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[thehighking]

They told me 30 minute talk. I believed them.

Could you elaborate?

[tenured_feminist]

They told me 30 minute talk. I believed them.

Could you elaborate?

No. Thus, the problem.

[whiteknight]

They told me 30 minute talk. I believed them.

Could you elaborate?

No. Thus, the problem.

Well played!

[alleyoxenfree]

LOL.  I had that phone interview.  First they browbeat me before questions about "keeping it short."  Then when I kept things carefully short, they shouted at me that I wasn't elaborating enough.  Love those phone interviews.

[miss_balanced]

I've never told anyone this before...

Had a postdoc interview several years ago. Met potential advisor and hu's s.o. for drinks at hotel night before interview and had fun, casual conversation. That set the tone for the remainder of the interview. Went to lunch with potential advisor and hu's current postdoc. When received sandwich, pickle and chips were arranged to perfectly represent male genitalia. I commented. Hu said "you shouldn't say things like that in an interview!" Uhm...I didn't eat the pickle or get the postdoc, but am still friends with potential advisor!

[madhatter]

When researching the area for a promising interview, I discovered the nearby town of Rancho Cucamonga, California. The March Hare, Dormouse, and I entertained ourselves by booming out "Rancho CUC...amonga!!" at every opportunity. We're easily amused. I was even more tickled to discover that the town has a minor league baseball team, the Quakes. Their stadium is the Epicenter. And their mascot is, of course, Tremor! Much hilarity at the tea party.

So, I get to the interview and am having a fine, enjoyable day. I have a casual roundtable meeting with the department where I would have a faculty appointment. (This is primarily an administrative search, so the faculty meeting is mostly a formality -- it's a tiny department and they're tickled to be getting a free faculty line.) The conversation turns to the area, and one professor is suggesting good areas to live in. He mentions Rancho Cucamonga. I can't resist poking fun.

"Ah, yes, I've heard about their baseball team, the Quakes."

"Oh, yes, their games are so much fun."

"I'd love to see them play the Springfield Isotopes."

His eyes widen with delight. "Oh... you're a fan..." he breathes. "We could look up their schedule."

Quickly, I backpedal and change the subject.

[zingers]

After being asked the usual round of questions in a phone interview i was asked if i had any questions for them.  My question was "What is it that drew you to me as a candidate."  The only sound on the other end of the phone was a shuffling of papers. No words.  Finally i broke the awkward silence with "Take your time, I don't want to you give an unconsidered answer."

I got invited out for a face to face interview.  Blew that.  Didn't get the job.   

[southerntransplant]

At the first dinner of the interview (the evening of my arrival) I sat at a sushi restaurant with the chair of the search committee. It was his choice, and I went along timidly. I fumbled with the chopsticks, grabbed a piece of something, slathered it with the "sauce" (I mean slathered - I was taking cues from the chair), pierced it with my chopsticks and stuck the whole thing in my mouth. Of course the sauce was wasabi based, and I was at the time a wuss with hot stuff. I could barely answer his questions as my sinuses drained all at once.

[magistra]

I've never told anyone this before...

Had a postdoc interview several years ago. Met potential advisor and hu's s.o. for drinks at hotel night before interview and had fun, casual conversation. That set the tone for the remainder of the interview. Went to lunch with potential advisor and hu's current postdoc. When received sandwich, pickle and chips were arranged to perfectly represent male genitalia. I commented. Hu said "you shouldn't say things like that in an interview!" Uhm...I didn't eat the pickle or get the postdoc, but am still friends with potential advisor!

You must not be in Gender Studies -- then you'd have gotten the postdoc!  Or at least gotten a paper out of it.  "The Prandial Penis: The Phallus-y of Lunchmeat."

[digger]

I was interviewing for a job as a new faculty member at a major research university & was staying at the departmental chairman’s house for that 3 day visit. You know how searches, in general, are long nerve-wracking affairs --this one was no different.

On the last evening of my interview, the stress and local spicy cooking got the better of me.  At 2 in the morning, nature took its course and I managed to baste the entire bathroom right next to the bedroom in which my potential supervisor and wife were sleeping... There were some orifices in my body I never attached the term “projectile” to until that moment.

