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The On-Campus Job Interview [Please note: a much shorter version of this appeared in the September 2003 issue of Perspectives] Congratulations on getting this far. You heard me correctly--congratulations. The statistics for our profession suggest that for every four people who begin graduate work, only two of them will eventually complete a Ph.D. If you have done this, or are nearing the end and will do it soon--congratulations. Now the bad news--of the two people who finish, perhaps only one will get a tenure track job as a teacher/scholar. There are many worthy jobs for historians, but if that tenure track job is your objective, the odds when you began your graduate work were not good. But by finishing, you have improved your situation. So congratulations. |
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In our profession, it is rare to be hired for a tenure track job without having an on-campus interview. An on-campus can last anywhere from one day to three days in length, and each school has its own methods for how it is conducted, so the advice I'll give you here today is, of necessity, a bit general. My own career has been very successful in the on-campus experience. So some of the things I know may be able to help you. But everyone will admit that the on-campus visit is an unnatural way to make such an important decision--sort of like going on an extended blind date and then suddenly deciding (if they pick you and you pick them) to go for the shot-gun marriage--from blind date to wedding chapel in the blink of an eye! In order to make that sort of commitment, they need information about you, and you want to gather information about them. That information gathering begins with the phone call that invites you to campus. The key to much of what I'll say is: PREPARATION. If the search committee decides that they want you to come to campus, either the head of the search committee, or the department chair, will call you to arrange an on-campus visit. They may, or may not, offer you a choice of dates for the time you are to come--if they offer, you may choose, but sometimes their schedules will be inflexible. At the time they call, you begin the information gathering process: start by making sure that you can contact them again if necessary--collecting their phone numbers and email addresses, if you don't already have them, will help you later if you need to ask further questions. They will tell you how long the visit will be, and what they expect you to do--if you aren't told, then you should ask. You MUST KNOW what obligations you'll have to fulfill while on-campus. Most on-campus visits will feature you giving a job talk or running a seminar devoted to your work. But you may also be asked to teach a class. You need to find out whether they will expect you to give a job talk, teach a class, or in some circumstances, do both. Next, find out how long the job talk is expected to be--do they expect you to talk for twenty minutes, forty minutes, an hour? Find out about format: will there be question and answer at the end, or are you likely to be interrupted with questions as you speak? If you are to teach a class, what size will it be, and who is teaching the class currently? You may be able to speak directly with that teacher to get more information about the content and style of that course...are the students freshmen or seniors; are they accustomed to lectures, or small group work; what topics have they already covered, so that when you teach the class, your materials are new and interesting to them. One of the best questions you can ask during this phone call (or in a followup call) is: what have successful candidates done in the past while making their presentations at this institution--did they use handouts, was their job talk delivered like a conference paper, from a printed text, or was it in a different format? Should you talk about historiography for 5 minutes, or not at all? Will they want to hear about your future projects, or just about the dissertation? Every department will have a style that it prefers in the job talk--you need to find out what their style of job talk is, and then fit the format as closely as possible. Once you know what kind of talk, or classroom teaching is likely to be successful, you can use the time between that phone call and the visit to prepare. You need to look closely at what you promised them in your cover letter, so that you can emphasize it again during your visit--after all, the application letter helped get you this far. Review the notes you took following the interview, and then you can begin gathering more information about the school. Talk with your advisor about what to expect, review any information you can get about the department from published sources like the Chronicle of Higher Education or the AHA's Guide to Departments of History , and then you can begin to tailor your talk or teaching to fit the institution a little better. For example, you shouldn't plan to teach a class on the history of abortion at a small religious college; likewise, emphasizing your elaborate research agenda for the next five books you want to write in your job talk will probably not go over well at a college that emphasizes teaching ahead of research. If you know more about the school, then you can avoid making errors of this kind. Once you have prepared your job talk, and your classroom teaching plans, present them at your home institution to a live audience before you go on-campus. There is no substitute for practice, practice, practice. If there's going to be a screw up in your job talk, make sure it happens prior to the on-campus visit. And don't just round up some friends--be sure to get at least one or two professors to come and critique your performance. Professors will be able to spot the flaws and ask you the hard questions that are likely to come up during the visit--and they will also have the guts to tell you if your talk needs to be completely rewritten, when your friends might not. With whatever text you are using, consider printing it out in large format--this will make it easier to read, and you'll be less likely to get lost in a sea of tiny words on a page.Number your pages! One of the worst job talks ever begins with you dropping