Wondering...

Do you think people who get upset about seeing signs that say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" also get upset when hotel signs say "Welcome!" rather than something like "Welcome, Interstate Managers!"?

"Hello? Is It Me You're Looking For?" - Thoughts on Phone Interviews

I've been promising hither and yon to talk about phone interviews, as I've had a few this year (and a few last year, and a lot of them way back when). I thought I'd even blogged previously about them, but perhaps not as the closest I could come up with was this.

Talking about phone interviews is tricky, for me at least. Whenever I complete one, anyone I've been foolish enough to tell immediately asks "Oooooh, how did you do?" The truth is, if I don't spontaneously combust and no one on the other end seems to, I don't know how you know how you did. One of the biggest problems of the phone interview is that you lose all manner of cues from people and are left with tone of voice and how long the silence is to determine what the outcome is. Worse, you're being interviewed in a situation with some arbitrary number of people all of whom you feel the need to focus on while they all only have to pay attention to you.

It is also difficult to tell how you did in this type of interview because the group dynamic itself is something you can't predict. I used to feel like any interview I had that didn't feel conversational was a failure. If I spent a half hour with folks on the phone, and we didn't end up talking like old friends, I felt like the interview was a failure. To my surprise, though, I got call backs from those sorts of interviews as well. The simple fact of the matter is that some groups - and some individuals - simply communicate in ways we can't predict, and so finding ways to beat ourselves up for imagined failings is the wrong path to go down.

One thing I've learned the hard way to do with phone interviews is to stop worrying about how I did and to start focusing on how they did. One of the unspoken truths of the phone interview is that it is is as much about them as it is about you. If you approach it that way, the whole game is changed.

Obviously, there are some things to do and some things to expect in a phone interview that will make life easier. The first thing is that you can make the format work for you: if you don't feel comfortable in your dress clothes, you don't have to wear them. If you don't like your office, you can ask to be called somewhere else. That's crucial, actually: you should make sure that the time and place of the interview work for you. It's okay to assert yourself, and it's okay to ask questions. On my first phone interviews, I was nervous about asking people to repeat themselves, but when I first conducted a phone interview, I realized just how bad the reception often is. Asking for clarification is never a bad idea.

You can't mistake those comforts for preparation, of course, You know that there are questions that are likely to be asked, and there's no substitute for having done some research in the beginning. Some questions you should expect include:

• Why are you interested in working here?
• What courses can you teach for us?
  
• Where is your research headed?
  
• What are your strengths as a teacher/researcher?
• What are your weaknesses?
  

And there are ways to research those things that will help strengthen your interview position. Look at the course catalog and be able to reference particular courses. Have a research statement ready to go. Look at faculty profiles and look for places where there is commonality. Have a story about a good moment in the classroom ready to go. Have a story about a rough moment that you survived planned out, too. If you have developed a syllabus for those courses, have it nearby in case they want specifics about things like assignments or books. If you haven't, be prepared to talk about what you would emphasize. Having thought about those things will take care of most of the discussion on their own. And when they're out of the way, odds are that it will be your turn.

When I helped conduct a phone interview, the worst thing that happened was for us to reach the point where the chair asked "Do you have any questions for us?" and the person being interviewed said no. It came across as lack of interest and maybe even lack of preparation. And worse, it gives up the most useful part of the phone interview for you: your (first) chance to get a sense of whether the job will work for you.

There are two broad types of questions I like to ask on interviews: questions that focus on specifics about employment and questions that focus on the fit of the department. I like to start with the specifics and end with the questions about fit.

Some questions about specifics that you might ask about:

• what is the teaching load
• what are the tenure expectations
• what research and travel support is available
• is the position definitely funded or is there a chance it might be pulled (this is my first question this year, and if there's a chance it might be pulled, my next question is what the chair's sense of the chances of that are: the longer the pause before their answer, the worse the odds)
• what are the students like (if you can't find demographics before the interview, this is a good time to ask about them)
• what are the facilities like if you have any specific requirements

Reminiscing about job interviews at a conference a few years ago, a much more experienced colleague told a story about how the university they were teaching at stopped funding office supplies. If you've reason to be concerned about that - either you're coming from someplace where that happened or you've reason to think it could happen where you're interviewing (maybe the state's budget is problematic, maybe the school is very small) - write out a tactful way to ask it and put it in this section.

Once that's done, it's time to start thinking about how to assess whether you fit in with the department. Here's where you ask some of the same types of questions you've likely been asked:

• what are the strengths of the department
• what are the weaknesses
• where is the department going in the next five years
• what sorts of programs are in place to help new faculty? housing? student loans?

