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[blueskych]

Hi everyone,

I’ll have an interview at Trinity College soon for a lectureship and wonder if anyone here is familiar with the interviews in Ireland. Are they considered to be similar to those in the UK? I am based in Britain by the way.

I am required to give a 30min presentation on “my current research in xxx (xxx is the wide research area of the group in which the post will be fit in)” at a research seminar level in a lecture theatre, followed by 10min questions from the panel.  Does this mean that the audience is only the interview panel?  My biggest concern at the moment is the content of my presentation as my research is very different from the research topics in the group. They are looking for some in a specific area (well, I can say my research is somewhat within this area..) and should be able to contribute to their research.  I really do not know how to relate my current research to theirs. Sigh…   But I believe my knowledge in my general subject should be able to contribute to their research.  Anyway, my questions are: Shall I just talk about my own research achievements? Are research plans necessary for the presentation (Or leave the plans for the interview?)?  Shall I try every effort to relate my current research to theirs during the presentation?

The interview will be held in a different place, and the letter does not indicate the length of the interview. Does anyone have an idea how long the interview will last? About 30 minutes? What kind of typical questions should I prepare? Any suggestions/advice?

Also would a suit with trousers be appropriate for a girl? Do I need to wear a skirt in such a cold winter? ^_*

Any inputs are welcome and very much appreciated.

[sandgrounder]

Easiest question first - yes I'm  sure a smart trouser suit would be acceptable and given the weather much more comfortable.

I think the research talk sounds similar to what you'd give in Britain. I'd definitely mention research plans for the future as if you're a newish PhD the fear is often that you've no plans beyond mining the thesis for publication. I think I'd try to relate your own research to broad themes if that's possible - i.e. show how your research connects with important research in your field that they'll know about rather than desperately trying to make non-existent links to their work. However, I'd do your homework and in the questions try to drop in phrases like 'aware of interesting work carried out here by x and y - be interested to learn more about that approach' into your response. At my only Irish interview my presentation was also just given to the panel but it in itself was bigger than I was used to - 8 people including someone from another university.
My interview was about 30-40 minutes long from what I remember and very much more teaching orientated than any I ever had in the UK. Trinity may be more UK-like though. There weren't the UK type questions on wider university policy - it was clearly a very hierarchical structure and they seemed mostly concerned about whether I'd be capable of teaching a (comparative to the UK) heavy load and still publish. Hope that helps a bit.

[blueskych]

Thank you so much for your suggestions, Sandgrounder. They are really helpful! Enjoy your Christmas break!