of an imposition to ask my advisors to inquire on my behalf, but maybe that's the only way to find out what turned these SCs off.
Does anyone have advice?
I've never asked my committee members to help me get feedback, but occasionally someone I am acquainted with who graduated from my department a few years previous has been able to give me some feedback about why I didn't make it from a long shortlist to the shortlist. Unfortunately, in most cases this info hasn't been terribly helpful. It often ends up being a variant of "The SC was looking for someone who does XY and you do XZ and they thought your work was impressive, but there were other people who do XY so that's why they got the interviews and you didn't." All I conclude from this is that even though ads often sound broad, some SCs have a very specific idea of what they are looking for and there's not much you can do about that!
I'm an SC member. If you have gotten an offer, or are fairly close to getting an offer, from School A, then do let School B know if B is your real target. B can speed up their decision-making.
If you have an offer from A, and B is also making you an offer, let B know because B may increase your salary offer.
Generally you do not have to tell one school where the other offer is from, but some schools want to see the offer letter. As in love, being sought by others makes you more desirable to the one you want, who will try harder to win your hand. Also as in love, schools that are traditional academic rivals will try even harder to steal you away from the competition.
It's a good skill to develop -- playing off one against the other. Later in your career you may pursue outside offers to leave, in order to get your home department salary raised in a retention package.
Question...I have an interview coming up and I am scheduled to leave on a flight to come home very early on the 3rd day. Would it be acceptable for me to dress comfortably (jeans/sweater) when someone from the department picks me up at the hotel to drive to the airport?
I had the same question and opted not to wear jeans; I felt more professional, yet equally comfortable, in a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt with comfortable shoes. Maybe wear your sweater but with nice pants instead of jeans?
Dear Search Committee chairs,
I can be a great asset to your department in the areas of medical sociology, quantitative methods, social stratification, race and ethnicity, and political sociology.
I have several sole-authored peer review publications written and published while a graduate student. Various drafts of papers are in the pipeline now.
I have also prepped and taught nearly eight different courses at a large Research 1 in the Northeast where I am finishing my doctoral degree.
I have sent out many applications and only made a few long-lists. Most faculty said I would have an easy time on the market, but as we all know this is not the case for anyone.
I work very hard and would love the opportunity to work as a tenure-track assistant professor in your department.
I understand making sacrifices in hard times.
I will take a $5,000 pay cut for my first two years (depending if there is a loophole in your faculty contract that allows such). I can also teach an extra course each semester for the first two years.
I will defend my dissertation in early Spring of 2009.
While I recognize this is unorthodox, I really hope you might consider contacting me. I am a serious person.
Interested Search Committee chairs please email at:
sociologyphd2009@gmail.com
Thank you for your time.
To avoid professional embarrassment, I prefer to remain anonymous.
Re: 11:22
I thought this was funny the first time I read it, but not so much the second. Why post it in multiple places on the board?
I think Clark is waiting on word from the administration.
For those with interviews or just knowledge of your department did you have to pay for your flight upfront then wait on reimbursement? How long did the reimbursement take? Did you have to pay for more than the flight out of your own pocket?
I have 2 interviews set up. One had me pay for the flight and they will cover the rest and the other asked me to pay for everything out of my pocket and its going to cost $800 - $1300 after everything (expensive flight). On the other hand, my department (Southern R1) does not ask the candidate to pay for anything out of pocket.
I have one campus interview scheduled and they are having me pay for everything upfront before they pay me back. I was told I would be reimbursed "after the interview." I actually think this is a pretty common occurance. I'm giving the receipts to the department secretary, who will submit the receipts to the school, and the school will then cut me a check.
Yes, I am using my credit card!
4:41 here. I meant that it was common to have the candidate pay upfront for the flight, parking, etc. The schools I'm familiar with pay do for the hotel directly.
I interviewed at a regional teaching-oriented school. They paid up-front for the hotel and flight. They provided all my meals and even reimbursed me for meals I bought while traveling. I assumed that was standard; now I feel lucky!
So far they've covered the hotel every time and I've only had to pay for the plane ticket myself (with promise of reimbursement) one time out of my four interviews.
Tips for interviews:
Job-talk: rehearse, rehearse, rehearse...with a critical audience. Some programs require students to practice job-talks. Don't go into that recruiting faculty audience "on a wing and a prayer." Every blunder loses some votes for you.