Odds are, the committee is going to answer the same way you did - generally and trying to make negatives into positives. But part of what you want to do in these moments is to listen to how they try. Do they interact with each other? Are there long, awkward pauses? Are they using phrasings from an opposed point of view? Do they respond to the things you say or seem to ignore them?

With that in mind, your last question should always be about what the process is for hiring this position from the moment the phone hangs up - when (roughly) do they expect to notify people of the outcome? What will happen next? Asking those questions will help save quite a bit of anxiety for yourself in the long-run (after all, the job market creates plenty without you finding ways to help it).

Obviously, there are other questions you can ask - and you should think about things specific to your discipline or the position - but coming in with those things in place makes the chances of an interview going successfully - meaning no one spontaneously combusts - much more likely.

Job Tracking - Week 13

Let's see....the week's been quiet, at least for the week before finals. There isn't a lot of movement in terms of applications since last week. But a second phone interview, which is good. I'm plotting a post shortly about phone interviews - hopefully I'll have that out sometime tomorrow afternoon.

The bigger news is that I just got some movement on the book manuscript; both of my editors have acknowledged they are well into the thick of it and that they like what they've seen so far. They didn't say a lot, honestly, but I appreciated that they checked in and let me know how things are going and gave me a time frame for when I'd hear from them next. In a week where I've had to (sadly) resurrect my knowledge of customer service from days in the corporate world to try and explain to administration that something they need to consider when they talk about transparency is actually letting the thing being made transparent look in on an actual process.

So, on the off chance my editors (or any editors) are reading this blog: thanks for keeping in touch. It's appreciated, as it's made tackling my first book a little less daunting.

Here's this week's numbers.

Total # of academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified: 20/25
Total # of non-academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified 0/0
COST OF THE SEARCH
Total spent in U.S. dollars on applications: $169.97
Average cost in U.S. dollars per applications: $8.50
Total spent in U.S. dollars on travel, etc: $0
Total amount in U.S. dollars reimbursed: $0
WHERE THE CALL CAME FROM:
The Chronicle of Higher Ed: 9
HigherEdJobs.com: 0
Other online service (listserv, etc): 14
Friend/Colleague: 2
Personal Research: 1
THE JOB IS IN THE DETAILS
Total number of paper submissions: 17
Total number of e-submissions: 3
Total weight in pounds of application packets: 20.96
Total number of recommendation letters requested: 39
Total number of requests for references: 5
Total number of "proof of teaching excellence" packs : 8
Total number of requests for Teaching Philosophy :8
Total number of research packs: 12
Total number of transcripts requested: 2
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
Total number of acknowledgments of receipt: 17
Total number of confirmed reference contacts: 0
Total number of phone interviews: 2
Total number of conference interviews: 0
Total number of on-campus interviews: 0
Total number of offers: 0
Total number of rejection letters: 2
Total number of canceled or unhired positions: 0

So that's things here. I'm sure I'll have more to say now that finals week has started to settle things down.

A Musical Response to Proposition 8

So, while I'm working on a post about phone interviews, here's a little filler post about Proposition 8. It's pretty funny, though I'm disheartened to hear that even tolerance gets reduced to economic incentives.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

So, we've been doing a lot of things post-racist event on campus. So far, the most useful has been a series of events that have unfolded as conversations among students. The faculty have tended to start these out, raising points and asking questions, but the majority of the discussion has been between them. And it's been fascinating to hear what they have to say to each other and about how the university does work and how it should.

Culled from those moments and from student responses to the various events. Here, briefly, are the things they've suggested would greatly improve the campus environment and their interactions with faculty on race:

• "Don't lecture us. Have a conversation with us."
• "Look me in the eye when you talk to me. No matter what, don't flinch from us when you're talking, especially when it's about something like race."
• "Don't start with a stereotypical assumption about us when you want to talk about how problematic they are."
  
• "Don't make me the example of anything. I don't speak for my race or my gender or the place I come from."
• "Find ways to help us meet other students. If you really believe interacting with other cultures matters, make it a priority and don't be heavy handed."
• "We don't expect you to be perfect so don't try to be. Let us know you're making an effort and let us know when you don't know the answer."
• "Realize that diversity is relative. We don't come from where you come from. What seems like too little to you can seem like a lot to us."
  

I've got my own thoughts on these, but I thought I'd put them out there more or less in the form the students gave them to me because I think they provide some good food for thought. What was interesting to me was how pragmatic some of them were able to be about this. I spent 20 minutes talking with a student a few nights ago who tried - successfully - to impress on me how easy it would be to mix up the class just a little bit so that people had to step outside of their comfort zones.