the pages on the floor and then needing 5 minutes to reassemble the whole talk in proper order. Your talk absolutely must hook the audience at the beginning with something interesting, and it must have solid conclusion. All the rules from basic Speech 101 apply to the talk--be organized, repeat important information more than once, use lively, colorful examples throughout to hold the attention of the audience, and practice the talk enough times so that you know the contents cold. Put yourself in the position of being able to take your eyes off the page so that you can make eye contact with the audience on a regular basis. You do not need to explain the whole dissertation in 30 minutes, and you shouldn't try. Give an overview, and then select one portion to explain in greater detail. When they have questions about the rest, they'll ask! If you are asked to teach a class, again, you should present whatever you plan to do to a live, guinea-pig audience at home first. Play to your strengths: if you are an accomplished public speaker, then give a kick-ass lecture. But now is not the time for huge innovations: if you have never organized a student debate before, don't experiment now. Having asked about the format and size of the class, you'll be able to plan the right kind of lecture, or discussion, to be successful. If they are expecting you to lecture, then do it, and do it well. If you will use handouts or transparencies (for either the job talk or a teaching presentation) make sure they are absolutely error free--have you found the error in my handout yet? I'll give you a hint: what year is it? Be sure to have someone proofread any handouts or transparencies for you before you get on the plane! Ideally, you'll be able to take everything you need in carryon--try to avoid checked luggage at all costs--but if you must check luggage, be sure to place a copy of your job talk and lecture and any handouts in two separate places (one you keep with you, in carryon, and the other copy can go in checked luggage). Get your wardrobe ready--if necessary, send everything to the dry cleaners so that it is freshly pressed and ready to go. If a department hires you, they want to make sure you'll represent their department and university with class, so you need to demonstrate that you know how to present a professional appearance. Leave the loud banging jewelry and the obnoxious tie at home. You may think, my brains are more important than my appearance, who cares what kind of clothing I wear? Let me tell you, I have colleagues who are STILL talking about the unsuccessful candidate who wore his "Space Aliens" tie the day that he gave his job talk. You do not have to have a million-dollar wardrobe to land a job--but if you need two new ties, or a better-fitting navy skirt, this is the time to spend the money. Consider it an investment in your future: if you land the job, you'll be wearing that new tie to work once a week! And make sure that you get plenty of sleep in the last week before you go. Force yourself to take extra naps. Once you get to campus, the adrenaline will be pumping, and you'll be on-call every minute that you aren't in the bathroom or asleep--so make sure you have plenty of reserve energy ready to use. The day comes, you get on the plane, and now, you've arrived on campus. Well, you can be more confident, because of all your preparations. Confidence is very sexy--if you look like you know exactly what you are doing, then you'll have an advantage in the eyes of your hosts. Confidence in what you've already prepared means that you won't get flustered by an unexpected change in the on-campus schedule. But confidence is not the same thing as arrogance: humility is virtue for a reason. So while you're on campus, remember that there are a few rules to follow, and at this moment I want to thank Seth Katz, who told me ten years ago when I first went on the market about rule number one--don't be a jerk! Actually, the way Seth put it was, don't be an asshole, but you get the point. If you know that you are pushy, or loud, or demanding in certain situations, then find a way to put a sock in it for the 48 hours you are on-campus. When you get a chance, do the polite thing, do the gracious thing, be the kind of person they wish that their child would marry--hold doors for other people, say please and thank you often. They have 3 or 4 candidates to choose from--don't give them a reason to think that you are going to be a perpetual thorn in their side if they hire you--they won't! "Don't be a jerk" relates to one of the two tests that you'll be facing when you get to campus: the lunch test.You must pass both the lunch test and the brains test to get a job offer, or at least do better in both tests than the other job candidates. Both of these tests begin the moment you step off the plane, and will continue until you finally leave campus. Most people focus upon the brains test when they think about the on-campus visit--the fact that we are in a knowledge industry makes it obvious that brains are important--but don't forget, if they hire you, they want to make sure that they will enjoy being around you potentially forever. Are you the kind of person they'll want as a colleague, and possible a friend? This means that you have to be able to talk about something other than just history. Are you interested in music, or sports, or poetry? Whether it comes up at breakfast lunch or dinner, we call it "the lunch test." You'll be eating several meals with members of the department during your visit--use those meals to find out about their interests aside from history, and be willing to talk about your own interests as well. This makes it obvious that you are not just a two-dimensional geek, but a three-dimensional person, with hobbies and knowledge that extend beyond just history. This will be a balancing act: you want to reveal information that makes you appear interesting and yet not open the door for questions you do not want to answer. If you will be in a commuting relationship, or have an academic spouse, then don't steer the conversation towards families or children--this can make it easier for them to ask illegal questions. Have a few topics ready for meals: the college's sports teams, a recent column from the New York Times , a movie you saw last