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[oldadjunct]

In another thread I pointed out that one of your essential questions should always be "What is your time frame for a review and decision?"  Write that answer down, if you have not heard by then well.....

Even more importantly, make your very last question (even after the final post commentary leading to your departure), "What reservations/concerns do you have about my candidacy?"

Save this question to the very end.  You may disarm an interviewer and get an honest answer and your final opportunity to very concisely answer an underlying objection. You might get, "We have many qualified candidates, blah, blah, blah."  But always try to get their biggest, last concern, and answer it quickly, confidently and without reservation.

[icurhere2]

Even more importantly, make your very last question (even after the final post commentary leading to your departure), "What reservations/concerns do you have about my candidacy?"

I broached this one while the SC chair was driving me back to the airport after interviewing for the position I now hold.

[oldadjunct]

Even more importantly, make your very last question (even after the final post commentary leading to your departure), "What reservations/concerns do you have about my candidacy?"

I broached this one while the SC chair was driving me back to the airport after interviewing for the position I now hold.

Yep.  I can work very well.

[oldadjunct]

Opps.  "IT" can work very well.

[ludicrous]

To whom are we supposed to direct these final questions?  The department chair?  The search committee member(s)?  The dean?  The person driving you to the airport, regardless of his/her status?  All of them?

[pink_]

I agree that one of the last things you should ask is about the timeframe for the next stage of the process.  You will save yourself a lot of grief when they tell you, "Our final candidate won't visit for another 3 weeks, and then we have spring break, so the earliest you'll hear from us is in a month."

I had heard about the other final question, "what reservations do you have about my candidacy," but I did not ask it.  In part this is because I tend to not ask questions when I have no idea what the answer might be, and part of it has to do with the fact that I don't think I could pull it off without feeling like I was fishing.  Finally, I decided that I wanted to project a mixture of down-to-earth-edness and confidence.  Asking that question felt too much like asking 'so what do you think is wrong with me?' for me to be comfortable with it.  Of course, that's not really what the question is asking, but I didn't feel comfortable asking it anyway.

[epistephiliac]

I had heard about the other final question, "what reservations do you have about my candidacy," but I did not ask it.  In part this is because I tend to not ask questions when I have no idea what the answer might be, and part of it has to do with the fact that I don't think I could pull it off without feeling like I was fishing.  Finally, I decided that I wanted to project a mixture of down-to-earth-edness and confidence.  Asking that question felt too much like asking 'so what do you think is wrong with me?' for me to be comfortable with it.  Of course, that's not really what the question is asking, but I didn't feel comfortable asking it anyway.

I have to agree with PinkLady (now there's a shocker). My first campus interview is in two weeks, and I've been thinking about strategies. I think there's a gendered component here, too: I think it's riskier for a woman to ask this kind of question, precisely for the reasons PinkLady gives. It can easily sound like fishing or a lack of confidence, or some sense that one can/is willing to change oneself to fit the school's needs.

The timing question, on the other hand, is a definite must, although I think schools don't always manage to meet their own self-imposed deadlines, no?

[pink_]

I had heard about the other final question, "what reservations do you have about my candidacy," but I did not ask it.  In part this is because I tend to not ask questions when I have no idea what the answer might be, and part of it has to do with the fact that I don't think I could pull it off without feeling like I was fishing.  Finally, I decided that I wanted to project a mixture of down-to-earth-edness and confidence.  Asking that question felt too much like asking 'so what do you think is wrong with me?' for me to be comfortable with it.  Of course, that's not really what the question is asking, but I didn't feel comfortable asking it anyway.

I have to agree with PinkLady (now there's a shocker). My first campus interview is in two weeks, and I've been thinking about strategies. I think there's a gendered component here, too: I think it's riskier for a woman to ask this kind of question, precisely for the reasons PinkLady gives. It can easily sound like fishing or a lack of confidence, or some sense that one can/is willing to change oneself to fit the school's needs.

