University and college lecturers plan and deliver instructional materials during class presentations. Employers often look for lecturers who are dynamic and possess both teaching credentials and the skills necessary to engage students and help them succeed. If youre getting ready to interview for a lecturer job, its important to anticipate what questions interviewers are likely to ask. In this article, we explore 35 lecturer interview questions with several example responses to help you prepare in advance.
Standard academic interview questions and how to answer them
academic interview questions and answers pdf
This question is not requesting that you attack the character of your fellow candidates or compare yourself negatively to them. It is short-hand for ‘why should we hire you?’ or ‘why are you special?’ Again think about the person specification and make sure you know what sort of academic they are looking for. Tailor your own responses to that as much as possible. Make sure you give examples from your own history to support your assertions. So, for example, if it is an up and coming department looking for a high-flying researcher to boost their reputation, emphasise your role in this. If there is anything you do that makes you stand out, for example a skill or area of experience, mention that here too.
You want to seem keen and flexible and show that you are happy to fit in with the department’s teaching requirements but they also want to hear about new courses that you would like to offer. In order to answer this question, you need to look at the department’s current undergraduate curriculum. That way you can be sure the courses you have invented will fit in with what they offer now. So if the department already has a course on Nazi Germany, do not propose to offer a new one. You have to be careful here: do not let your creativity run away with you. If you do get the job, your new colleagues might say ‘I loved that course you proposed in your interview, can you run it next year?’
Good answer: ‘in the next year I will be finishing up the revisions on my manuscript for x book which is due for publication on x date. I have several other projects on the go that I wish to pursue after that [give details]; if my funding applications to the x and y grant bodies are successful I should be able to see those projects to publication by [give date].’
This article will list the most common academic interview questions for lecturer positions and suggest a possible answer to them. The examples of good answers are not the only options. There are, of course, many other ways of successfully answering these questions. These are suggestions to get you to think constructively about what you could say.
This question is obviously asking you to look forward to the future, so drawing up one year, five year and ten year research plans is helpful before going into an interview. (If you are completing a PhD and looking for your first job this might sound a little excessive, but believe me, it will make you stand out and be taken seriously). They will not just want to hear about the topics you wish to cover but will crucially be interested in two other areas: research funding and your output (i.e. publications). As well as telling them about your exciting projects, tell them how you’re going to pay for them (which grants you will apply for) and what published benefits there will be in concrete terms. Aim high at this point; you don’t want to sell yourself short. You can write that monograph or get an article into a world-renowned journal. The scope of your ambition will help to sell you as the ideal candidate here, so don’t worry about sounding arrogant.
Lecturer interview questions and example answers
Use the following example interview questions and answers to prepare for your academic interview:
What is your approach to giving students feedback on assignments?
Instructors are responsible for providing feedback so that students understand where they need to improve and where theyre succeeding. The interviewer may ask this question to learn more about how you communicate with your students about success, improvement and taking on new challenges. In your answer, give an example of the communication techniques you use to address student achievement and progress.
Example: “If I notice a student is struggling to comprehend concepts or complete assignments, I typically request a meeting with the student to discuss their progress. This allows me to communicate with students individually so I can better understand what factors are affecting their achievement. When I know whats causing students to underachieve, I can better integrate improvement plans or strategies that help them bring up their grades.”