"Better Be Home Soon" - Still Another Damn Music Meme

Yes, dear readers, it's time for another damn music meme. There are a million reasons why, but I'll just a list a few:

• Because a teaching overload is most truly felt at the end of the term
• Because there is an administrative need to make the term feel extra-productive by cramming in extra meetings into the final days
• Because the weather is working its foul magic on me, making me sleepy and sniffly and easily distracted

And so, here are the rules:

Put your iTunes or MP3 player on shuffle

1. For each question, press the next button to get your answer
2. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
3. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the note from.

So, as per the usual, I'm not tagging anyone, and though this is a nonsense meme, when it works, it really works. I"ll let you be the judges though.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"Begin the Begin" - R.E.M.

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Graveyard" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"That Old Black Magic" - Keely Smith & Louis Prima

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Roadrunner" - Joan Jett

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"What Would Wolves Do? " Les Savvy Fav

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Smokestack Lightning" - Howlin' Wolf

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"My Poor Bran" - the Foo Fighters

WHAT IS 2+2?
"Not About Love" - Fiona Apple

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Science Fiction Double Feature" - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Sweet Jane" - Cowboy Junkies

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"God Damn Job" - the Replacements

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"About a Girl" - Nirvana

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Second to None" - Phoenix

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold" - Robert Earl Keen Jr.

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Land of 1,000 Dances" - Wilson Pickett

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Televisor" - Morningwood

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Love Removal Machine" - The Cult

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Oceans" - Pearl Jam

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Horse to Water" - R.E.M.

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Darts of Pleasure" - Franz Ferdinand

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Porchlight" - Neko Case

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Sex Mad Roar" - The Clash

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Crazy Love" - Van Morrison and Ray Charles

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Only the Good Die Young" - Billy Joel

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
"Wichita Skyline" - Shawn Colvin

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Straight, No Chaser" - Miles Davis

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Sky Blue Sky" - Wilco

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Better Be Home Soon" - Crowded House

Job Tracking - Week 12

Okay, well, I don't have any new job information to report really. I got another rejection, though it wasn't entirely surprising. It is probably premature to think about there being a pattern to the rejections, but so far both of them came from Research I schools. I think my time at an SLAC has pushed me past my research expiration date. It's frustrating, not because I necessarily want to be at an R1 but because I wanted to be at a school where I could do more research than I can here on a 4/4 load.

But having spent the holidays with a number of academics at bigger schools, I can tell you that I don't feel completely bad about it because of the stories I heard them telling. Every single one of them was at a name R1 - though they weren't all at the same one - and every one of them was in a department much bigger than mine. But every one of them was swimming in departmental and university politics in a way I don't have to. I do like that I don't have to spend my time jockeying for position here; I suppose the sacrifice is that I don't necessarily get to teach to my strengths or push ahead with research. It was interesting, in those conversations, to see how many people were in similar situations to myself - financially strapped, not quite so thrilled with their jobs or locations, and frustrated at how little option is available in the market. Want to watch a group of academics' ears perk up? Say, as the wine is being poured, that you're going to look for jobs outside of academia after the New Year.

And of course some of this week was spent dealing with the phone interview - making sure I knew a bit about the department and what they're about. The school doesn't seem a great fit academically, but it's a tremendous fit in terms of my personal life. So I'm trying to decide how I'll juggle that if things move to the next level.

In any case, here's last week's post, to help with this week's numbers.

Total # of academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified: 19/25
Total # of non-academic jobs applied for/# of jobs identified 0/0
COST OF THE SEARCH
Total spent in U.S. dollars on applications: $169.97
Average cost in U.S. dollars per applications: $8.95
Total spent in U.S. dollars on travel, etc: $0
Total amount in U.S. dollars reimbursed: $0
WHERE THE CALL CAME FROM:
The Chronicle of Higher Ed: 9
HigherEdJobs.com: 0
Other online service (listserv, etc): 14
Friend/Colleague: 2
Personal Research: 1
THE JOB IS IN THE DETAILS
Total number of paper submissions: 17
Total number of e-submissions: 2
Total weight in pounds of application packets: 20.96
Total number of recommendation letters requested: 39
Total number of requests for references: 5
Total number of "proof of teaching excellence" packs : 8
Total number of requests for Teaching Philosophy :7
Total number of research packs: 12
Total number of transcripts requested: 2
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
Total number of acknowledgments of receipt: 15
Total number of confirmed reference contacts: 0
Total number of phone interviews: 1
Total number of conference interviews: 0
Total number of on-campus interviews: 0
Total number of offers: 0
Total number of rejection letters: 2
Total number of canceled or unhired positions: 0

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. More soon.