Interview: Practice, practice, and (guess what): You know what some questions will be: Why do you want to be with us? What are your goals in teaching? What is the future direction of your research? and more. Work out your answers so they are fluent yet not spoken as though rote memorized (even if they were).
Study the faculty roster; know what each has done, no matter how modestly. Find out who is on the hiring committee and be sure that you know their work and its relation to yours.
Tips for Interviews:
Study the department, but be yourself. Don't try to be something you are not. Be nice to the secretaries. Be nice to the graduate students? Why? Because it's the human thing to do.
Question: after an interview should you send a thank you email to all the faculty you met? just the chair? just the search committee?
I have been sending an email to each member on the search committee. And, if I met with somebody outside of the search committee that I really connected with, I sent them a short email as well. Good luck!
Be nice to everybody is HUGE. I worked at a school where they decided not to bring someone in for an interview because the secretary didn't like the way he had spoken to her on the phone. Everybody matters.
I was told by an adivser to send thank you emails to the chair, each member of the search committee, and anyone with whom I spent "significant" time. I personally did all of those, plus I sent an email to the secretary that set up my schedule and carted me around to each meeting, plus the grad students who took me to the airport.
I always get tongue tied on the question "why do you want to work at this department/school?" I have another interview coming up next week and am looking to really nail this one...any advice on how to respond to this question without sounding like a kiss ass?
The question "why do you want to work at this department/school? is really asking:
1. Show how much you know about our department and campus, as one indicator that you are a serious, thorough person who knows what he/she is getting into? and
2. What forces will keep you at our department and campus once the honeymoon wears off so that we won't waste all this time recruiting you for just a year or two?
To answer those questions, study the department, know the faculty, and try role-taking so you can imagine how you appear to an SC member with those concerns.
-- an SC member with those concerns
Thanks for the help 2:50! I really appreciate the insight on this.
I just finished a campus interview and I'm writing thank you notes. I planning on sending a quick note to all the facutly members in the department I met with--do I send something to the administrators too?? I spent about 30 minutes meeting with the vice-president and 45 minutes with the dean. Do they get any kind of email/note too?
Thoughts?
I anyone ever going to OBJECT to receiving a nice note?
Oxford Nuffield College Postdoc (Prize Fellow) contacted me before Thanksgiving to send my writing sample by the end of this week.
Sorry, the previous post was meant to go under the Info thread but somehow got mixed up.
re: thank you notes
I sent a thank you note to everybody I met with (including faculty, dean, and the administrative assistant who made my travel arrangements and organized my day).
This is 4:18-- Thanks for the replies!
4:18,
Yes, send notes to the dean and the provost.
What is the best way to ask whether or not a department will be offerring any visiting professor positions. Just saw one for UCI for 2009-2010 in Soc. of Sexuality (not my forte), and made me wonder if all of the VAP positions are actually advertised or if they're given out more informally.
Any insight would be appreciated...
With on-site interviews, is it common for schools to vaguely treat everyone being interviewed as if they were the top choice candidate and the interview process was really a formality/confirming of that? Even if it isn't the case (clearly, since all the candidates can't be the first choice)?
I keep hearing about phone interviews, but was just invited to a campus interview without any phone interviews. Is that common?
Or is this a sign that this place had so few applicants that they didnt even need to screen people?
Im just asking because if this is a place that is struggling to get applicants in this economy, there might be something going on there that I need to find out about.
We don't do phone interviews at our R1 - mainly I think b/c we are lazy/busy and don't want to take the time. It's also a testament to the fact that it's the pubs on your CV that matter more than anything else - we can figure out who is crazy or a jerk at the campus interviews. This does result in some real doozies being brought to campus and entertained for two days. Anyway, bottom line, I wouldn't read much into it either way. Be thankful you have an interview!
@10:10
Yes, I think that schools do this in the same way that, as candidates, we probably act like each school we visit is at the top of our list. A lot of times the members of a department don't know which candidate the other members will like the best and they want to cover their bases so that whoever they give an offer felt like they were treated well.
10:10,
As a SC member, campus interviews are part vetting / part recruiting. We want to see if you are a good fit, but we want you to take our offer if we extend it.
I know I felt like I was the top choice after my interview as a candidate, but I turned out to be the 3rd pick.
