What’s your favorite thing about teaching college students?
What encouraged you to pursue tenure at this university?
The following questions have been collected from diverse resources by Kathryn L. Cottingham, Professor in the Biological Sciences program and the Ecology, Evolution, Ecosystems and Society (EEES) Graduate Program at Dartmouth College.
Standard academic interview questions and how to answer them
Biology Faculty (here I had extensive notes on all biology faculty, the Dean, the Provost, etc.)
You’ve got an on-campus interview. Yay! Now what? Here is my two cents about how to prepare, and an example of the preparation materials that I used in interviewing for the position that I currently have.
As for the issue of my partner being from the city, I initially answered “Have you been to OUR CITY before?” with “Yes Ive been a few times before.” and left it at that. It wasnt until I had day 1 behind me and I was in the car getting a ride back to the hotel by one of the committee members after dinner that the subject of my partner came up. The woman asked him where he was from, so I answered with “its funny, hes actually from here.” Cant really lie about that or get around that question. Who knows what they thought of the answer, but hey.
I got an interview for a tenure-track assistant professor position (biological sciences) at the second (smaller) campus of a big name school. I have been invited for a 2-day interview. I will be meeting with the dept head and faculty, and admin staff where I will be asked questions about my research and “some behavioural qualities (eg. managing others)”. I will also be giving a talk to the department in which I am to speak about my past accomplishments and research proposal.
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The following questions have been collected from diverse resources by Kathryn L. Cottingham, Professor in the Biological Sciences program and the Ecology, Evolution, Ecosystems and Society (EEES) Graduate Program at Dartmouth College.
What is the long term plan for this school/institution?
How does this department fit into the long-term plan?
What is the outside perception of this department? Strong? Unified? Interactive?
Admissions profiles:
Undergraduates: who applies? who is accepted? who comes here? Where do they go after graduation?
Graduates: who applies? who is accepted? who comes here? Where do they go after graduation?
What sorts of programs are available for new faculty members?
Formal mentoring?
Orientation?
Written faculty handbook?
What resources are available to initiate student research?
Is there support for summer research by undergraduates?
Are competitive, within-institution seed grants available?
What are the indirect costs of grants?
What are the expectations for the summer? On campus? Or is field work OK?
What are typical teaching opportunities, across the college?
How much variation is there across departments?
Are teaching training opportunities available? What kinds? How often?
Can one buy out of teaching obligations?
What is the schedule and mechanism of faculty review?
How much of the department is already tenured? Is there a quota?
Who decides tenure and how?
Are sabbaticals available?
If so, how do they work?
Do benefits continue?
What salary range?
How paid?
Can grants be used to supplement summer salary?
How do raises work?
What are the benefits?
What retirement plan(s) would be available?
What type of health plans are available?
Any benefits for tuition for family members?
Will they pay moving expenses?
Are there resources available to assist spouses in locating jobs?
Who insures equipment?
Who would I be negotiating with?
What is the time frame for making a decision?
What is your vision for the department/school? Where is it going in the next 5 years? 10?
When was the last planning exercise? Can I get a copy?
How does this position fit in to that vision?
Is the department growing or shrinking?
Which subfields?
Are there tensions among the subdisciplines?
What are current plans for future hires?
What sorts of programs are available for new faculty members?
Formal mentoring?
Written faculty handbook?
How big is the department?
Is it unified, or split along disciplinary lines?
How often does the department meet to discuss departmental business?
How are decisions made?
How is chairmanship determined? How long is the term?
What kind of graduate students do you attract?
Where do they go once they finish their degrees?
Who pays for graduate students? Are there any training grants?
Do students have a say in search decisions?
Do students have a say in department administration?
What interdisciplinary collaborations are already in place? (Are there any training grants, for example)
How many undergraduate majors come through the program each year?
What is available as “set up” money?
Is there department research support available? Of what kinds?
Are there vehicles available for field trips/research use?
What secretarial help is available for working with courses? With grants/papers?
What is the teaching expectation through time? How many courses?
Which courses?
What would this person teach over the next 3 years?
How much flexibility in what an individual teaches?
How much flexibility in when courses are scheduled (within a week, within a year)?
How big are classes? Are teaching loads weighted by the number of students in the classes?
Is there time to prepare the first course?
Can I teach a seminar the first semester/quarter?
Are TAs available? For what courses?
How much funding is there for courses, particularly new ones?
How do ideas for new courses get processed?
What are the teaching labs like?
Are there computer teaching labs? Software? Support personnel?
What non-teaching expectations are there?
What are the “standing” department committees?
How does undergraduate advising work?
How does graduate advising work?
Are there annual reviews before tenure?
Who decides on tenure?
On what criteria are decisions made?
Are the criteria written down and handed out to new faculty?
What are the unwritten criteria?
What percent succeed?
Is there a “tenuring up” policy?
Schedule -when do people come up for tenure?
What are the criteria for promotion to full professor?
Can I see the space for this person?
How much office space, lab space, offices for graduate students?
How long to remodel? Who pays?
Ethernet? Networks? Email? Who pays?
Reprints? Page charges?
IMPORTANT FOR YOUR SANITY: When will a decision be made? When might I be notified?
What do you like best about this place?
What do you like least about this place?
What are you looking for in this new position? (want to know: is there agreement? Or are there opposing ideas?)
What are hiring priorities for the future?
What else does a newcomer need to know?
What sorts of programs are available for new faculty members?
When you started
Now
What do you wish youd known?
