Job Market Series Part 4: Interview Logistics
Overview
Thinking about scheduling (if you can) —> I scheduled my campus interview trips back to back, which meant I was traveling for ~3-4 weeks with a few days at home in between. I did this for two reasons: (A) if I was getting an offer or multiple, I wanted to be able to negotiate at the same time and not wait super long (more on that later), and (B) I wanted to be “on” for a concentrated period of time and not have to re-amp myself up. Did it work? Who knows! It worked for me, but it also meant I was getting home, bringing clothes to the dry cleaner, repacking the next day, and flying out again while storing breastmilk/doing baby things/being a slug on the couch on the weekends. You know yourself best.
Things you should know: interviews are time-consuming and a lot (though, candidly, it felt more restful to be on my own and sleeping without interruption during the interview than my home life at the time with very young kids). Either way - rest as much as you can before and after! They are a chance to present your best professional self and also your chance to get a read on the department and the campus in person (to make your own big life decisions). See Jena Doom's post here for more and another perspective that informed mine.
Let me know if you have any questions or things I should add!
Rough Outline of the Campus Visit
A typical campus interview schedule for a tenure-track R1 university professor position. Note: I did not have any “chalk talks” or teaching demonstrations as part of my campus interviews. Remember that specific details can vary based on the university's practices and the department's preferences.
Day 1: Arrival & Dinner
Morning/Afternoon:
Arrival at the university campus and check-in at a designated location (for me, it was typically the hotel where I was staying). The department typically booked the hotel, sometimes, they would arrange transportation from the airport to the hotel, and other times I was on my own to arrange transport.
Evening:
Informal dinner with a few faculty members and/or administrators and possibly graduate students (note - this is “informal” and part of the interview!)
Note! For all meals, consider what you’re eating and how easy it is to eat sometime that will give you energy and be easy to eat while socializing and answering questions. I looked ahead at menus or had a default menu item I would order (Caesar salad with chicken for lunch, salmon/fish and veggie for dinner, nothing with red sauce, no soups, just keeping it really easy). I also followed the social cues of folks around me for drinks - for me, if other folks were having a drink (most often a glass of wine), I would usually have one glass as well if I wanted one and I made sure to drink a lot of water. You know yourself best, just make sure you’re taking care of yourself and putting yourself in the best position eating and drinking wise.
Day 2: Job Talk, individual and group meetings
Morning:
Welcome breakfast with key faculty members/representatives from the department or hiring committee, administrators, and possibly students. Brief introduction to the campus and facilities.
Sometimes: departmental tour, including labs, classrooms, and other relevant facilities.
Individual or small-group meetings with faculty members to discuss research interests, collaborations, and common areas of interest.
Mid-morning/Afternoon:
JOB TALK: Research presentation or seminar delivered by the candidate. Typically ~45-60 minutes, followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A session.
Lunch/Meetings with graduate students, discussing their work and asking about the department's culture and resources.
Meetings with more faculty members and departmental leadership.
Evening:
Department-hosted dinner with a larger group of faculty members and possibly more graduate students.
Day 3: Even more individual and group meetings
Generally follows the format of Day 2, but without the job talk.
Possible activities include:
Meetings with additional faculty members, possibly those who share specific research interests.
Opportunity for the candidate to meet with research centers or tour specialized facilities.
Lunch with a mix of faculty members and graduate students, providing an opportunity for more informal discussions.
Campus tour, including key landmarks and facilities that cater to student life (this was typically informal and interspersed between meetings on Day 2 and 3, essentially while walking from meeting to meeting)
Meetings with departmental leadership to discuss the role and expectations for the position, tenure and promotion process, and departmental vision.
Meeting with university administrators, which might include a representative from the dean's office or the provost.
Candidate may have some free time to explore the local area or engage in further informal conversations with faculty members.
Final wrap-up meetings with faculty members, possibly addressing any remaining questions.
Departure and return journey.
Post-Visit: Follow-up and Decision
After the campus visit, I sent thank-you emails to everyone I met during my visit, expressing gratitude for their time and insights.
The hiring committee deliberates on the candidates and may reach out with a job offer or further inquiries.
For me, it was helpful to take notes at the end of every day about what I was excited about and additional questions I had; plus, I had the debrief on the day every night with my partner.
What I did to prep for the campus interview
Pre-work: research
I prepped Google documents full of cheat sheets and notes on the department, graduate students (writ large), any related research centers, any external departments I was interested in collaborating with, the University as a whole, and the town/city in which the university was located.
I also did cheat sheets in the same document for every person I was scheduled to meet. It took 3-5 days of prep for each campus interview to research everyone I was meeting (dozens, folks) — this does not include job talk practice.
