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[wondering]

While some of us are still waiting to hear in hope, could those who are returning from campus visits please share their experiences? Perhaps we could learn....

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[Seeker]

The campus visit is such a whirlwind experience with so many different components that it's difficult to summarize effectively, but having now gone on several visits, I will do the best I can to offer what advice I can.

Campus visist are generally scheduled over 1-2 days, and consist of meetings with individual faculty members (varying in length from 30 minutes to an hour; I find 30-minute slots are pretty easy to get through, but an hour is harder), a research or "job" talk, a meeting with the search committee (usually one hour), a meeting with the dean (often one hour), and a meeting with the chair (also usually one hour). You will also have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with faculty members. In some cases, you may also be asked to do a teaching demonstration, a teaching talk, or meet with graduate students. Many departments will pick you up at the airport; if they will be, dress nicely for your flight (although a suit is overkill).  Most will give you a short break before any presentations, and you may get a short (hour-long or less) break between the end of interviews and dinner.

I've found departments to be overwhelmingly friendly. If they're doing their job, they are trying to impress you, too. Don't forget that you are BOTH selling yourselves. Listen carefully for hidden cues about problems (mentions of faculty who've left the department, problems getting internal grants, unhappy graduate students, budget cuts, etc.). For some of these issues, you can make tactful inquiries, i.e., "Can you tell me about how the university is faring as a public institution in the era of educational budget cuts?"  

Everywhere I've been, there's been someone who's rubbed me the wrong way: the man who rolled his eyes at several points during my job talk (although I have yet to have anyone fall asleep, which is VERY common), the man who only referred to women as "girls," and the woman who made jokes with, at best, racist undertones. Grit your teeth and bear it. Don't get discouraged if you don't "click" with one or two faculty members. Don't panic if you can't answer a question (and remember that it's better to say you don't know and then conjecture a little than to act like you know and conjecture too much).

Some general tips:
1. Be prepared. Prior to your visit, research the faculty's interests and areas. If you know who is on the search committee, do this especially thoroughly for those individuals, as well as for the department chair. Try to find out in advance how much of an emphasis they place on teaching and research so you can emphasize each accordingly. Look at their course catalog (usually available on-line) to get a sense of the curicculum, class size, etc. Read up on the basic profile of students (usually on the admissions page of the university website) so you have a sense of the students' caliber, backgrounds, etc.
2. Practice summarizing your research plans and your past research in 30-seconds, 2 minutes, and 5 minutes. Literally every person I've met through the search process has asked me about my dissertation research. Don't assume that the people you are meeting have read your file in any detail. Also don't assume that they are experts in your field; especially if you're in a field with many subspecialties, talk as if speaking with an advanced undergrad.  
3. Only bring carry-on luggage. Don't risk losing your suit.
4. In your handbag/briefcase/etc., bring a self-created medi-pac for unanticipated situations. I include a generic painkiller, cold & sinus pills, feminine hygiene products, tissues, Band-Aids (especially critical if you're wearing dress shoes you don't wear often), antacids, and Immodium.  You might also bring a blood-sugar elevator. I often found that I talked so much on visits that even at meals, I barely got to eat, so I stashed a bag of pretzels in my handbag that I could peck at while waiting in hallways or while in the bathroom.  I also travel with a small stash of food that I keep in the hotel room or in my luggage.
5. Have A LOT of questions. To date, I've found that I am given more than ample time to ask questions, so have a solid list of questions. It's OK to ask everyone the same questions, but try to shake it up a bit.
6. SMILE. Your smile muscles should hurt by the end of the day.
7. If you need something, ask for it. At one department, I was handed a bottled water at every turn, but in another, I thought I was going to pass out from dehydration. If you need some water, ask for it.
8. Early in the day, identify where the bathroom is. Use it as often as you need. You generally will be switching between people all day, so you could go to the loo between every appointment without anyone being the wiser. In the bathroom, you can also check any "cheat" sheet you've made about faculty interests (I have one piece of paper with a summary of everyone's interests so I can refresh my memory during the course of the day), have a quick snack (I'm no fan of eating in bathrooms, either, but you do what you have to do), get some water, and primp. But do it all quickly. Don't spend an hour in there.

Hope this helps.

[Another Candiate]

Having just returned from a couple of interviews, let me thank Seeker for the great post.  The tips are perfect.