To say the least, I was horrified and certain my chances for the job had gone down the drain, unlike everything else. I knew I had to quickly and quietly find a plunger & cleaning supplies in the dark. I also had to find a way to "clear the air" without awaking the residents. I quickly opened a window and spent a good bit of time sneaking around his house in my pajamas looking for cleaning supplies and towels - certain I would be caught. I still don’t know how I would have explained my situation to him. Fortunately I stumbled into their cache of toilet tissue, found a plunger and spent the remainder of the night cleaning up after myself. When the sun finally came up, their bathroom was spotless. Evidentially I was not a quiet as I hoped  - he asked me about it in the morning and I fessed up.

In case you are wondering – I got the job.

[madhatter]

I was interviewing for a job as a new faculty member at a major research university & was staying at the departmental chairman’s house for that 3 day visit.

This part alone qualifies as an interview nightmare.

[drmooks]

I was interviewing for a job as a new faculty member at a major research university & was staying at the departmental chairman’s house for that 3 day visit. You know how searches, in general, are long nerve-wracking affairs --this one was no different.

On the last evening of my interview, the stress and local spicy cooking got the better of me.  At 2 in the morning, nature took its course and I managed to baste the entire bathroom right next to the bedroom in which my potential supervisor and wife were sleeping... There were some orifices in my body I never attached the term “projectile” to until that moment.

To say the least, I was horrified and certain my chances for the job had gone down the drain, unlike everything else. I knew I had to quickly and quietly find a plunger & cleaning supplies in the dark. I also had to find a way to "clear the air" without awaking the residents. I quickly opened a window and spent a good bit of time sneaking around his house in my pajamas looking for cleaning supplies and towels - certain I would be caught. I still don’t know how I would have explained my situation to him. Fortunately I stumbled into their cache of toilet tissue, found a plunger and spent the remainder of the night cleaning up after myself. When the sun finally came up, their bathroom was spotless. Evidentially I was not a quiet as I hoped  - he asked me about it in the morning and I fessed up.

In case you are wondering – I got the job.

Two questions:

a)  Staying at the departmental chair's house - is this kosher?
b)  Have you ever been invited back to the house?

[okprof]

I was at dinner with a few members of the committee after they picked me up from the airport, and  someone asked what kinds of things I like to do outside of work.  I said that I liked to read, so they asked what I'd been reading lately.  STUPIDLY, I started talking about a book I was reading about Roe vs. Wade and how the sharp decline in crime in the 1990s occurred approximately 20 years after abortion was legalized, thus arguing the point that those children that were never born/aborted didn't grow up to become criminals.  I was midway through explaining what the book was about when I realized that I really, really, really, really, really shouldn't be talking about that AT ALL.  I wanted to die and still had the entire interview the next day ... I didn't get the job.  Don't know if that had anything to do with it, but it certainly didn't help.

[madhatter]

I was at dinner with a few members of the committee after they picked me up from the airport, and  someone asked what kinds of things I like to do outside of work.  I said that I liked to read, so they asked what I'd been reading lately.  STUPIDLY, I started talking about a book I was reading about Roe vs. Wade and how the sharp decline in crime in the 1990s occurred approximately 20 years after abortion was legalized, thus arguing the point that those children that were never born/aborted didn't grow up to become criminals.  I was midway through explaining what the book was about when I realized that I really, really, really, really, really shouldn't be talking about that AT ALL.  I wanted to die and still had the entire interview the next day ... I didn't get the job.  Don't know if that had anything to do with it, but it certainly didn't help.

You should have picked a better example from Freakonomics. The one about sumo wrestlers, for example.

[digger]

Two questions:

a)  Staying at the departmental chair's house - is this kosher?
b)  Have you ever been invited back to the house?

>>Kosher ? Today - probably not.

Life was a bit different 20 years ago in the deep south. They were in dire straits financially and had burned out their search budget. They would pay for my flight if I would accept his hospitality. I was in dire straits knowing my 1 year visiting position was being "reallocated". I don’t know how they treated the other applicants but we had a great time (other than that one event) and enjoyed the late night one-on-one sessions with the chair.

>>Have you ever been invited back to the house?

Each of us are now at different universities - but – while there I was a regular visitor.


His wife, however, did seem to prefer my using their public bathroom.