For every individual, this involved:
Reviewing their faculty website and lab website (sometimes twitter)
I looked at any recent grants they had in NIH grant reporter
any recent news from them/their lab
I read the abstract/skimmed ~5-10 of the most cited and also most recent first/senior author papers
I would also search if they had done any podcast interviews as an easy way to exercise and do this prep at the same time
I took notes on what I had questions on/how I saw our research interests aligning in any way, and I also wrote down what I would ask them about re: the department and where they saw the department/university going.
Pre-work: outfit planning
All of these meetings and days meant that there were ~3 days of outfits to plan for. Coming into the job market in 2022, after birthing/breastfeeding two babies and two years of working from home thanks to COVID — my professional wardrobe was in sorry shape. I spent a lot of time thinking about this and planning for it with two goals in mind (1) I wanted clothes that fit and felt comfortable for marathon days of interviewing (8am-8pm was not an uncommon schedule), and (2) I wanted clothes that communicated competency, professionalism, and that I was worth all the salary and startup money they were willing to throw at me.
Resources
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Resources 〰️
What I did:
“Fun” blazer and one of many hotel bathroom selfies
Suiting: I purchased two suit pants and two matching blazers (mine were J.Crew - Kate pants in all season stretch and J.Crew blazer in I think one of their standard wool options) - navy and black. I purchased these simultaneously to ensure that the blacks/navys between the blazer and the pants matched (so they look sharp/like a matched set). I hunted down sales. I also purchased a “fun” patterned blazer from Poshmark that went well with my navy pants for my informal day one dinner outfit.
IMPORTANT: I was between sizes, so I bought the larger size and then brought my new pants to a tailor and got them tailored so they fit perfectly. Be sure that you are purchasing clothes that fit your body now. Highly recommend finding a tailor and getting your clothes tailored!
I also got a cashmere t-shirt (ivory; J.Crew), and prowled Poshmark and eBay for silk blouses (I liked the styling of Vince blouses but did not want to pay full price; NWT or slightly used really came in clutch for me. I used the Vince or Nordstrom website to assess what my size was). I did not want to deal with buttons, v-necks or any chance of gaping (see note on breastfeeding above - I was still breastfeeding my infant, IYKYK). I focused on simple silk blouses that felt great on, looked great with a blazer on AND when I took the blazer off, were crewneck, and had some visual interest (e.g., a color that looks great on me, a knotted detail, or a pattern to break up the visual note, I did cuff my blazer sleeves to reduce the formality slightly. This is personal preference/style). I tried all of these possible outfits on and took photos of them with the makeup and hair I planned to wear - this was shockingly informative, as some outfits I liked pieces of I didn’t love when put all together.
Shoes: I tried some heels but ditched them in favor of one pair of tan and one pair of black loafers. There is a lot of walking for interview days
Accessories
Work bag: I also did not have a nice work bag, so my combined Christmas and anniversary present from my partner and my parents was a leather tote bag (from Lo & Sons, which I absolutely love).
Jewelry - I kept it simple. Small gold hoops. I bought a vintage gold Seiko watch from eBay and wore a few rings I often wear.
Makeup/Hair: I kept this simple and true to what I typically wear. I focused on cream formulas primarily because they have good staying power for me, and used the Urban Decay setting spray religiously. I brought my own shampoo and soap - YMMV, but I liked to have products I was used to using.
What I wore for campus interviews
Pre-work: packing list items you might want to consider
Obviously Clothes + Toiletries
Surviving (maybe thriving?) the night before Campus Interview 2
I also packed workout clothes so I could get a walk/workout in on the mornings of my interview to calm my nerves, everything I needed to sleep well in a strange place (eye mask, ear plugs, heating pad, cozy socks, super comfortable and warm pjs because I find hotel rooms super cold, tea bags of my favorite tea), and planned travel clothes that, in the event a faculty member picked me up from the airport, I would feel put together.
Tech
Laptop + charger
Phone + charger
Kindle (just for reading for fun)
Clicker for presentation
Notebook/Print-outs with names of everyone you're meeting with and one line about their research (Something you can memorize, or at the very least, read during a bathroom break) — I put all of my meetings into my google calendar, and then added notes about each person in it so I could quickly look at my phone for notes, I kept the notebook in my hotel room for before/after the day began/ended.
Projector dongle that converts whatever you have to VGA (you will need it)
USB Drive with a copy of your talk
Survival for during the day
Extra contacts
Snacks that can be eaten quickly and won’t get stuck in your teeth or make a mess (I didn’t actually eat any snacks in the bathroom or in between meetings, but I’ve heard of folks who have).
breath mints (coffee breath is real, and sometimes a mint during a bathroom break was the pickup I needed)
Mini kleenex
Water bottle
Hand cream
"Emergency" 3"X4" Zipper Pouch with things you might need in the middle of the day:
Tide stain stick mini
Eye glass cleaner
Tweezers
Mini Emery Board
Chapstick (or Shea Butter for lips + cuticles)
Advil/Tylenol
Blister moleskins/bandaids
Floss
