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[bees_bee]

Sorry to post same questions here, but I need some help from someone went through interview in studio art field.
I am having my first phone interview next week and I am extremely nervous about what they will ask me and what if I cannot come up with answers.
I only taught one class before at my university and do not have much experience to quote.  Will you please give me some advise to answer some of the questions below?

1.  How do you harness desire, access potential and foster curiosity?

2.  How do you plan to balance extensive exhibition record, outstanding teaching evaluations and fulfill your service to the university?

3. What quality do you have that would make you a leader and what qualities do you have that would make you a team player?

I am also wondering since English is my second language, if I do not understand the questions, can I ask them to rephrase it in easier words?  Can I also pause to think about the answers?

Also, if you have any idea what kind of questions might be asked especially for Photo position, please advise me.

Thank you for your help.  I just hope that I will not drop a ball...
 

[voxprincipalis]

Look, the reason that no one really answered your questions before is that you are expected to come up with answers to them yourself. It's kind of like asking how to cheat on a test, except that there are no really right answers.

So, how *are* you going to balance continuing with your professional work at a high standard, teaching well, and also doing required committee service? Have you thought about how your schedule will look and how you will structure your time?

What *are* the personal qualities that make you a strong, independent thinker? And even if you are a strong, independent thinker, what other qualities do you have that make you able to work well with others?

No one will give you the answers to these questions -- you have to come up with them yourself. If you cannot come up with them yourself, you may not yet be ready to be on the market.

Yes, you can ask them to rephrase the questions, but you should be aware that if you cannot express yourself well in your answers, that will likely make your candidacy less attractive than that of someone who was able to answer all of their questions completely and in a way that clearly demonstrates to the committee that the issues are understood and that the candidate is capable of addressing all of them.

VP

[polly_mer]

Vox is right on this.  Expecting us to give you the "right" canned answers for your interview indicates that you are missing the point both of these fora (where we continuously wrestle with those questions as they pertain to our own work and evaluating the work of others) and the search committee who asks these questions to find out what you think because they know that a canned two sentence answer is bogus and indicates that a candidate has not wrestled with the issues.

[bees_bee]

Thank you for the advise.  I wasn't really looking for the canned answers.  I was rather looking for some stories you have.  I am not going to copy what you said, but I wanted to brainstorm of what kind of experience of mine I can pull to answer these questions.  I am not going to lie to answer any of the questions.  If I do not have experience to answer questions, I will be honest to say, " I do not have experience to answer that question". 

[polly_mer]

If I do not have experience to answer questions, I will be honest to say, " I do not have experience to answer that question". 

Then, you will have failed the interview.  The only thing worse than parroting someone else's canned answer is to flat out say, "I haven't even thought about what is required to do a good job in this position.  I'm not even experienced enough to know how to go about gathering that kind of information and I don't care enough about this kind of position to have done the kinds of observations and preparation that will make me successful."

Why do you want this kind of position?  You don't have to answer me, but you need to be able to answer that question for yourself.  One of the best ways to do that is to do a little research.

What have people who are successful in those kinds of positions do to become successful?  How do they make it work and how do the variety of ways that they have found that work fit in with your working style and life ambitions?  What practices can you adopt to make it work?  What practices do you at least want to try because you think they might work with some tweaking?

You have a graduate degree.  What did your professors do to make it work?  What have you observed and what stories can they tell?

Your own observations that have been filtered through your life experiences and desired life path will serve you much better than the handful of responses you will get here from people who live that life and know that the answers have to be personal and lived, not quickly gathered through an intellectual means like consulting the anecdotal literature in a pre-interview cram session.

[bees_bee]

Thank you, polly_mer.  You are right.  I will re-think these questions from what I know and observe from mine and others.  I was just nervous since I  really do not have much teaching experience, but I do have life experience up till now.  Even my answer is not specific about teaching but rather from my life experience, it is better than saying "I don't know the answer."  Correct?

Thank you again.

[der_gadfly]

You have one semester experience. Reflect on what went right, and what went wrong. How would you do things differently?
-
some clues:
Will the prospective hiring institution provide space for your exhibits? Support/help publicize exhibits in a nearby city?

Is your particular field particularly 'labor intensive'? In other words, does photography require 100s of hours a week or can you plan your shooting time around the weekends/institutional vacations?

You need to reflect carefully on the questions you asked above.....

best of luck

[bees_bee]

Thank you, der_gadfly.  I will do my best!