-karl
On the topic of whether or not you are "first pick" out of the candidates at campus interview:
I feel like I was called first for both my campus interviews (due to the number of dates open that later filled in). Do you think this means anything? My last name also starts with one of the first letters of the alphabet, so part of me wondered if they were making the calls alphabetically. I know this is a silly question, but it's something I have been wondering about . . .
Again, N of 1, so take it for what it is worth. I'm pretty sure I was the first phone interviewee, and the first on campus visit... yet the third in line to get an offer. But, I got the job, and I like it, so it all worked out.
-karl
It might reflect the preferences of the person making the calls, but probably doesn't mean anything for the search committee as a whole.
I think it is pretty random who gets called first. Whomever doing the calling likely just takes the list and sits down to make all the calls. Whomever answers their phone first is the first to get called.
In my case, the SC chair sent an email asking when would be a convenient time to speak over the phone and make arrangements for a fly-out. I ended up being the first interview probably because my schedule was very flexible and I could fly out as soon as possible.
As for getting the feeling that you're the top pick - I only had 2 interviews and I felt that way both times. I ended up getting offers from both places. I do know that my grad department always treated everyone that way and we obviously didn't make offers to everyone who applied.
The (the department) understand how stressful interviewing is and want to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Its not being misleading, just considerate and open-minded.
It's smart to treat everyone that way, as the 1st choice may not accept--as Karl has already evidenced. My department has gotten several second/third choices over the last several hires, and I'm happy to say that no one ever thinks about the fact that the person was not number one--except maybe to wonder why they weren't. This should give everyone hope. Remember that all those people getting multiple interviews can only accept one job. Not to sound Pollyanna-ish, but here may still be more options than you think.
Recently, I went on an interview and was told MULTIPLE times by the department chair that I was 1) the candidate that looked best on paper 2) the candidate with the best job talk (last one to interview of 3) and 3) best fit for the department and position. I even heard the chair tell the deans that I was the best fit for the department. So yeah, I felt confident in getting an offer. Well, by the looks of the wiki...an offer has been made and it wasn't to me. I don't think it was necessary for the chair to go overboard in making me think I was the #1 choice, because in the end I feel like a fool. I think it's just plain cruel to go to that extent to lead a candidate to think that s/he will get an offer. If there are any SC members reading this, please don't say things like "you're the best of all candidates or You're our top choice", without having an offer to back it up. You can make a candidate feel welcome without saying absolutes and getting his or her hopes up.
2:02 - I agree. I would actually rather know up front I am not the top choice. I would still feel grateful if I got an offer later on. On the other hand, being made to feel I was the top choice and then not getting the first offer would make me feel mislead and think twice about an offer if it did come later.
2:02 - I've heard a number of similar stories over the years. I think the important thing to remember in situations like this is that one person cannot make a hiring decision. You may be the chair's top candidate, but there is no guarantee that the other SC members will agree.
Also, when I served on a search committee last year, the Dean stepped in and made us hire our second choice because he/she did an area that the Dean wanted brought to campus.
You never can tell what it will come down to!
. . . but yeah, I would have been frustrated too if people told me several times that I was their top choice and then they offered the job to someone else:(
thanks 4:21 and 4:29. I realize this and that's why I'm trying not to take it personally, but given the variability of the whole process I would have rather not heard all of those absolutes (like best). Just tell me you enjoyed the job talk, think I'm a good fit, etc. Oh well, the only thing I can do is put it behind me and move on to the next interview.
Do folks generally wait patiently when weeks (4+) go by since a campus interview or do they contact the SC chair to see about the status of the search (if no other offer in hand)?
You can contact the SC chair (just be quick about it and don't nag)
I have a question. I sent out my home number on all my applications, however, due to extenuating circumstances, I may be moving before the end of the year. Will a SC try to contact me by email (assuming I'm fortunate enough to earn contact) if they cannot reach me by phone? Should I contact departments in which I'm particularly interested and give them an alternative phone number at which to reach me? Any suggestions?
Re: 9:24
I think contacting the departments that are your top choices and/or who have not already called in candidates for campus interviews would be fine. I would just send a quick form email to the person who you sent your application to letting them know that you are a job candidate and saying that "after (add date), I can be reached by telephone at (add new number). By email, I will continue to be at (add address). I apologize for any inconvenience."
I can't see how people would be bothered by this.
It's fine to send an email with updated contact information.
