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[dante]

I'm in the middle of preparing my job talk for an upcoming campus visit, and the advice I've been getting so far has been contradictory, so maybe some more input would help. I have been asked to give a formal lecture, 45 minutes including questions, for an audience of mostly non-specialists (humanities, but none of the SC members is in my subfield). I am planning to talk not about my previous (dissertation) work, but about my current work in progress, which is broader in scope and therefore, I think, more likely to sound interesting to this particular audience. I am not taking any risks with technology, so I'm preparing an old-fashioned handout to distribute. While I am pretty confident about the content of my lecture, I'd like some advice on pitfalls I should absolutely avoid (I am particularly concerned about speaking for non-specialists - they're trying to hire someone to fill a gap they've had in the department for a decade now...) Thanks in advance for your input.

[notaprof]

Of course this depends on your field but it may hurt you more by not taking risks with technology since it may appear as if you are not up to speed with whatever is the latest in your field.  I am only speaking as a non specialist attendee at job talks.  A candidate recently did the same and only had handouts, but did not make enough copies nervously apologizing that he never expected so many people to show up for the talk (this was to a room of about 25-30).  Everyone in the room was shuffling the papers to follow the talk, trying to look over shoulders of those who did etc.  It was distracting to those in the audience and apparently quite unnerving for the candidate.  I think it might be safer to have both, a talk using the latest technology (well practiced and with a request to the SC that you be given at least a half hour before your talk to work out any glitches with your technology) and then also a set of handouts as backup in the event that you end up presenting in a thunderstorm and the lights go out. 

Also, please don't keep repeating that your talk is geared to non specialists throughout the talk since you risk sounding pretentious to them or as if you are speaking down to them.

[voxprincipalis]

I'm in the middle of preparing my job talk for an upcoming campus visit, and the advice I've been getting so far has been contradictory, so maybe some more input would help.

It has been contradictory because there is no right answer. Different people want and expect different things. You cannot please everyone. See notaprof's comment about technology as an example -- it is impossible to predict what will and will not please others. Therefore, you need to go with what pleases you, and wait until you see the results of that experiment before you make alterations for the future.

Present what you feel is your best self, in the way you best sell it. Do not try to suss out exactly what you think the search committee wants. Unless you want to call up the search committee and ask them *exactly* what they are looking for, this is a chance you are going to have to take, and it is through this process that people improve as applicants and candidates.

VP

[antica]

Take it for what it's worth from someone who has heard dozens of job talks  (good and very bad) - try not to get defensive with the questions posed by the audience.  That eliminated one candidate immediately.  Also,  please do not ramble on for ten minutes or more during your answers, going on all sorts of tangents barely related to the original question.  Try to think of the more obvious but intelligent questions you'll get and prepare tight, on-the-point answers.  IMO, the question/answer session following the job talk is one of the most important moments of the whole on campus interview.

[sagit]

Some things that think will help for any field in any situation to make a good impression:
* Speak loudly and clearly.  No one wants to sit through a talk where the speaker spends half hu time mumbling.
* Use eye contact. 
* Turn your cell phone off.  Seriously.

For a normal talk would you do a power point presentation?  If so, I would do the following:
* Bring your presentation on multiple formats (CD, flashdrive, etc.).
* Email you presentation to  yourself.
* Make copies of the slides on transparencies.

[hum_postdoc]

It's been some time since I attended a talk that bombed, but the one that still sticks out in my mind is a poor soul who was a nervous wreck. He was using a laser pointer but his hands were shaking so much that we couldn't tell what he was pointing at. So while nervousness is understandable, do what you need to do to keep it under control (practice, practice, practice) because in this case, I couldn't remember anything substantive about the talk, I just felt so bad for the guy.

For the most part, the talks I've seen recently have all been good, so I think more in terms of the difference between an acceptable talk and a great talk. Which leads me to my own question, but I'll start a new thread for that.

[ptprof]

For a normal talk would you do a power point presentation?  If so, I would do the following:
* Bring your presentation on multiple formats (CD, flashdrive, etc.).
* Email you presentation to  yourself.
* Make copies of the slides on transparencies.

I would strongly second this, I was on an interview last year where the computer wouldn't read my flashdrive or my CD that I brought the presentation on.  I had to call it up off of my email (be sure you have no "immature" title lines on your email when you go to search for it) to be able to run the ppt.  What made it worse was I had several video's which strongly drive home my points which did not work, I had "confirmed" with the chair and she assured me that the specific software was available.

