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[bashir001]

Hi,
I'm considering to apply for faculty positions in NZ and AUS.
I allready searched for some information on academic culture in these countries. What I couldn't find is the following:
How flexible is the SC regarding the date of the interview. It is a long trip that will certainly take up to a week and hence, should be well planned in advance. In the UK for example, The SC tells you the day and time. If you don't show up, you already doomed your candidacy. If you are there, you meet the competition as well and your part will be over within two hours.
To plan a trip to NZ or AUS it would be really helpful to be free to choose even the week. Am I expected to wear a suit and tie? I have heard that its more easy going than in the UK or US.
Thanks!

[wegie]

Everybody I know from the UK who got a job in NZ or Aus had a phone or video interview. They know they're a long way away, so they're much better about doing things by phone and internet.

<wegie sighs nostalgically for the phone call from Wellington that came two days after she'd signed her contract for her first job>

[pinkmouse]

Wear a suit and tie to the interview. I was at a major university in Australia for a while, faculty members dressed no more casually there than their counterparts in the US.

Scheduling: talk to the SC. Regarding the UK, it is fairly common to give applicants who couldn't be in town for the interview a telephone or teleconference interview (on the same day that other applicants are being interviewed in person). From what I have seen, Australian institutions don't necessarily interview all candidates the same day. But this may vary between departments and institutions. I think you can expect some flexibility regarding travel, or time differences for phone interviews.

btw, It does not take 'a week' to get to Australia or New Zealand, from anywhere (unless you live 5 days' drive from an airport, which I doubt).
I realise it may be unintentional, but comments suggesting you think of Australia and New Zealand as 'remote' are likely to get the SC's backs up too.

[mingus]

Hi,
I'm considering to apply for faculty positions in NZ and AUS.
I allready searched for some information on academic culture in these countries. What I couldn't find is the following:
How flexible is the SC regarding the date of the interview. It is a long trip that will certainly take up to a week and hence, should be well planned in advance. In the UK for example, The SC tells you the day and time. If you don't show up, you already doomed your candidacy. If you are there, you meet the competition as well and your part will be over within two hours.
To plan a trip to NZ or AUS it would be really helpful to be free to choose even the week. Am I expected to wear a suit and tie? I have heard that its more easy going than in the UK or US.
Thanks!

They are very flexible.  For a junior position, it will most likely be a video thing.  For a senior position (e.g. full prof.) you hve to be there, but they will be even more flexible. 

[sir_lancelot]

I have been brought out to interviews in AUS, phone interviews are not done in my discipline except for preliminary screening, and yes, it does take a week (not the travel but the whole trip). I have never met the competition and they were very flexible about the time. When I scheduled the interview I was told to be there for 3 days and encouraged to stay longer to get a feel for the place and do some sightseeing. The official interview was over in a couple of hours but I had appointments with individuals from the department and also other departments scattered over 3 days. They were very aware of the fact that I would be jet-lagged and wouldn't be up for all-day interviewing the day after I got there.

[bashir001]

Thanks for the advice! That really sounds encouraging. I have some experiences with video conferences a la skype. I got several webcams, so it should work. Even from a hotel room, I would be willing to enter in such a talk. Does "Senior Lecturer" sound senior enough to get a face to face interview? Assoc. Prof. and Prof. are even more senior. Indeed one should visit the place first before signing the contract. Isn't it better for both the Dept. and the candidate to have a campus visit before the offer is made?

[easily_distracted]

Senior lecturer is similar to an almost tenured assistant prof.  Traveling time from anywhere in the US that's not LA to the east coast of Australia takes about 24h. Most departments will do a phone interview first before deciding to bring a candidate in for a campus visit/interview. Australians are known to be flexible and I would be surprised if the interviewing school didn't do everything in their power to find dates/times that fit in with a candidate's flights/jetlag etc. All that being said though, you would have to be a really strong candidate for an Australian university to consider interviewing you in person.  Oh, and a suit and tie would be expected, except if you were interviewing in Dec/Jan/Feb in Darwin, Cairns or Townsville :)

[bashir001]

Thanks a lot so far!
Meanwhile, I have applied for a position in New Zealand. What do you think are the odds for landing a job there? I mean, given the same subfield, comparable reputation of Univ. and Dept.; if there were 100 applicants in the US, how many could be expected in NZ?

Another question that arises: What can I say, if the SC asks me about my motivation to work and live down under in NZ? The truth from my point of view is of course that the job market in my sub-subfield is so small, that I feel urged to apply worldwide. At the same time, NZ is a perfect place to be as a scholar which includes enough academic freedom, not too much pressure, just the Kiwi-way of live. I think a self-motivated scholar can be very productive under these circumstances, it's an inspiring atmosphere. The long distances to other countries do not count too much in these days of internet and cheep phone rates. Will this argumentation be convincing for a SC in NZ?

[mingus]

Thanks a lot so far!
Meanwhile, I have applied for a position in New Zealand. What do you think are the odds for landing a job there? I mean, given the same subfield, comparable reputation of Univ. and Dept.; if there were 100 applicants in the US, how many could be expected in NZ?

Another question that arises: What can I say, if the SC asks me about my motivation to work and live down under in NZ? The truth from my point of view is of course that the job market in my sub-subfield is so small, that I feel urged to apply worldwide. At the same time, NZ is a perfect place to be as a scholar which includes enough academic freedom, not too much pressure, just the Kiwi-way of live. I think a self-motivated scholar can be very productive under these circumstances, it's an inspiring atmosphere. The long distances to other countries do not count too much in these days of internet and cheep phone rates. Will this argumentation be convincing for a SC in NZ?

