laran
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« on: March 03, 2008, 11:52:48 AM » |
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I am very excited to have an interview next week at a local teaching university. I just received my schedule, going from 8 am to dinner (including a teaching demonstration - no research presentation). A few questions for those of you more experienced in this area:
1. What should I expect at an "open forum"?
2. I have "meetings" all day with different committee members, and then an "interview" in the afternoon. How will they be different?
3. I really wanted to research the members of my committee, but there are no names on the schedule. Is it appropriate to ask for names?
Thank you!
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feffle
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« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2008, 12:50:26 PM » |
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I can't answer your first question, but I'll take a stab at the other two.
The "interview" will probably be a Q&A session with multiple faculty members along the line of a conference or phone interview, with prepared questions about your research, teaching, and service interests. One-on-one "meetings" are usually somewhat more relaxed. They give you a chance to ask faculty members questions about that school's academic culture that you might not be able to ask at an "interview." They also allow you to see how you might interact with fellow faculty members if you should get the job.
I don't think it would be out of line to send a polite note asking with which faculty members you'll be meeting. However, if it is a smaller department (say, 12 or fewer people), you may very well end up having quality time with nearly all of them. For those schools, I just made up a quick cheat sheet that listed names and specialties. It helped me keep track of who I met, since I'm terrible with names.
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ptprof
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« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2008, 01:40:41 PM » |
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My 2 cents on the open forum, it is a time for anyone not "scheduled" to meet with you the opportunity to talk to you. From previous experience, this could be undergrad or grad students, faculty from other departments, staff you may interact with, etc.
Good luck.
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stapler
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« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2008, 02:08:23 PM » |
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It's possible that the "interview" is with the committee members only, the one-on-one meetings are with general faculty members (who may or may not be on the committee), and the "open forum" is for meeting with anyone (profs, students, or otherwise) who cares to drop by. Hard to say for sure, and the above posts are as likely to be correct as any.
Different departments have different methods of interviewing, so you might want to email your contact person and ask for clarification on these points (and perhaps you could sneak in a question regarding the committee members, though for a smaller department I'd instead recommend simply reading up on all faculty; I imagine that some departments might not want to directly talk to candidates about things like committee membership).
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TT Prof in the sciences at an RU/H
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svenc
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« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2008, 03:03:54 PM » |
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"Open forum" could mean any number of things, so it's hard to say for sure. I had one campus visit a few years back where they included time to dump me in the coffee room, and I was expected to chat with whomever came by. It worked out well, and this could be what is meant here.
It could conceivably also just mean completely unscheduled time, a Q&A event that may be more like a group interview, or anything in between. I guess you could always ask if you are in touch with the SC Chair or person who assembled the schedule sometime between now and your departure.
The "interview" component will probably be with the entire search committee, and is likely to follow a script that is used for other candidates as well. This is the part of the day that is more formal and is designed for direct comparability to other candidates. Of course, you are correct in implying that you should treat the whole day as an interview!
Good luck Laran!
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In foris veritas.
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laran
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« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2008, 08:07:29 PM » |
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Thank you! Just the type of information I was looking for!
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blackbart
After lurking for eons, finally a
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Amazed I'm paid for what I do.
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« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2008, 12:18:39 AM » |
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A recent "open forum" for me--which wasn't made clear until I arrived for the interview--was standing in front of the ENTIRE department's faculty (30 or so) at a regularly-scheduled, mandatory meeting, and answering any question on any subject asked me by any member of the faculty. Felt like Paul at the Aeropagus.
Don't ever be shy about asking the SC what "open forum" means!
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"The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?"
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laran
New member
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« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2008, 09:30:26 AM » |
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Just to update you on my "open forum": It ended up being an informal interview with the other faculty who were not on the search committee. They spent time debating different issues in education and asking my opinion.
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sibyl
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« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2008, 04:11:38 PM » |
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The "open forum" can be anything -- a chance for professors to ask you questions about your teaching, for students to ask you about your research or your personal experience, for students and professors and administrators to fire a barrage of questions at you on a variety of topics, for professors to rehearse well-worn arguments about "what this institution needs" with you as a bystander, or for one kindly, recently retired professor to come in and chat with you about the institution and relieve his loneliness for a while. All of the above have happened to me. Expect the best, but be prepared for anything.
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"I do not pretend to set people right, but I do see that they are often wrong." -- Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
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plantscience
Did you remember to water your plants?
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« Reply #9 on: March 13, 2008, 06:28:46 PM » |
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A recent "open forum" for me--which wasn't made clear until I arrived for the interview--was standing in front of the ENTIRE department's faculty (30 or so) at a regularly-scheduled, mandatory meeting, and answering any question on any subject asked me by any member of the faculty. Felt like Paul at the Aeropagus.
Don't ever be shy about asking the SC what "open forum" means!
Wow, sounds like the PhD defense all over again. No pressure! |
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Teaching growing techniques since 1991
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aandsdean
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Positively impactful on stakeholder synergies
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« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2008, 07:38:11 PM » |
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A recent "open forum" for me--which wasn't made clear until I arrived for the interview--was standing in front of the ENTIRE department's faculty (30 or so) at a regularly-scheduled, mandatory meeting, and answering any question on any subject asked me by any member of the faculty. Felt like Paul at the Aeropagus.
Don't ever be shy about asking the SC what "open forum" means!
Wow, sounds like the PhD defense all over again. No pressure! Just wait until you interview for dean or VPAA jobs... |
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Wearing a black armband for Lucy
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superabound
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« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2008, 03:28:19 AM » |
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A recent "open forum" for me--which wasn't made clear until I arrived for the interview--was standing in front of the ENTIRE department's faculty (30 or so) at a regularly-scheduled, mandatory meeting, and answering any question on any subject asked me by any member of the faculty. Felt like Paul at the Aeropagus.
Don't ever be shy about asking the SC what "open forum" means!
I had that at interviews, but never while being forced stand up in front of the mob. Sounds kind of disrespectful on their part. |
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