The timing question, on the other hand, is a definite must, although I think schools don't always manage to meet their own self-imposed deadlines, no?

heh.
You're right about the deadlines.  Most SCs will try very hard to make their deadline, but it isn't uncommon for things to happen and hold up the process.   

The other thing that can happen is that committee members can get their signals crossed, so where one person thinks they'll know by March 1, another person knows that she's going to be at a conference until the 5th . . .  so just take this kind of information with a grain of salt.

For me, it was useful to know the earliest that I might possibly hear anything, not so that I could immediately start holding my breath, but more because it gave me a window of time where I knew I wouldn't hear anything anyway, so it was pointless to get myself worked up about it.

[mended_drum]

I've never had a candidate ask me what reservations I might have.  I don't think I could answer.  I would never speak for the committee as a whole, and my personal reactions might not carry much weight if the others didn't share them. And, when talking over the visit, other members might notice things I didn't and change my opinion.  If we did have some concern before the campus interview, I wouldn't know whether we all agreed that it had been alleviated until the interview was over.

[red_queen]

I would find it very off-putting to be asked about my reservations. Clearly YMMV, however. If you ask this of old_adjunct it might work in your favor.

[oldadjunct]

There are no questions you can ask that are either not boring, or raise flags.  Money, benefits, office space (self interested).  Timing of the decision (the best laid plans, etc.).  You may or may not get a meaningful answer to my suggestion.  But, on the 50% chance that you do, you have an opportunity to offer a concise answer.

And to the person who offered that they would never ask a question they didn't know the answer, well that rules out asking about the time frame of the decision.  Also, arguably, you should be able to anticipate the most likely answers to "remaining reservation".  In those cases that you get an answer to the question you have one last opportunity to address it with confidence.

Like any other interview situation you may not be able to pull it off; certainly you won't if you don't practice it and make it your own.  But, this is a fundamental approach in business conversations because it often helps.

[brunhilde]

Or you can do the opposite of asking about reservations at the end of the interview and ask what the SC saw in your application that made them want to bring you in for a visit. I did this while talking with the SCC to make arrangements for the visit. This gave me some insight into how they were thinking of this particular position and I talked up that part of background during the campus visit. I did get the job, although after I had accepted something else. Of course I don't know if asking that question before I arrived helped or not.

[englitprof]

Brunhilde, I was about to post the same thing, though in my case I asked this at my on-campus interview.  I think it would work well as an end-of-phone/conference-interview question as well, and one that avoids the discomfort of seeming to ask, "Why don't you like me?"

[irhack]

I haven't asked questions specific to me, and frankly, would not be comfortable enough to do so. However, I have asked "what would your ideal candidate be like?", which can help direct your discussion.

[postmodern]

I had heard about the other final question, "what reservations do you have about my candidacy," but I did not ask it.  In part this is because I tend to not ask questions when I have no idea what the answer might be, and part of it has to do with the fact that I don't think I could pull it off without feeling like I was fishing.  Finally, I decided that I wanted to project a mixture of down-to-earth-edness and confidence.  Asking that question felt too much like asking 'so what do you think is wrong with me?' for me to be comfortable with it.  Of course, that's not really what the question is asking, but I didn't feel comfortable asking it anyway.

I have to agree with PinkLady (now there's a shocker). My first campus interview is in two weeks, and I've been thinking about strategies. I think there's a gendered component here, too: I think it's riskier for a woman to ask this kind of question, precisely for the reasons PinkLady gives. It can easily sound like fishing or a lack of confidence, or some sense that one can/is willing to change oneself to fit the school's needs.

The timing question, on the other hand, is a definite must, although I think schools don't always manage to meet their own self-imposed deadlines, no?

I agree with these comments, and would not consider asking for a personal critique at the end of an interview, which is what that questions basically amounts to. As a young female who is already nervous at the interview, why would I wish to make them think I am insecure?