Odds are pretty good, in so far as far less competition than US or Europe.  Dumb as it may sound, you will get points for claiming that because you care for the environment, the clean green style of NZ suits you more than the polluting consumer-driven style of the US.  Etc. Etc. Etc.  I.e. think of the image Kiwis want to sell as making them differet from the rest of the world.

Most definitely don't say: NZ is a perfect place to be as a scholar which includes enough academic freedom, not too much pressure, just the Kiwi-way of live, especially the bit about too much pressure.  Of course, everyone knows it's true, but no place wants to be seen as the place to goof-off.

And I hope you don't believe this: The long distances to other countries do not count too much in these days of internet and cheep phone rates. Certainly, no one else will believe it.  NZ universities have had too many Americans and Europeans not last very long, because they finally couldn't handle being so far from Uncle Bob and travel is expensive, wanted to go to more conferences, etc.  The tyranny of distance is still very much in place, regardless of technology; and Kiwis feel it plenty.

[bacardiandlime]

And I hope you don't believe this: The long distances to other countries do not count too much in these days of internet and cheep phone rates. Certainly, no one else will believe it.  NZ universities have had too many Americans and Europeans not last very long, because they finally couldn't handle being so far from Uncle Bob and travel is expensive, wanted to go to more conferences, etc.  The tyranny of distance is still very much in place, regardless of technology; and Kiwis feel it plenty.

I agree: look at the financial element too. By which I mean, as well as looking how far your salary will go there, look at how much it costs to buy an air ticket FROM there to where your family lives. How often could you afford to make the trip? Once a year?

A similar thing can happen, with regard to moving to Australia/New Zealand, as happens even with people moving from the US mainland to Hawaii. They expected the distance to be less of a problem than it turned out to be. First, the friends/relatives all say 'how exciting, of course we'll visit you every summer', and sure, some will visit, but not as many as you hope, because it's too expensive, and such a long flight...

Seen it happen.

[bashir001]

In my case, there were no close relatives, I had to care of, plus I am single. So I'm probably a suited expat? Still, conferences do matter. At least we find the Americas, Japan, and, of course, Australia within 12 hour flight distance. It should be possible to travel to an international meeting once a year, don't you think so? Well, travelling to Europe would be an issue.

[figee]

I manage an international conference every two years (conferences in NZ don't count - I'm in Oz).  It's also a very different culture here to everywhere else.  I'm unsure of whether you're American or European, but in my field we're more European-oriented than British, and this has proved to be a challenge for Amierican colleagues.  They have also found it to be more difficult than expected because it is more different than they expected.  NB NZ and Oz are not America.

I'm not saying that it isn't great to live over here.  But I think that expectations are different, the pressures are different and the distances are greater.  I personally love living here, but it's my home.  Ex-pat colleagues I've spoken to are experiencing the 'neither fish nor fowl' feeling of no longer being part of their 'home' culture and social network, but still feeling foreign here. 

Apply and good luck, but be aware that things may be more difficult than you expect.  And be prepared to give the job a go for at least 3 years, as otherwise you're not giving yourself enough time to feel really settled.

[mingus]

Thanks a lot so far!
I mean, given the same subfield, comparable reputation of Univ. and Dept.; if there were 100 applicants in the US, how many could be expected in NZ?

About 10--20.

[octoprof]

Hi,
I'm considering to apply for faculty positions in NZ and AUS.
I allready searched for some information on academic culture in these countries. What I couldn't find is the following:
How flexible is the SC regarding the date of the interview. It is a long trip that will certainly take up to a week and hence, should be well planned in advance. In the UK for example, The SC tells you the day and time. If you don't show up, you already doomed your candidacy. If you are there, you meet the competition as well and your part will be over within two hours.
To plan a trip to NZ or AUS it would be really helpful to be free to choose even the week. Am I expected to wear a suit and tie? I have heard that its more easy going than in the UK or US.
Thanks!

I have interviewed for and been offered jobs in Australia and New Zealand. The NZ job interview invitation came when I was living in the USA. They were somewhat flexible about the timing within their needs (I think they had a three week window). The whole trip took a week.  The interview (for a senior position) was two days.  I did not meet any competition though I think their interviews overlapped with mine.

Dress norms depends on your field, surely?  I dressed in NZ the same way I would on a US interview.

The weirdest thing was understanding the whole system and the admin of the university, which were very British like, and I'm from the USA.  I tried to study up on that before going because I knew I'd have been confused otherwise.

In my field, pay for comparable jobs is about 70% in NZ/Aus of what pay is in the USA, maybe even less.

[nzer2008]

Do NOT consider NZ! If you have a choice, AUS universities are at least 5 times better than any NZ university. Think: no standards, no English skills (they are considering allowing text messaging language in exams, for crying out loud!), no motivation, no competition, and general laziness. Salaries are miserable. You will get almost no superanuation, compared to AUS, and will not be able to save anything from your meagre salary for retirement. Ambition is frowned upon, if that is what you mean by the 'kiwi way of life'. If you want a poor and lazy lifestyle, NZ is the way to go, but if you want an actual career, go to AUS. Once you are in NZ, you are stuck - your salary will not buy you many flights out of here, and all flights, even within the country, are expensive! Housing is outrageous and generally unliveable. The health care system, and private health insurance are useless - go to Australia!