week--all of these will suggest that you can talk about any subject with confidence. When it comes to passing the lunch test, you can help yourself by having several conversation-starters ready to go. At those meals, choose your food wisely: dodge messy entrees (like spaghetti) that can splatter your clothes, and skip the finger food entirely--you shake a lot of hands when you are on-campus. Most people would advise you not to drink alcohol at a reception or dinner during the visit--but if everyone else has alcohol and you don't, it can make you stand out like a sore thumb. Follow the lead of your hosts. If offered a beer or glass of wine and everyone else seems to have one, then accept, but sip slowly--nurse that drink for an entire evening if necessary--and don't go anywhere near intoxication. Now is not the time for potential colleagues to learn that you were your fraternity's foremost authority on single malt scotch. And another tip--if someone hands you a cold drink, hold it with you left hand. This will keep your right hand warm and dry for the unexpected handshake that may come your way. So you are minding your manners, and remembering rule one--don't be a jerk--throughout the visit. You're able to talk about a wide range of topics, and you are projecting confidence. All of this will help you get a good grade in the lunch test. You also need to pass the brains test. The job talk will be the place where you display your talents to their fullest, but remember that your historical knowledge is on call throughout the visit. No matter who you talk with, every answer you offer is demonstrating your preparation to lead a college classroom, so consider your answers carefully. As you progress through the visit, you'll meet many different people: secretaries, graduate and undergraduate students, faculty members, a dean or associate dean. You may even meet the college president, as I did during one campus visit. You should have questions ready that you can ask everyone, because everyone is a source of information for you during your visit. You'll need all the information you can get, if the job offer comes to you. In the handout you received, there are four pages of reduced-type questions attached [see the link on this website to "Questions for the on-campus visit" at the top of this page]. I apologize for the small print, but I wanted to make sure that everyone could have a copy and didn't know how many people to expect in a ballroom. Questions send the message, I am interested in your school and I really want this job. Dead air time, not having questions, sends the message, I could care less about your school, and I am a dull person. So I've given you a long list of questions that can assist you in the on-campus visit. Not all questions will be appropriate for every institution, and you have to listen to the answers you get to figure out what further ones to ask later on--after all, it would be silly to ask any further questions about travel funds for research if the chair makes it clear that there is little money even for office supplies. Use this list to create your own set of questions, and be sure to get answers to the items that matter most to you. Remember that you can ask the same questions to different people, and then compare the answers--they may not always match up. For example, if you ask the chair of the department about funds for travelling to conferences, he might say that there is a large pool of money for that purpose--but faculty members may tell you a different story. When you ask questions, try to put the emphasis on the person being asked: where do YOU like to get a cup of coffee in town, what sorts of committees do YOU currently serve on? As you are handed off from person to person, work at remembering the names of individuals, and use those names in conversation--the most wonderful sound in the English language is the sound of someone using your name. It is attention grabbing, and again, signals your interest in landing the job, and joining that school. Be a careful listener--asking all those questions is not meant to turn you into a four-year-old child, who just asks questions for the sake of asking questions--you want to listen carefully to the answers and use those answers to follow up with more detailed questions. Curiosity on your part will show your hosts your enthusiasm and your eagerness to take the job, and enthusiasm is the third rule to act upon while you are on-campus. You may be wondering, what is this second rule--what do you mean, be a good citizen? As a graduate student, you've mostly been working on your own, with some guidance from your advisor or committee. When you change jobs and become a faculty member, you'll discover that a lot of the work faculty do is collaborative--like working together on committees, planning changes to the curriculum, or hosting job candidates! You need to convey that you will be a good team player, that you can work with others successfully and not be too selfish about your own needs. This is the skill from first grade that was marked as "plays well with others." You have to show that you are willing to be a contributing member of the department, not just a good teacher or a productive scholar. You demonstrate this during the job visit by talking about the service that you would be willing to do to make the department function. While it might be nice not to ever be asked to do any committee work, you must convince the chair and faculty members that you will cheerfully carry your part of the load when it comes to service, and sharing any work that is rotated through the department, such as student advising, hosting visiting lecturers, or teaching general education classes. If you talk only about the specialty courses that you want to teach, and never indicate any interest in the survey courses, that might send the signal that you will try to avoid teaching freshmen. If you mention the fact that you don't like meeting students outside of class, that might send the signal that you will be a poor advisor when it becomes your turn in the department. Impress your hosts with your willingness to be a contributing member to the department. Being enthusiastic and being a good citizen will always help you pass the lunch test. I want to spend just a moment speaking about