Quick question:
I had a job talk awhile ago where I met with the entire SC and it became quickly clear that not a single member of the search committee had read the writing sample from my diss that I had had to send in as part of the application, or even looked carefully at my CV. They literally had no idea what my dissertation was about--I got questions like "so, you do work on stratification or something like that right?" And I'm like "no, gender and media discourse." And they were like "oh...okay...well...uh, that sounds very interesting."
The SC was made up of a bunch of junior people who did work that was totally different from mine, and who had probably been made to be on the SC against their will....but still. Also, most of them clearly thought my research was stupid, because it was a heavy quant department and I do 'touchy feely" sex and gender stuff, but a few members of the SC actually sat in the back rolling their eyes and passing notes to their friends during my job talk.
I'm not sure why they brought me in.... it was a fly out too!! Must have been a unilateral decision by the chair
Has ANYONE ever had an experience like that?
How strange for you! I'm sorry you had that experience. I did a fly-out for a position that was totally outside my sub-field, but the faculty members I met with seemed to try very hard to connect the two.
For example, they would ask if I studied marriage and family and I would say no, I study economic sociology. They would respond with, but economic situations change across the lifecourse, right? So you kind of study family!
It was clear to me that the stated sub-field for the position was not really that important in terms of selecting a candidate.
Re: 12:14
I'm sorry that happened! I had a similar situation happen at a campus interview, but it was only one faculty member (not all of them) and he/she was respectful. I am also a qual person and do a lot of grounded theory stuff. This quant person kept quizzing me afterward about what theory I was testing. Clearly he/she didn't get it. I'm hoping the others did!
The situation is clearly not your fault. Hopefully you will get another interview and it will go better.
I have a question for the group: I had a campus interview a couple of weeks ago. The department chair said he would call or email everyone this past week with their ranking (not just the top choice). I haven't heard anything. Do I just need to be patient, or at what point is it okay to email the department chair asking for an update? Thanks!
That chair may have been told by higher administrators that it's risky to tell candidates their ranking because they could sue if ranked 1st but not hired, or ranked 2nd but then passed over to #3 when #1 demurred.
Hiring is a dangerous legal area, which is a major reason why applicants will get little information about the circumstances of their candidacy.
I was trying to make the same decision as 5:06. I told them the name of the other school, because what you really need is for them to share confidences, so the more open you are with them, the more open the conversation will be. I'd be afraid that if you're cagey, it will prompt an equally guarded response, which might not give you all the information that could be useful to you.
How long should it take for an offer to be made after the last candidate has interviewed...the process is taking a lot longer than the school stated it would. Thanks!
5:06 -
Simply say that you have an offer. There's no good reason to share which school you received an offer from.
My reasoning may not be perfect, but: If the school you have an offer from is not as good as the schools you are contacting, then you aren't giving them any incentive to hurry. If the school you have an offer from is better, they may realize they can't compete with that offer. Either way, your goal is primarily to let schools know that you are now on a deadline and are interested in knowing your status.
Side note: I had an offer last year and used it to light a fire under the butts of my current employer.
~Benny
Oops. I was responding to post #200, which is at the bottom of the first page of the thread, not realizing that I would be terribly late in my response. My apologies.
To be more up-to-date:
Several factors determine how long it takes a school to communicate after interviewing. The department's choice usually must travel to the Dean, who then may take awhile to move on it. They may have made an offer to someone else and are waiting for that response. The end-of-the-semester may have slowed progress.
The longest I had to wait was a month. The shortest was a couple days (I was the only interview).
~Benny
I think this question has been asked before, so forgive me, but is it horrible to call a school and inquire about the status of a search? Who do you call? Not knowing about the last few on my list is killing me and it's entirely possible (since they never made the wiki) that they have hired someone and that someone isn't active on the list. They could have also been cancelled, or who knows. I'm trying to be patient, but I just want to know. Of course, they could just be slow. Urgh.
My view on this, and I have struggled with wanting to call too, is to ask myself why I want to call: Is it just out of the frustration of not knowing or do I have a need for that information in order to make other decisions. For me, if I had another offer then I will call to check my status, otherwise I will leave them alone. If they are going to call, then they will. I am totally with you though. The not knowing is the worst, especially since many places don't notify you at all if you didn't get the job.
Good luck and try to enjoy the holidays!
It is even worse to find out from this blog, and not the school, when you don't get a job you interviewed for.
