Season End

Interview season has now ended for me. The two schools were quite different in terms of the departments and emphasis on teaching and research.

One interview didn’t feel like an interview; it felt more like a discussion and was really fun. I enjoyed meeting with everyone and we chatted about science and why I was interested in that particular institution. I enjoyed meeting the people who would be my future colleagues. The challenge that I perceive to be an issue was transparent, and I believe that my particular personality and skill set would be able to meet that challenge. Research would be harder to do in a timely way, however the resources and support are in place. I got the feeling that they definitely wanted to see me succeed. At the seminar portion of the interview, I completely nailed it! I knew my audience, knew how to relate to my audience and felt really good about it. This was immediately followed by my proposal talk. The questions I got were curious and interested in a specifics and details. I felt a lot of collegiality – which I found helpful when responding to questions. I expected some aspects to feel different since this university was different from the universities that I had attended.

The other interview felt like an interview. From the start I was being analyzed and sorted. The job call was not clear and where my home department was seemed to be uncertain not only on my end but on their end as well. Some of the people I met with were very nice while others were simply uninterested in me, which made for awkward discussions. I was so nervous from the rocky start that I was not as composed and ready for my seminar talk. The questions that I received after were critical and demanding. I answered them fine, albeit the tone of the audience was unfriendly. I switched focus from one department to another at this point, and the interview began to improve and by the time breakfast ended the next day I had made an ally. I started to bring my interview back under control and at my proposal talk, although I was attacked with questions about the relevance of my independent research program, I was confident and ended this rigorous test feeling victorious. When I met with the final department, this time I delivered my seminar presentation flawlessly and felt good about my interactions. It was a strong finish. There will be mixed reviews about me. There seems to be more egos and more hierarchy. It would be another place in my life where I would have to stretch to meet the demand, but I would be able to do it. However, in the end it seemed like my skill set would be appreciated there.

Here are some things that I learned:

The question “do you have any questions?” was an easy question at the first school because I did have many questions. This question at the second place was not as easy because I hadn’t thought that deeply about what my reservations were about the job. It’s important to think through what your questions are so that you can ask them. If you don’t have any questions – ask about the stuff they didn’t cover. I was frustrated in the second interview that very few talked to me about research. I didn’t realize until the end, that in response to “do you have any questions,” I could have easily asked more about their research.

Be clear about what the job is. If you can’t get that out of someone, ask until it’s clear. It was much easier to feel confident when I had finally figured that out.

Tailor your seminar to your audience. In hindsight it probably would have been a better idea to follow the traditional seminar format of “show all the work that you have done!!” instead of “tell a good story that is understandable.” I like my talk; it is more important that the people making hiring decisions like your talk.

Keep your head in the game. Even though it sometimes didn’t feel like it, people interviewing you are just checking for your preparedness, how you think on your feet, and how you respond to hard questions. I sometimes caught myself thinking back to a previous interaction while I was talking to someone new. It’s a grueling two-day process. Stay focused.

I’m glad it’s over. I felt exhausted and nervous about the whole thing. I wasn’t eating or sleeping or exercising like I normally do. I’m excited to return to a normal schedule and just wait to see what the outcome is. In the end, I think I could have prepared a little differently for the second one, but it was hard to know how to do that beforehand.

A final note about locations: once upon a time I was a granola-hippie-girl (true story). This girl no longer completely exists in me. I was unprepared and surprised to have that revealed to me through introspection while being at these places.