INFORMS Academic Job Search Panel Ana Muriel University of Massachusetts Amherst

The Academic Interview u Interviews typically start in January u Most last 1 or 2 days u 1 hour – 1 ½ hour research talk u ½ hour to 1 hour meetings with a variety of faculty members –Research, life –Some may quiz you –Be prepared to ask questions u Breakfast, lunch, dinner –More informal, get to know you

The Academic Job Talk u One hour presentation of your research –Plan for lots of questions! –Must be interesting and understandable to a wide variety of faculty –Highlight importance of the research »Motivation »Contribution/importance of your results –Discuss future research directions and possibly funding sources –Chance to demonstrate your teaching ability

Preparing for an Interview u Plan ahead: –Identify the requirements of the job that you're interviewing for. –Research the department and people you will be meeting with –Be prepared to answer and ASK questions u You need to be prepared to give a –1-minute (“elevator”) –5-minute (“office one-on-one”) summary of your work

Typical Questions u Where do YOU want to be 5 years from now? u What are your career goals? u What is your research plan in the short/medium term? u Where will you seek research funding? Why? u What are your target journals? u What courses would you like to teach? u If you were given the opportunity to start a new (PhD) course, what would it be? u What attracted you to our school? u What salary are you seeking?

Illegal Questions Employers should not ask about any of the following, because to not hire a candidate because of any one of them is discriminatory: –Race –Color –Sex –Religion –National origin –Birthplace –Age –Disability –Marital/family status Your Options –Answer the question. –Answer the "intent" of the question.

Things you may want to ask… u Job Content –What is the typical course load? Undergrad vs. grad? –What are the courses the department has greater need for covering? –Does the department have a formal workload model? »What are the expectations in terms of research, teaching and service? »What is the typical service load?

Things you may want to ask… u Resources: –Are graduate students funded through Teaching Assistanshipaships/fellowships the first year? –Computing resources and support? –Are there initiatives within the department/School/University related to my area? –Travel/research budgets u Benefits: booklet with all the info? –Medical, retirement, dependent care, kids tuition…. –You may not want to ask this unless it comes up, but be aware of it in making your decision

Things you may want to ask… u Position History and Future –Why is this position open? Replacement? Growth? –Is the department/school growing? –In what ways has this department/school been most successful over the years? –What significant changes do you foresee in the near future? New initiatives?

Things you may want to ask… u Promotion and Tenure –What is the path for promotion and tenure within the department? –How is one evaluated in the tenure process? –What are the expectations in terms of research, teaching and service?

General Interview Tips u Eye contact –Show you want the job with interest u Be confident u Be positive –Never talk negatively of previous employer/experience u Adapt u Relate u Encourage –By asking questions, encourage the interviewer to share information