1. 1 High Stakes Communication: Interviews and Job Talks Prepared by The Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication

2. 2 Successful Candidates  Analyze situation & audience  Organize knowledge and experience  Convey confidence and professionalism  Give great job talks  Handle questions

3. 3 Research Your Employer  Mission  Organizational structure and culture  Faculty, Deans, students  Research foci, G/UG programs, facilities  Ranking  Funding  Size and location

4. 4 Sources of Information  Web sites  Advisors, peers  Conferences and meetings  Journals  Career services  Promotional materials

5. 5 Know Yourself  Assess strengths and weaknesses  List life & career goals  Create table of key job satisfaction factors  Stay aware of current events

6. 6 Know Your Work  Assemble and review job portfolio − CV − Research stmt − Teaching philosophy − Papers and grants  Technical skills  Supervising or mentoring  Service

7. 7 Get Organized  Review notes on employer  Match your qualifications to their needs  Formulate questions to ask

8. 8 Show What You Know!  Greeting −Small talk −Confident, Can-Do stmt  Road Map −Deliver topic sentences −Provide concrete examples −Organize for clarity −Adapt to audience  Closing (memorize) −Summarize qualifications −Reinforce interest in position

9. 9 Time to Practice Work in pairs. For the next three minutes Person A will be the interviewer, and Person B will be the candidate. Switch roles for the second instruction.

10. 10 Tell me a little bit about yourself.

11. 11 Describe your research.

12. 12 Convey Confidence and Professionalism  Posture  Gestures  Eye contact  Voice quality  Attire

13. 13 Listen Actively  Be attentive − Eye contact − Body position  Focus on main points  Use paraphrasing and reflection  Filter emotions and distractions  Ask questions

14. 14 Agendas Driving Questions  Obtain additional information  Request clarification  Seek recommendation  Demonstrate how smart they are  Embarrass or intimidate

15. 15 Time to Practice Work in pairs. For the next three minutes Person A will be the interviewer, and Person B will be the candidate. Switch roles for the second instruction.

16. 16 What are your most significant accomplishments?

17. 17 Tell me about your teaching experience. What’s your philosophy and/or style of teaching?

18. 18 Success without Stress  Breathe  Loosen up  Eat  Sleep  Avoid caffeine  Eliminate negativity

19. 19 Negative Talk Positive Talk --- I’m freaking out! I’m going to blow this. ++ I’m prepared. This could lead to a great opportunity. --- He/she thinks I’m an idiot. ++ The interviewer is on my side. He/she needs me to fill important role in the dept.

20. 20 Practice!  Rehearse out loud  Mock interview w/ different people  Get videotaped  Keep a journal

21. 21 Preparing a Job Talk

22. 22 High Impact Presenters  Size up the situation  Organize an argument  Convey confidence  Integrate visuals  Handle questions

23. 23 Size up the Situation: Audience  Who is your audience? — Why are they interested? — How much do they know? — What criteria do they use to make decisions? — What do they value?

24. 24 Tailor Message to Audience Non-Experts  Make it interesting  Provide background  Define terms  Distinguish between fact and opinion  Use examples, analogies, visuals Experts  State how and why  Present limited background info  Use language of discipline  State inferences and conclusions  Cite references From: Barrett, Deborah (2006). Leadership Communication.

25. 25 Technical Content  The problem/question (what you want to know)  Significance (why it matters)  Work that led up to/relates to your work  Specific aims  Method/approach  Results (what you observed)  Interpretation (what it means)  Novelty (how it contributes to the field)  Future work (what challenges remain)

26. 26  Excruciating detail  Fragments of information Typical but Difficult

27. 27 Nano-Medicine Nanoshells Hydrogel Polymer Results Conclusions Hydrogel Polymer Hydrogel Polymer Hydrogel Polymer Fragmented Information

28. 28 Start Strong & End Strong Introduction  Motivate interest  State key points  Preview topics  Establish credibility  No apologies  No “Today I’m gonna talk about... ” Conclusion  Send cue  Restate & summarize  Spell out implications  No new info  No “That’s it.”  No ?s slide

29. 29 Keep Audience with You  Create coherence  Make intuitive connections explicit  Weak verbal cues − “And another thing” − “So” − “Next”  Strong verbal cues − Sequence  “First” − Contrast  “However”  “On the other hand” − Causality  “Therefore”  “Consequently”

30. 30 Make Them Feel Smart about Your Data  Relevant results that support key points  4-step explanation − question − describe − report result − interpret result

31. 31 Handle Questions  Anticipate questions  LISTEN  Repeat or rephrase  Watch body language  Don’t bluff  Wrap up well

32. 32 Getting Grilled  Keep your cool  Pause to think  Restate question in neutral terms  Make direct eye contact  Look for common ground  Respond with specific facts and figures  Break away

33. 33 References 1.Barrett, Deborah. Leadership Communication. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2006. 2.D’Arcy, Jan. Technically Speaking. Columbus: Battelle Press, 1998.

34. 34 Image References www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/ed/jobs.html http://http://www.toastofchicago.org/sc-image.gif http://www.uni-koblenz.de/~vladimir/breviary/dilbert-powerpoint.gif www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/ news/october99/october.html http://www.resumetapebook.com/i/tn_interview_jpeg.jpg www.nebhworker.org/images/organize.gif http://www.resumetapebook.com/i/tn_interview_jpeg.jpg http://a.abcnews.com/media/US/images/pd_job_interview_030812_nv.jpg http://www.tesl.iastate.edu/projects/onlineunits/kawaler/img/listening.gif http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2001/11/06/tuesday_photos.html http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2001/11/05/monday_photos.html math.rice.edu/~lanius/ Algebra/stress.html http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/news/_archives/April2003/Stacy15.gif

35. 35 Contact: The Cain Project Tracy Volz, Ph.D. Abercrombie B107 Ext. 6192 tmvolz@rice.edu Mary Purugganan, Ph.D. Anderson 215 Ext. 6128 maryp@rice.edu Linda Driskill, Ph.D. Anderson 211C Ext. 6195 driskila@rice.edu