How is the [higher] administration? Rigid? Flexible?
Are they fair?
How often does the department meet?
How are decisions made?
Do you feel that faculty have an adequate say in day to day operations?
In major decisions?
How about the students? Are they motivated? What do they do after graduation?
What support is available for graduate student research? Enough computers?
What support is available for undergrad research?
Are work study students available from time to time?
Is there travel support? How often? How much?
Do all biology majors do research?
Do they have to submit a thesis?
Are there any curriculum changes in the works?
Do grad students with TAs have time to get their own research done?
How are most grad students funded?
What support is available for research?
Hows the library? Journal availability? Where do you go for the obscure stuff?
Does the administration support travel to scientific meetings? How often? How much?
How much equipment sharing is there?
Do you feel like this is a congenial environment?
How much collaboration is there within the department or college?
How much external collaboration is there? Is this supported by the administration?
Who does grant book-keeping?
Is there access to mainframe or UNIX-based computers?
How much technical support is there for computing?
What do you teach?
What is the general teaching expectation through time? How many courses?
What would you like this person to teach over the next 3 years?
How much flexibility in what an individual teaches?
How much flexibility in when courses are scheduled (within a week, within a year)?
How big are classes? Are teaching loads weighted by the number of students in the classes?
Can I teach a seminar the first semester/quarter?
Are TAs available? For what courses?
How are TAs trained?
How much funding is there for courses, particularly new ones? Can you buy what you need?
How do ideas for new courses get processed?
What secretarial help is available for working with courses? With grants/papers?
Is this a Mac based or PC based department? What are the student computer labs like?
Who sets up equipment and washes glassware for teaching labs?
How are administrative committee responsibilities?
How about advising?
How many minor committees for graduate students?
What percent of your time is spent on teaching, research and service?
What is the average class size?
What is the average lab size?
What is your overall work load?
What is the policy on sabbaticals? Do they have them? When? Are they automatic?
How much?
Are there annual reviews before tenure?
Who decides on tenure?
On what criteria are decisions made?
Are the criteria written down and handed out to new faculty?
What are the unwritten criteria?
What percent succeed?
Is there a “tenuring up” policy?
Schedule –when do people come up?
What are the criteria for promotion to full professor?
Hows the salary?
How do raises work?
Are the benefits any good? Are they transferable to other schools?
What are housing costs?
Is good housing available?
Whats it like to live here? Where do most people live? In town? Elsewhere?
Schools?
Crime rate?
Cultural events on campus? Locally?
Tuition assistance?
Opportunities for spouse/partner?
Hows the parking?
Family leave policies? Maternity coverage? Day care?
Who pays for photocopying, phone calls, interlibrary loans, faxes, page charges, reprints?
What do you do?
Why did you come here?
What do you want to do after you finish?
Whats the best thing about this department?
What could be improved?
Whats the best thing about this institution?
What could be improved?
What do you want from the new person?
What skills/courses/seminars could I offer that would be especially helpful to you?
Memorize your key points. Convey your collegiality; that you’ve done your homework about the position and institution; the potential contributions you can make based on your unique knowledge, skills and experience; and your ability to secure grant funding.
Congratulations! Thanks to a combination of factors – luck, hard work, persistence, a well-worded cover letter – you have been invited to interview with a selection committee for a tenure-track position. Your carefully crafted application stood out from the pile and passed the scrutiny of designated faculty. Maybe you’ve even successfully cleared a preliminary phone or video-conference interview hurdle. Now you must prep for the big day on campus.
You’ll give a 45-minute (or so) research presentation using PowerPoint or Prezi. The audience may consist of a few search committee members, or you may find a lecture hall filled with faculty, university staff and students. Begin your presentation with some personal background, mentioning what you can bring to the position and to the university. You cannot be over-prepared. Rehearse several times beforehand. Make a video of yourself rehearsing and watch it. The audience may be answering questionnaires about your talk for the search committee, commenting on your strengths and weaknesses, comparing you with other candidates and stating whether they recommend you for hire.
These are likely the top interview questions you will be asked. Plan your answers to these and many other questions on cue cards:
What they won’t tell you It’s exhausting. If traveling a long distance, aim to arrive hours or a full day ahead to adjust. The interview day is packed and can last up to 14 hours if they take you to dinner. Some interviews are scheduled over two days. If the night before is a sleepless one, the process will be brutal. Bring a sleep aid and ear plugs, request a wakeup call from the front desk and set an additional alarm.
FAQ
How do I prepare for a tenure track interview?
Rehearse several times beforehand. Make a video of yourself rehearsing and watch it. The audience may be answering questionnaires about your talk for the search committee, commenting on your strengths and weaknesses, comparing you with other candidates and stating whether they recommend you for hire.
What are the 10 most common interview questions and answers?
10 most common interview questions and answers
Tell me about yourself.
What attracted you to our company?
Tell me about your strengths.
Tell me about your strengths.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Tell me about a time where you encountered a business challenge?
What questions do I ask at an interview for a faculty position?
What to ask during your faculty interview
Ask about core facilities. …
Ask about internal funding opportunities. …
Ask about the tenure process and faculty mentor programs. …
Ask about student and postdoc life. …
Ask about team-building activities for faculty and trainees. …
Ask about teaching, service and diversity.
What are the 10 most common interview questions and answers fresh graduate?
Common interview questions for fresh grads (sample answers included)
Tell me a bit about yourself. …
Why do you want to work here? …
How have you demonstrated leadership qualities at university? …
