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[phone interview]

I got an invitation for a phone interview at a very nice school. Good on the one hand, bad on the other hand. I don't like phone interviews very much: I don't know the people, I don't know the place, I don't know what they want. I find it much harder to connect to people that way. I understand that they want to save money on an (expensive) interview trip and narrow down the applicant pool. But, can anybody give advice what search committees are looking for when they do a phone interview? What should I prepare for?

[committee member]

Be prepared!  Write out consise answers to possible questions and have them in front of you.  This will help you avoid rambling.

Know the institution and the department.  If they have a website, look at it.  Know their mission and philosophy.

They will probably ask you to talk about previous teaching experience, service, and current research interests.  Once again, answer the question, but don't go on and on.

They may ask you to clarify information in your vita, so have it in front of you.

The worst candidates forget the name of our school and don't remember what job they applied for.

[Dale]

I might suggest printing out the CVs and any photos of potential interviewers and having those in front of you as well.  Perhaps the photo and a short description of the person, research interests, how long s/he's been with the department, etc.  Once you know who is interviewing, remove the rest and focus on talking to each one when s/he asks a question, i.e.:

Dr. Homer Simpson:  So, I see that you've done work in the area of XYZ studies.  What can you tell me about that?

You:  I've done a lot in XYZ.  Most recently I've done ABC work for XYZ, and think it's going in NOP direction.  I understand you're working in NOP right now (or as appropriate).  How does the department view collaboration??

And so on...

[Artsearch]

I want to amplify what was said about "not going on and on" even though you CAN. I work in a discipline that involves a lot of recruiting, and I could go on for the entire half hour about this, but my best interviews were the ones where I disciplined myself to give a concise list. If they want you to explain a comment further, they will ask. Go about the interview knowing that the time they have allotted is finite--maybe they'll even specify the length beforehand. If you end up with time to spare at the end, you may get to ask some questions of your own!

[anon]

Basically all the same things they want in a convention interview except you can wear sweats and drink coffee! The one thing I'd suggest -- talk a bit more slowly and clearly than usual (speaker phones aren't always clear) and pause after an answer to wait for a response instead of filling up blank space by rambling.

[Another Search Cmte Member]

Ditto to the above, plus (1) have a good attitude about things, don't act bored or hostile; (2) be ready for some dumb questions about your CV, since they may be double checking what you wrote there; and (3) some questions may be be standard fare, which are asked of all applicants, so be patient.

[phone interview]

Great! Thank you all for the good advice! I'll give it my best shot!

[schoolmarm]

Realize that you may be asked "canned" questions and may be tape recorded.  This is a requirement by many schools due to union, AA/EOE, or state regulations.

Try to be concise.  Give your full answer, but do NOT jabber on and on. You may not be the only interviewee.  If you are first and take too much time, you will throw the interview schedule off.  I can't even count how many times one of my committee members has mimed a "come on, get on with it" gesture while a candidate prattles on without giving us a chance to even break in an say "Thank you,  next question".

Show some enthusiuasm in your voice.  Have a few questions ready for the interviewers....and make it something that CAN'T be answered by the department web page.  In fact it would be good to indicate that you have done a little research on the school.  "I see from the website that ...... how do you envision my involvement in this project" (or something like that)!

Know that the committee will be taking notes on your answers and will probably ask questions in a round robin style.  

I always let the candidate know that they have 20 or 30 minutes and that we have a standard set of questions that all candidates are asked.  I also ask permission to record the interview if we are recording.

[anon3]

Phone interviews are a hassle and a major stressor.  Anyone who says otherwise isn't being honest.  The committee is usually on speakerphone, which makes it hard to hear them clearly, and they have their prepared questions which they ask in rapid fire fashion (giving you almost no time to think).  

Read up on the department, its course offerings, and the faculty.  Try to anticipate questions, and jot down answers prior to the interview.  You can count on questions dealing with your teaching philosophy, strengths/weaknesses, how you address diversity, how you integrate technology into your courses, an example of how you dealt with a difficult student or disciplinary issue, courses you could teach, your willingness to do committee work, and why you want to work at that particular school.  There will be other questions, of course, but the topics I just listed are a good start.  

I'm now an assistant professor.  Back when I was searching for jobs, I had good phone interviews and interviews that I totally blew.  A final piece of advice -- be honest and be yourself.  Don't portray yourself as someone you're not.  You'll feel like a phony, you might not sound sincere, and it'll come back to bite you in the butt

[%sig%]

[Indiana Prof]

These are good ideas. Keep in mind that the committee is usually not very happy about phone interviews either--these are often forced on us by admins that don't want to pay for people to interview at a conference. If everyone has a "let's make the best of it" attitude, it is less stressful.

Have some questions of your own. Even though much info is now available on  schools' websites, surely there are issues you would like to know more about. Ask about what the students are like or their levels of motivation, for example. Ask about what plans the department has for new programs, curriculum changes, etc. over the next decade. Try to ask questions that will lead to you being able to show how you can improve the department.

Be careful with your questions. Here were the ONLY questions asked by a recent candidate:

1) How soon can I get a sabbatical?
2) How can I get the teaching load reduced?
3) Do I really need to be on campus very much?

At this stage in the hiring process, you need to be focusing on what you can do for the institution, not what it can do for you. If you are fortunate, the dept. chair will explain the lay of the of land with regard to items such as those without being asked, but wait until you have some strong indication of interest before worrying too much about details of benefits and other support. Also--if you are unwilling to perform the advertised duties, don't waste everyone's time by applying.