[history_grrrl]

OP, the fact that you have a phone interview in this terrible job market indicates that the search committee considers you a viable candidate for the position (so congratulations!). My question to you is: do you think you're a viable candidate? It sounds like you're not sure. It's very important to go into the interview feeling confident about your abilities, confident about what you've already accomplished, and confident about the contributions you can make to this department.

So you've only taught the one university course. In addition to that experience, are there other kinds of evidence you can marshal to demonstrate that you've reached an audience, stimulated new ways of thinking about your field, helped people move in new directions, etc.? Presumably your non-classroom experience is part of what attracted the search committee to your application, so think about how you can draw upon it to strengthen your candidacy. Good luck!

[polly_mer]

Thank you, polly_mer.  You are right.  I will re-think these questions from what I know and observe from mine and others.  I was just nervous since I  really do not have much teaching experience, but I do have life experience up till now.  Even my answer is not specific about teaching but rather from my life experience, it is better than saying "I don't know the answer."  Correct?

Yes, recognizing your limitations is good for your own benefit, but for the purposes of an interview, you have to think in terms of making a convincing argument about why people should hire you.  The interviewers want to hear what you plan to do when you get this kind of position and how your previous experiences, discussions, observations, and such will make you a fantastic fit for this job.

You need to be able to project an aura of confidence about your own capabilities, even for things that you haven't done yet.  They've seen your CV so they know that you lack certain areas of experience.  The fact that they are giving you an interview means that you have enough experience so that they are interested in hearing what you plan to do in the future and the ideas you have that you are ready to implement.

The interview is not the place to be an insecure student who needs help.  The interview is the place to be the excited junior scholar ready to tackle the challenges of being a full member of the academy.

Good luck!

[losemygrip]

I think Polly mer has overstated it a little.  Saying "I don't have enough experience to know" doesn't veto the whole interview, unless you do it repeatedly.

The best way to approach it is to say, "I don't really have enough experience to know for sure at this point, but I think I might do this: [specific scenario then follows]."  I've said before, "Gosh, I've not thought about that before; I'll have to think about it a minute."  Often the interviewers will move on, particularly if they have a lot of questions and you're able to answer the other ones OK. 

Basically, I would leave the "I don't know; I don't have enough experience yet" response as a last resort when you REALLY have NO idea what you're going to say.  Like, you're a total blank.  Otherwise, try to fake it. 

Were the questions you posed given to you by the committee?  Because question 2 is very much like a real interview question; question 1 is just nuts. "How do you harness desire?"  No one will ask you that (at least, no one in his/her right mind).   They're much more likely to ask you what your artwork is about (you better be able to verbalize that clearly and concisely) and where you like to go with it next.

[bees_bee]

Thank you so much for all the advises!  I am getting ready with  materials + information I need to tackle these questions.  I will be ready.  Thank you again.

[polly_mer]

I think Polly mer has overstated it a little.  Saying "I don't have enough experience to know" doesn't veto the whole interview, unless you do it repeatedly.

The best way to approach it is to say, "I don't really have enough experience to know for sure at this point, but I think I might do this: [specific scenario then follows]."  I've said before, "Gosh, I've not thought about that before; I'll have to think about it a minute."  Often the interviewers will move on, particularly if they have a lot of questions and you're able to answer the other ones OK. 

The point is giving an answer appropriate to the kind of question being asked.

For example: 

"We have a blind student who wants to take photography to learn the theory.  What would you do in that situation?"

is a very different situation than

"How are you going to balancing teaching three classes a semester, advising two student groups, and doing at least one regional or better exhibit per year?"

Answering, "Good question, I haven't thought about that and need a minute before I answer" to the first question is reasonable.  Answering it to the second is shooting yourself in the foot by not being prepared to discuss the most obvious aspects of the job.

[losemygrip]

Of course, that's correct.  Context is everything.  But your initial response was quite absolutist, and nothing like this last, very nuanced comment.  No need to scare the horses unnecessarily.

[polly_mer]

Of course, that's correct.  Context is everything.  But your initial response was quite absolutist, and nothing like this last, very nuanced comment.  No need to scare the horses unnecessarily.

Did you read the first questions that the OP wanted to answer with "I don't know"?  A little scaring under those circumstances was definitely warranted.  While "I don't know right off the top of my head, let me think" is sometimes appropriate, it is definitely not appropriate for the kinds of questions with which OP was asking for help.