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[tortugaphd]

I'm serving as an outside member for a search that is going on in another department.  Back in December, we had the top 2 candidates in for campus visits.  They both looked good on paper, but one did considerably better than the other during the campus interview.

The candidate who did poorly got off to a rocky start at the meeting with the committee that was scheduled first thing in the morning.  He arrived at the meeting armed with various stacks of notes he placed into 4 or 5 piles around him, and he couldn't answer questions about the field, his own location in that field, where he imagined the field going, what his next project was going to be, how he taught his courses, how he would teach future courses, etc. without frantically rifling through his notes first.  (Later that day, his job talk q+a was very dismal.)

The thing is, I really respect the work that I've read from this candidate.  He got his PhD a few years ago and has been a visiting faculty member at his grad institution ever since and managed to get a few good articles out.  I'm on friendly terms with his dissertation chair--although I can't say that we are "friends."  We're more like acquaintances.  Should I tip his diss chair off about this?  I really want him to get a job, but I think his not knowing what is expected in a campus visit situation--and in the profession more generally--is holding him back.

[msparticularity]

I think it would be a real kindness to communicate something of this to the advisor, but it may not be a surprise. The fact that this person has been finished for awhile and has some good pubs leads me to wonder if this may be a long-term issue. I also wonder whether it's not so much a matter of not knowing what to expect, as of disabling anxiety--which has come up on several threads lately, too. There really are people out there who are quite capable of doing good academic work, but who just simply cannot cope with being with (and talking to) others--and sometimes this inability extends to students, too. Do you have any insight into his teaching, based upon peer and/or student reviews? That might be revealing as well.

[cc_and_grad]

I'm with misparticularity on this one. The candidate shows symptoms of a serious anxiety/social issue rather than lack of knowledge (hard to imagine him cranking out quality academic work without having any idea of the field, its trends, etc.). Someone probably told him to use notes to relieve some of the pressure he feels when answering questions and he took it much too far. Seems like his advisor is likely to be aware of the issues, but he may not if the candidate is someone who settles down and does fine once he is familiar with the people he is dealing with. If you can managed to convey to the advisor that this guy needs to find a way to overcome his difficulty in the interview process, then that might be helpful.

[brixton]

I'm going to chime on the others' answers.  Several previous posters have said they wish they knew what went wrong in their interviews. Kind and helpful feedback can help--if only to help a candidate find out what they're not doing, send maybe steer them towards a position/career that best fits their strengths.

[tortugaphd]

Hmmm... yes, I agree that it seems likely that the advisor already knows about the issues and has already tried to intervene.  Nevertheless, I also agree that it would probably do this candidate a service if I could convey feedback on their performance via their advisor.  Maybe the next time I see her at a conference....

I'm feeling a larger existential exasperation right now because I have some grad students who are like this candidate.  They couldn't coherently answer questions during their exams and will probably go on to have dismal job interviews.  It's not that I (and their other mentors) haven't been honest with them about what the problem is.  We have.  Over and over again.  But I think in their case, applying this advice to their work may be beyond what they are capable of doing.  I just wish that some of them would choose a better career path for themselves rather than stick this situation out.  But that's a topic for another thread altogether....

[brixton]

If this is common in your university, it might be possible to partner with your career center.  You and a colleague or two offer to stage a practice interview, the center films it, and then they work with your advises to polish their performance.  (Interviews finally are performances, and some tricks can be learned to be engaging.). Doing this a few times might help your students be more polished.  I've found it is hard to do this in graduate school because most career centers are geared to undergrad jobs.  But if faculty can play search committee, working with the career center, I think it could really help your candidates understand what they're shooting for in these weird beasts called tt interviews.

[tortugaphd]

^Thanks!  That's a good idea.  Right now, we have an ad-hoc way of doing mock interviews.  Students request one if they want one, and then the advisors get together to conduct it.  I actually think it would be more helpful to have faculty who are not advisors of the student conducting the mock interviews because students will need experience conveying their ideas to people who didn't mentor them and who may not be in their immediate field.

[imawakenow]

^Thanks!  That's a good idea.  Right now, we have an ad-hoc way of doing mock interviews.  Students request one if they want one, and then the advisors get together to conduct it.  I actually think it would be more helpful to have faculty who are not advisors of the student conducting the mock interviews because students will need experience conveying their ideas to people who didn't mentor them and who may not be in their immediate field.

Chime on this (bolded) for your grad students. My grad institution did something like this, and it was enormously helpful for me as a job candidate.

[karmann]

I would contact the advisor.  A friend had a grad student he thought was a star, who repeatedly got interviews but never got a job.  Eventually, a colleague at an interviewing university called him and told him that the grad student showed up to the interview wearing a cartoon t-shirt.  One discussion with the grad student fixed the problem.  Obviously, this is probably more complicated, but I think it would be helpful to let the advisor know how this person comes off in high-stress situations. 

[oatmeal]

OP--I certainly understand your motivation here. I have felt the same, especially when a candidate is clearly a quality researcher. However, I do not think it is your responsibility to provide the sort of feedback you noted. This might sound harsh, but the candidate should think about these issues. Also, if you did give some feedback to the advisor, it should not be in writing but rather in a conversation. It is tricky.  If the candidate contacts you, you could mention something vague and hope the candidate understands that a casual or vague response really means there are some serious issues. This comes from having a good mentor, and perhaps that candidate does not have good mentoring. This might sound harsh and it is not meant to, but I just do not see this as your responsibility.

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

I have picked up the phone to call and suggest areas for gentle coaching to someone I knew was in a position to mentor a candidate that did not interview so well. I only do this when I trust the person I am calling to do so in a casual manner that doesn't reveal the behind-the-scenes communication going on.

I did this for someone last year, and he got the next job he interviewed for. Of course, I have no way of knowing if that was the result of my meddling or not, but I feel good about it anyway.

While it may be true that some candidates won't benefit from coaching--because of anxiety or whatever--I think enough candidates can benefit from advice that I am generally in favor of helping others out.

[systeme_d_]

There are ways to do this kind of backchannel communication, but it almost always hinges upon someone knowing the advisor very well.

Once, during a round of phone interviews for a VAP at my old job, one great-on-paper candidate completely blew the phone interview.  We had hints from the letter of rec that this might happen, so the advisor was already aware of (and subtly signaling) the potential problems.  After the interview, the SC decided which one among us knew the advisor best, and could speak to her about how to help her advisee in the future. 

[tortugaphd]

Thanks to all who replied!

I get the sense that this is a case that depends on the specifics of the situation--particularly regarding how well I know the advisor and how I can communicate this issue to her.  I agree that transmitting something in writing would be a bad idea if I'm going to do this, which is why I think speaking to her in person at a conference would be a better bet.  I'm seeing her this summer at a conference, and she's probably going to mention something about her student's job interview at my institution, anyway.  Who knows.... The job season is still young, and the student may still wind up getting a job somewhere else.  Let's hope so, at least eventually.

[larryc]

I think it is a great kindness to let the advisor know what happened.

[ideagirl]

I think it is a great kindness to let the advisor know what happened.

I agree. This could be a big help for that candidate.