SURVIVING THE ACADEMIC JOB INTERVIEW FOR NERDS!

Here are my thoughts on how the nerdy and introverted can deal with a situation that demands a lot of social interaction – the job interview. Don’t despair: no matter how shy or awkward you are, you’re going to kill it! 1/

First, a caveat: academic job interviews vary by discipline. My advice is based on my experience interviewing for biostats. Other disciplines are similar, but the further away you get from biostat the more likely you are to have a different experience. 2/

Okay, so on to the advice. First, you need to get excited about yourself. Hopefully, you love your research so this shouldn’t be too hard! Practice the elevator speech version of the story of you. 3/

This does not have to be chronological. If you look at everything you have done and want to do, how can you put it together into a compelling story that takes 5-10 min to tell? Think this through carefully and then practice it! 4/

Some people like to practice on friends, family, pets. I like to just talk things over in my head. Do what works for you, just make sure you know your story and can tell it fluidly. Next, make sure you know your interviewers. 5/

I like to research everyone I will be meeting and create a document summarizing their background, role at the institution and research in a few bullet points each. Then I email this to myself so I can pull it up on my phone quickly for reference between interviews. 6/

Along with that, I create a list of questions organized by position, i.e. qs for assistant, assoc, full profs, dept chair, hiring committee chair, dean. I keep those on my phone as well. There are lists of questions available online. I can also post mine if there is interest. 7/

You will get tired out from talking about yourself. Faculty are bad interviewers and would rather be talking about their own research than trying to think of questions to ask you. As soon as you ask a question about them you can sit back and rest for the next 15+ min. 8/

Ask the same questions to many different people. You will be fascinated by the different answers you get! Plus, asking questions shows that you are interested, did your homework, and are really thinking about how you would fit in. 9/

If anyone asks if you want a coffee, say yes! Even if you don’t like coffee, get that coffee! When someone asks if you want a coffee, they are not asking if you are thirsty or require caffeine. They are offering you a moment to relax and connect. Never say no to this! 10/

Faculty interviews are exhausting, especially for the introverted. It is a marathon. Do what you need to do to keep your stamina up. My strategy is to drink a lot of coffee throughout the day and curl up in a ball watching HGTV as soon as I get back to the hotel! YMMV! END/

I also just remembered -- WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! You never know when you are going to need to walk a mile across campus for meetings. I once made the mistake of wearing adorable peep toe heels. So cute. So uncomfortable. Unfortunate choice.