professionalism. This is a small profession, and the longer you are in it, the more people you will know and keep seeing at conferences or reading in journals from year to year. When you accept an offer to visit a campus, even if you decide 5 minutes after getting off the plane that you would not take the job if it were the last one on earth, be gracious and be classy. The people hosting you are putting their time and effort into helping you and they deserve for you to give your best when it comes time for the job talk and the teaching presentation. Give your hosts a 100% effort, even if you ultimately decide against taking the job. I have heard candidates make remarks like "I'm only using this interview for practice because I expect a better job." I have a seen a job talk delivered that the candidate admitted was written on the plane trip coming down for the visit (and you know what? her talk stunk!). Neither of these candidates was thought of as behaving in a professional manner, and in the short term, it cost them the job offer. But what makes it worse is, they left a bad taste in the mouths of the 20 or 30 people who had to watch their performance. In later years, at conferences, or when reading their work in journals, I have met those poor candidates again and again, and you know what? That first impression they made on campus continues to stick with me. So put your best foot forward, always--you can never tell who in the profession may be able to assist you later, or offer you that better job when you want it. When it comes to professionalism, let me also direct your attention to a set of questions on the handout that might not have occurred to you before today, the ones about Tenure. You want to convince the people hiring that you not only want their job, you intend to stay and become that colleague for life. One way to indicate your seriousness about the institution is to ask about the tenure process. This can set you apart from the typical job candidate, who just wants to GET the tenure track job. By asking about tenure, when it happens and what you'll be expected to do during the process, you indicate that you plan to be at their institution for the next 7 to 30 years, and want to know what hurdles you'll have to clear once you've been hired. Many schools have pre-tenure reviews that occur in the second or third year; you can also ask questions about them too. On the handout, you'll see that I've given you a list of items you might want to take with you for an on-campus visit [see the associated link on this website, called "Checklist of preparations" at the top of this page]. I'd like to talk about a few of those items in particular. When you go to campus, you'll probably be driven around town, and possibly around the campus itself, but most likely, you'll be on foot for a lot of the time. Wear shoes that are good for lots and lots of walking. You will be walking for most of the day, and depending on the campus terrain, you may be called on to walk up hills, across construction sites, or up 6 flights of stairs at the library. Pack sensible shoes that you have already broken in. Have a nice looking portfolio or brief case, to carry your handouts, job talk, campus map, and list of questions--it will free up your hands so that you can shake hands with people as you meet them all day long. If you are a woman, move the critical items (the ones you can't live without) from your handbag into your briefcase or portfolio so that you only have to manage one carried item throughout the day. Consider putting a small comb or hairbrush into that briefcase, so that you can refresh your looks through the day--you probably will leave your hotel first thing in the morning and not return to it until evening each day during your campus visit. I've suggested that you put sample syllabi into your briefcase, just because you may wish to share those with faculty members as you meet them, or you can offer them to the department chair or search committee, to indicate your preparedness to teach a basic survey course. An extra copy of your c.v. may seem unnecessary, but prior to your visit, your application folder will likely have been passed from person to person through the department--to prepare them to talk with you about your work--and sometimes the c.v. gets separated from the folder, so be ready to provide a replacement. And one last item I'd suggest is a set of earplugs, eyeshades, and possibly some Sominex or valerian root. You may think that you'll be put up in a nice hotel, but I have one last story to share with you--on one of his on-campus job visits, my husband was put up at a motel that was next to a 24-hour truck stop. All night long there were trucks rolling in and out of that truck stop, making it damned hard for him to sleep. If they put you in a sorry hotel during your on-campus stay, that still won't excuse your not giving a bang up job talk, so be prepared to shut out the noise, shut out the light, and get the 8 or 10 hours of sleep you'll need each night that you are on campus. If you get insomnia, like I do, be ready with whatever it takes to shut out the stress--if you jog, work crosswords, or listen to music, be prepared with the things you need to get rid of stress and get enough sleep. Sleep prior to the visit is important, but you must also continue to get plenty of rest while you are on-campus. Each day of a campus visit is packed with activity, from breakfast with a member of the search committee at 7am, meeting the dean at 11, your teaching presentation at 2, and getting back to the hotel after dinner with 4 or 5 more faculty members. You will put in 2 or 3 on-campus days that will each last from 8 to 12 hours solid in which you are constantly striving to pass the lunch test and the brains test--you will need stamina and energy to be at your best the whole time. Good luck to all of you, and remember rule number one: don't be a jerk. Appendix: On Campus Questions to Ask Sally Hadden wishes to thank Seth Katz of Bradley University, who long ago explained the "don't be a jerk" rule. She also wishes to thank Genevieve and Robert Berkhofer Jr., for their suggestions about the lunch test and brains test. Sally Hadden Courses | Study Aids | Research | Bio All Contents © Sally Hadden
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