Ah, the job interview. Is any other event on earth so dreaded, and yet so hoped-for?
Whenever I get that email telling me the when and the where, I experience immediate elation. And just as quickly, my guts tighten and churn.
Yaaayyyeeeeeeeeeek!!!
In academia, interview formats vary wildly. There’s the cattle-call feel of the conference interview (can we please stop doing that??). There’s the online interview, in which one must project charm and expertise across an unreliable internet connection. And of course, there’s the ordeal that is the campus visit, which often consists of multiple interviews.
But whether you’re applying for a job in or out of academia, the tips below will help you prepare for, survive, and get the most out of your interview.
Know thyself
This is the first of two tips I also recommend for mastering the art of introducing yourself to others. And it really makes a different in the job interview.
This is your last chance to show the committee what kind of a colleague or employee you would be and what you would bring to the job. So think about this in advance: What are the three biggest reasons these people should hire you instead of someone else?
Maybe you’re a particularly creative teacher. Maybe you’re an expert in something they’re looking for. Maybe you’re passionate about a particular cause or topic. Spend some time thinking about the three most important things you want the committee to know about you before you leave that interview, and then make sure you get those points across on the day!
(Shout-out to one of my best friends, Dan DiCenso, for sharing this tip with me more than a decade ago!)
What are the three reasons why they should hire you instead of someone else?
Practice, practice, practice
I am a huge fan of the mock interview. It helps you get used to the sound of your own voice, practice answering predictable and unexpected questions, and sticking to time when you have to give a presentation.
You don’t want anything you say in the interview to sound rehearsed, but you want to have key ideas at the front of your brain and key words on the tip of your tongue. Plus, the questions you get asked in mock interviews can also help you think through your case for employment from different angles. So practice, practice, practice!
Start and end the interview the same way
Say thank you.
I’m sure you all know your P’s and Q’s! So you all probably know that you should thank your interviewers at the end of an interview. But I also recommend thanking them at the beginning. It’s a gracious thing to do and shows that you’re happy about being interviewed.
I also like saying ‘thank you’ at the start of job interview because it gives a human touch to what is otherwise a highly artificial occasion. Plus, it gives me half a second to collect myself and take a breath. (And I’ve personally always found it a bit jarring when job candidates launch directly into presentations without taking a moment to say ‘thanks for inviting me to speak with you’ or ‘it’s an honour to be here’. But that’s just me.)
Breathe!!!
Don’t forget this part, people!!! Not only does it keep you from keeling over, but it helps to give you space to think, to prepare your words, and to relax into the interview process.
Always have examples
This goes for cover letters, too: making big, broad statements about how much you believe in X or about how you’re able to do Y isn’t nearly as effective as having a story or an example to share.
Examples make things concrete. They bring things to life. And they relax you. Plus, they’re less likely to sound rehearsed or ‘canned’ because they’re things that are unique to you and things you know well!
There are also always some general stories you should be prepared to tell (‘a time when you overcame a challenge when doing X’; ‘a time you failed at something and how you coped’; ‘your greatest weakness/biggest strength and how you dealt with it/used it’). Whatever the question, just make sure you have an example or two up your sleeve!
Always have questions
I’ve long said that job interviews are like first dates.
Now, imagine you’re on a first date and the other person doesn’t ask a single question about you.
Not one.
Not even when you say, ‘Is there anything you’d like to know about me?’
Would you want to go on a second date with that person?
I sure wouldn’t!
Always have questions, people! Questions show you’re interested. Questions show you’ve done your homework (‘I saw X on your website and I was curious about how it works—can you tell me more about that?’).
Questions can even be opportunities to share one of those three reasons why they should hire you instead of somebody else. Allow me to give you a concrete example (see what I did there?):
One time, I really wanted a committee to know that I was someone who liked to take the initiative of organising trips to museums and manuscript collections for my students. During the interview, there was never an opening to tell them about that. So when they asked me at the end whether I had any questions, I said, ‘In some of the courses I taught at X University, I used to take my students to visit manuscript collections at nearby institutions like A and B. Would that sort of thing be possible if I taught at your university?’
I’m not saying that question is what got me the campus visit that followed, but I remember so clearly how the committee perked up when I asked it!
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VB,
M