Similar Question: After an interview, how long before one should call and ask where they stand, assuming there's no information on the wiki? I'm going on 2 months since the interview...
Would you all just wait?
Usually I'm all for the wait-and-do-not-contact-the-school approach, but 2 months is a really long time.
If it was me, I would send the chair a brief email just asking "what is the status of the job search?"
If you did a campus interview with them, I feel like you deserve some sort of information. Maybe they won't be able to tell you anything, but it's probably worth asking.
I applied for a job and wasn't a finalist, but the chair emailed me to encourage me to apply for another position (a visiting short-term job). They only ask for a cover letter- can it essentially be the same one I sent for the initial job? With just a few changes noting the fact that the chair asked me to apply and also tailoring the details to the different position?
Okay, I have no experience with this, but if it was me I would change part of it (tailoring it to the new position, classes that might be taught, etc) but the parts about my teaching experience and research would be unchanged.
There must have been something in your application materials that made the chair call you, so I don't see a reason to re-write all of it.
Just my two cents.
2:56, I had the same experience. I interviewed in mid Oct and was told I would be contacted by Thanksgiving to let me know the result either way. After not hearing anything back I emailed the search chair yesterday only to be told that the college of arts &sciences had decided not to fill the position! I would have appreciated an email with information weeks ago, feel like it was a bit disrespectful not to notify me. And, what does that even mean? Does that mean the position was cut due to budget constraints or that they were not satisfied with the candidates?
I had already moved on mentally from this position, but still...
So, I would suggest going ahead and sending a very short email asking for the status of the search. Hopefully, your answer will be better than mine was. Good luck!
Thanks 5:05pm yesterday for your 2 cents :)
The Davidson news is surprising. I heard (from someone in another department there) that there was a strong inside hire. I also heard that they really want a diversity candidate, however that may be defined. Good news for some lucky person who gets a crack at it! Good luck!
Are interviews for postdocs (affiliated with a University) similar to academic job interviews (i.e. campus visit with faculty, students, job talk, etc.)?
Re: 12:04 - it certainly can be; mine was the same as a tenure-track interview, including a job talk, individual meetings with faculty, and meeting with the Dean. You should ask your contact what is to be expected and plan accordingly.
How can you tell if there is an inside candidate for a position? I'm suspicious because I'm not going to be fed on the evening of my arrival for an interview. Could just be my travel arrangements or other timing conflict. Even with a tight budget, my dept feeds candidates breakfast, lunch & dinner. What have your experiences been?
I was fed every meal, except one breakfast (the 2nd one).
I had four interviews and had dinner the night of my arrival at three of the schools. The school where I did not have dinner the night of my arrival was one of two schools that made offers and is where I will be employed in the fall, so I wouldn't read too much into it.
Are there any questions that are important to ask when a position is a joint appointment with another department. They have specified that tenure will reside in the Sociology Department, but nothing beyond that. Any suggestions?
I did a couple of interviews for joint appts and found that universities seem to vary greatly in what they mean by it. In one place I was to be 51% in one dept 49% in the other, with teaching split in half. In the other place I was 100% in the soc dept. but had to teach half my courses for the other dept and that was it.
My advice is to make sure you get them to be very clear on what the expectations are and (most importantly) who you have to answer to for tenure. Some schools will put this in writing for you. Regarding expectations, make sure you are told ahead of time what your obligations are to each dept re committees. It is easy for them to forget you are part of 2 depts and you could end up with double the committee work if you don't stand up for yourself and remind them. Ideally there should be a senior faculty mentor who will protect you from this as well.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Re: joint appts. I recommend finding out if you can get credit for publishing in venues associated with the interdisciplinary program. Also see if you can find out if others in joint appts. at the university have gotten tenure or had successful 3rd-year reviews. If the university is testing the waters with joint appts., I wouldn't want to be one of their test cases.
Does anybody know what is happening with the U. of Mary Washington?
How about St. Cloud?
Can anybody givem me any insight into phone interviews? I've had three of them and I don't think I'm doing very well with them. It's such a hard medium for conducting an interview and I find it very difficult and I get so nervous! Anybody know what search committees are trying to learn from a phone interview?
I had a phone interview this year that I thought at the time didn't go so well. They ended up inviting me for a campus interview, so it can be hard to tell. One way that phone interviews are hard is if there are more than two people on the phone with you, especially if their voices are somewhat similar. (Who's who?!?)