Let me reiterate the #4 medi-pac tip!  If you're a woman, feminine hygiene products and Band-Aids for uncomfortable heels are a must (I unexpectedly needed them both on my first interview).

I'm not so sure that a suit on the plane is overkill.  I wore dress pants and an almost-suit jacket on my last flight and was happy that I did . . . the hour break that was on my schedule between the airport and dinner wasn't possible due to a delayed flight, so I had to wear what I had on during the flight to dinner.  Wow, was I thankfull that I was very dressed up.

In addition to a food stash in your bag, pack a water bottle and save it for your job talk just in case.  On both my visits, a search committee member gave me water for the presenation.  However, I really needed it by that time and would have been bad off had they not given me one.

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[PF]

I wore a suit on the airplane flying in because I wanted to travel with a light carry on.  I went to a dinner that night with some search committee members, and then on the next day (the big day), I wore suit #2 which was in my bag.  On the day after that, I just had 1 meeting with an administrator where I wore suit #1 again with a different shirt.  Then I flew out right after that in the same suit.

So... wearing a suit on the airplane may make sense if you prefer to be a light packer.

[in the midst]

I'm in the midst of four on-campus interviews scheduled during a two week period.  First, I must say:  If at all possible, keep anything that is NOT interview related out of your schedule as much as possible if you're doing a series of interviews.  My mind is like a sieve for anything but my job search right now...

There has been some wonderfully sage advice offered in previous posts; thanks for everyone's insight.  I had one fabulous interview experience and one near-disaster that I wanted to share for anyone who might benefit.

Great experience:  I had done some homework via the University's website and found they had extensive information on faculty research interests.  I coupled this with talking with one of the faculty at my current school who had completed his Ph.D. at the school with which I was interviewing to find out what some of the over-arching interests of the program & key faculty were.  I felt like I really knew my audience going in and added some key findings & implications woven into my job talk that I knew would provoke an interested response from faculty with overlapping expertise.  It was also a school with a higher teaching focus than the doctoral program from which I graduated, so I made sure to couple my research findings with implications for how my work could inform lecture content in several core curriculum areas.  This approach worked wonderfully, and I was told it was one of the best presentations they had heard.  The conversation afterwards was engaging (not drilling over minutiae) and people kept coming up to me throughout the day about things that intrigued them.  As a result, I also feel like I have a good grasp of potential collaborations that could result if I eventually take a faculty position there, in addition to feeling like the interview went very well.  I hope to keep this approach up, although admittedly it is time-consuming to individualize each research presentation.

Near-disaster:  At one interview, I experienced a completely unanticipated "wardrobe malfunction".  After my last interview of the day (with the Dean), I snuck to the ladies room before heading to the search committee chair's office who was taking me to the airport.  For whatever reason, the zipper on my skirt suddenly jammed and would not go back up again!!!  So, in near panic, I decided that I would just have to go and find my suitcase (stashed in search committee chair's office) and I made up an excuse about wanting to change before catching my plane to be more comfortable since I had a layover.  This, thankfully, went off without a hitch and I found myself back in the ladies room gratefully realizing that I'd stashed an extra "just in case" business casual outfit for the trip.  Word to the wise...expect the unexpected and BRING A SPARE!!!   No one but me was the wiser...unless, of course, someone is reading this post :-)

Ah, the joys of travelling interviews!  Good luck to you on the market!

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[Bob]

The advice on this forum is excellent, and I would add the following essentials to bring. These are gleaned from numerous interviews I have had in the past 6 years:
1) A compact umbrella-essential for protection during the ubiquitous campus visit or when walking between buildings.
2) A large bottle of water. I cannot emphasize enough that you should NEVER assume that committee members will bring water or that a water fountain is nearby. You will need this water to get through the day.
3) A nice but really comfortable pair of shoes. You will be doing a fair amount of walking, especially on large campuses. I never understand female candidates who wear high heels to interviews.
4) At least two copies of your job talk, all required materials for that talk, notes for sample class, questions for committee etc. Keep one in your luggage and the other with you at all times.
5) Quick energy snacks. I usually pack granola-type bars or small fruit, such as apples and bananas.
6) Dressy clothes that fit the climate of the state or area of the country. I once made the mistake of wearing a winter-type suit to an April interview in the South. I regretted that decision from the moment I got off the plane. Be ready for any type of weather.