Secondly, as notaprof said, request to have time available prior to your talk to "sovle" technology related problems.  I was scheduled to have 20 minutes to prep for my talk, but they were late getting me to the classroom because a meeting with a Dean ran longer than expected.  So ended up trying to load up the talk unsucessfully, twice, as 20 students and several faculty members sat and stared at me.  Needless to say, the talk was so-so, I was not offered the position, nor would I have accepted if offered (for this and other reasons).

[dark_globe]

Don't spit on the floor.

[dr_stones]

Don't spit on the floor.

Or pick your nose, scrath your butt, fart, belch, or yawn. 

Relax, and demonstrate that you are, in fact, the repository of knowledge and wisdonn that they seek to hire.

[zharkov]

If you need to write on the blackboard/whiteboard, write neatly. 

Also, to be safe, bring your own whiteboard marker and a piece of chalk.

[shrek]

In my area (an area of psych) power point is expected and we have the classrooms to support it. Our search Chair will ask whether the candidate will need specific equipment and make arrangements for a computer (if they aren't bringing their own) or more likely for the talk to be scheduled in a room with the needed projectors, etc.
That said, it is wise to be ready. In the early days of smart classrooms we had more unevenness in availability of classrooms and sometimes equipment didn't work. I remember one job talk where the projector (for powerpoint) didn't work, no problem said the candidate, I have overheads, the overhead projector didn't have a bulb, someone went to get one, and that one didn't work either. The poor guy had to hold up his overhead slides (with a paper behind them) when showing diagrams, and wrote on the board (yes, we at least had markers that weren't dry)-- we (as a department) were horrified, but this guy was unperturbed, gracious, and took it in stride. We loved the talk and we loved him for his ability to stay positive given all these breakdowns. He got the job!
Of course now we make SURE everything works, and we haven't had a breakdown since.
Other what not to do, do NOT dumb down your talk-- people are smart, even if not in your area, you may have to explain some things or give definitions, or explain why the study is important, but do not underestimate your audience, ever. One of the most obnoxious interviews we had was with someone really smart who was outside most of our areas who 1. knew nothing about what the members of the faculty actually did or had done (and if she'd read anything might have found some connections that might have been informative of her research, 2. namedropped ad nauseum, and 3. didn't listen. Gave a fantastic talk tho' but, still, no thank you!

[nakpi]

* Bring your presentation on multiple formats (CD, flashdrive, etc.).

I definitely agree with the backup-backup-backup method suggested by sagitta.  Another electronic backup I'd suggest is saving your powerpoint presentation as a pdf file.  You can save it with or without animation.  That will also ease any cross-platform (Mac to PC or vice versa) worries that you may have.

Given that you'll be speaking to a wider audience, I'd recommend gearing the talk as if you're teaching a group of intro level students.  One of the most complimentary comments I've gotten after a job talk was from a freshman, who said my talk was the first talk she had attended and she actually managed to follow it.  You'd want to throw in enough details so that those who are familiar with your specialty can see that you know what you're doing.  But you definitely want to make sure you don't leave your audience frustrated and confused.

Good luck!

[twotimeloser]

Don't spit on the floor.

Or pick your nose, scrath your butt, fart, belch, or yawn.

Relax, and demonstrate that you are, in fact, the repository of knowledge and wisdonn that they seek to hire.

...as opposed to what you actually are, a mammal. Most of us mammals do pick, scratch, fart, belch, yawn, and (in the case of baseball-playing mammals at least) spit. You must demonstrate that you are a knowledge-dispensing robot and/or disembodied spirit that lacks all normal bodily functions. Do not eat, drink, urinate, defecate, digest, or breathe during the talk. Exhalation is permisible if it is accompanied by verbalized knowledge output. Try to make it through the entire talk without pumping blood. Passive lymph transport is OK if done very quietly. Muscular contraction should be kept to an absolute minimum, just enough to avoid collapsing into a puddle on the floor.
E-mail your slides to yourself. Cc a copy to your mom, too; she likes to know what you're up to.
No boogers!

[profxfiles]

The worst job talk we have had in a LONG time was from an ABD who started by saying, "Much of the work I am doing involves statistical methods that are probably beyond of your areas of understanding, but I think you will be able to follow the broad outlines of my conclusions."

The procedures were actually simple Monte Carlo simulations--had hu bothered to do any research on our department, hu would have found that I have published several articles using Monte Carlo simulations as well as an article about the appropriate use of them in the discipline. Suffice to say the "dumbing down" was rather insulting, and the talk revealed that the candidate didn't actually know how to use the MC simulations appropriately in the first place!

[dark_globe]

The worst job talk we have had in a LONG time was from an ABD who started by saying, "Much of the work I am doing involves statistical methods that are probably beyond of your areas of understanding . . ."

At which point I would have gotten up, said, "good, then I can go home," and walked out.