On your end, you should make sure you're in a quiet, comfortable space. You want your application materials in front of you. And you should do your homework about the place. Ask them questions about their program, even if it seems crystal clear from what you read in their catalog. Don't pressure yourself to answer immediately -- pauses are ok (in teaching sometimes I silently count to 10 or 20 before saying my next point) -- pace yourself, speak clearly, take notes, get them talking too so it's not just an inquisition of you or a lecture by you. Good luck!
In the cover letter, is there any way to gracefully account for the fact that you are a middle-aged (say 45, for example) applicant and have had a life prior to graduate school in the work world (are there reasons to do this)?
I would think there would be good reason to do so if you were applying at a university that primarily served "non-traditional" students...otherwise I'm not sure how it would be particularly relevant.
So perhaps in your opening paragraph when you're giving an outline or overview of your credentials, you could mention "prior to completing my PhD at [uni], I worked in [sector] doing [interesting task]."
I say this as someone who is a "traditional"-aged new PhD also searching for a job, for what it's worth. Good luck!
2:32,
We'll figure out how old you are from what year you got your BA. And if you don't put any dates on your vita, we'll toss it.
I'd address it. Make it your strength. If not, we will use it against you as a weakness.
Does anybody know what's going on with the University of Mississippi?
I have three questions:
1- I was interviewed at one of the universities I applied to. The way they set up the interview was pretty straight forward: they called me, asked if I was interested, then a few days later called me again and gave me a choice of dates for the interview. Yet, when I read the blog and check wiki, I see that other people were notified they were on the short list, had phone interviews, etc. In fact, I was even surprised when I got that call, as 2 months since the application deadline had passed and the blog was already discussing phone interviews and short lists. What does it mean that I didnt have to go through any of that? I also didnt have to fill out any of the paperwork before I got there. Originally I thought that would make me the favorite, but now I fear it might be that I am fulfilling a quota or was asked just as a favor to my advisor or something, given how little information they have on me. I didnt even have a 1 on 1 interview with the head of the search committee.
2- More to the point, its been almost a month. Should I contact them about the search? There have been no updates on it from the blog or wiki.
3- One of the members of the search committee is an alum of my alma matter. Is it ever ok to email him and ask for feedback on the interview and so on?
oh, and another question on top of that:
4- what to make of the fact that they asked me about whether I was married, about my partner, and whether partner was an academic? They acknowledged it was an illegal question but asked anyways.
Dear 1:05pm,
Sounds like the previous candidates did not work out (either took different jobs or were not good matches). In such cases, departments often dip back into their list and streamline the interview process to ensure that they net someone before the position is pulled for the year by the Provost. I'd say, you are their only hope (OB1). But if you haven't heard anything yet, this could mean (1) they don't think you're a good match; (2) they're also bringing in another candidiate; (3) the Dean, Provost, President are out of town an unable to sign-off on an offer to you.
Personally, I think you should refrain from asking them formally or informally. It may be difficult to wait, but hang in there...
The same thing happened to me, and I got the offer and the job.
I would definitely say that it is okay to contact them at this point to inquire about the status. However, you must be prepared for bad news.
I wouldn't make too much of the questions regarding your spouse/partner. Most places are interested in knowing about this for different reasons. To be clear, it is not illegal for them to ask you about this. It is only illegal for them to use the information against you in making a hiring decision. This is why most departments just do not...in order to avoid any potential controversy when making a hiring decision.
Thanks for the replies. I know I wasnt their only hope because I know I was part of their first round of interviews (I was notified of it in late november), and know they had another 2 interviewees coming in.
Looking at the other post, it might just be erroneous information on the blog.
About not meeting with the search committee chair...
I was offered a job at school where I saw the search committee chair at the first group dinner and then never saw him again. So, I wouldn't say it is a bad sign that you did not meet one-on-one with the search committee chair.
I have a question. I'm receiving an offer from a school that I really love. The position starts at the end of August. If I take it, it is going to be very challenging to finish my diss. Has anyone ever asked a department to do a mid-year hire? In other words, I don't think I can prep new classes, move my family, sell my house and buy another one -- all in 10 weeks. Thoughts?
A done dissertation is better than a perfect dissertation. Take the job, work your ass off, and defend the darn thing. Your committee will understand.
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