A campus interview is truly a marathon, so you need to be ready. Good luck!

[busy interviewing]

What a great thread!

Thanks, "in the midst" for sharing your near-disaster story.  I have been bringing a spare business casual outfit to interviews as well (although I haven't had to use it yet) and your story shows why it is important.  If I am lucky enough to have another interview, I think that I may now throw a safety pin in my bag as well.  

Yes, the bottle of water is SO important.  I didn't get one on my first interview and was dying during the job talk.

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[lowrider]

Oh My Goodness!
I recently returned from a campus interview.
I had two suits, both very nice and looked great.
The second day I tried on my second suit and the pants were huge on me.  They looked like lowriders.  Too bad, it is a beautiful interview suit.  
I had worked so hard on prepping for the interview that I had lost weight without realizing.
There I was, first thing in the morning, rigging up the pants with shoelaces. Ha.  I wore interview suit #1 with a different blouse for day two, not so great but better than having the shoelace loudly pop during lunch. :)
Then, if you are female it's also really important to bring a day's worth of said feminine hygiene products and have them on you.  While the dean was happily reflecting on his 30+ years of academic life for an hour and a half, you guessed it.  Then I had to ask to stop at a drug store after lunch because I had a very limited supply of products in my bag.
The suggestion for having the cheat sheet with a brief phrase describing each person's area of interest is invaluable.  What a great idea! It was a challenge to keep Suzy (morning meeting) and Lisa (lunch) straight in my head.
And yes, shoes as flat as you can get them would be a great asset, though with the suit often we think about a low heel.  I had slight heels but even they got uncomfortable on 1/2 hour campus tour.
Also, make sure you have on new knee-highs that don't fall down all day.
Then also, not expecting straight academic discourse all the time, but be prepared to just be yourself and socializing.  A sense of humor will get you far in this world.
--Roseisabelle

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[Just returned from one]

On a recent campus interview, the school I was visiting scheduled *no* one-on-one meetings with faculty, deans, department heads: nada.  It was just a group thing with the search committee, a jobtalk, and the various meals.
I don't think this reflected on me or their perception of my viability as a candidate - this is just the type of place where everyone is too busy doing their own Things to worry about spending too much time on a search, from what I could tell.
So don't be worried if this happens to you, too - apparently some departments do it this way.

[this is all great advice!]

I just returned from my third of six campus visits. These are rich peoples' problems, I know, and I just want to say a little about energy.

All of this advice is PERFECT, and everyone is dead on about what to expect. I loved reading all the posts in this thread because they made me realize that my experiences are normal!

From my perspective, I can't say enough about doing your best to express enthusiasm and energy at every turn. This can be difficult if you're going going going all day long, and perhaps at home you're accustomed to doing that but with coffee in hand all day, or with the opportunity to take breaks. When you go to a campus visit, your routine is upset and you might find yourself getting tired at unexpected times (i.e., during a meeting with a dean).

The advice about bringing quick carb fixes is great! I've also asked several times for a cup of coffee or a stop in at a coffee shop on our way back from a dean's office. I don't feel bad about that, either. They understand that it's tiring; they expect you to ask for what you need.

I am also not shy about taking just a few minutes' more in the bathroom than perhaps I need. Committee members know that sometimes the schedule gets to running late, and even though a grad student was waiting to escort me to an interview, I took just a couple minutes in the bathroom to stare out the window mindlessly, to text a friend on my phone, and to put hand lotion on after washing my oft-shaken hands. It's those tiny little things that remind you that you're sane, I think, and it's important to squeeze them in. Otherwise the exhaustion of the "performance" can set in mid-afternoon and you've still got to do dinner that night!

Finally, I think it's a good idea to, at every opportunity, thank folks for coming to your talk, to lunch/dinner, to meetings, etc. I always say things like, "I couldn't be more sincere when I say that I appreciate being invited here..." I mean it. I do appreciate it. And it's nice for folks to know that while I'm there. That goes along with theme of complimenting the place, telling them you admire what they're working on (be specific!), that you've been having smart conversations with students, that you can see how hard they've worked to build X or Y, etc. They want to know what specifically attracts you to the position just as much as you want to know what specifically attracted them to you as a candidate. Don't be shy about being specific with your praise. It can really get you far.