electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Interviewing for fun and profit © 2008 Andy Johnson, Jason Leigh 10/10/2008 Version

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Early preparation It is always easier to get the job if you already have an advocate at the place you are applying. Talk to people at conferences (after your talk, at dinner, after other people’s talks) Does your advisor or any members of your committee have friends, colleagues, former students at places that are hiring? You will need to get recommendation letters from 3 people who know your work well. Make sure these people are impressed with your work. You will likely need to write a rough draft of those letters of recommendation - highlight the things you think are most important. This letter should be as specific as possible in relating your skills to the skills requested in the position Attend as many presentations as you can - the topic is not relevant - learn from the presenter’s good or bad technique Get business cards printed to hand out at conferences

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Rough University Search Schedule For a position starting in Fall 2010 Sep Search Committee starts meeting Nov - Position announcement appears in print and on-line (might only appear once) Dec / Jan - Most applications submitted Feb - Review of materials by the committee and selection of candidates for interviews March - Interviews If the Department is in a hurry and is organized this can get compressed into a single term

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Applying for Jobs Applying to every open position is not a good idea. Generic cover letters and resumes get quickly discarded if there isn’t an obvious match. Cover letters that specifically address issues in the job posting are much better. Put your energy where you have the most chance of success. Make sure your web page is current and describes the various work that you have done. People will check your web page to find out more about you - both as a quick first look and to get more details on your work / experience / papers.

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Faculty Search Committees Faculty searches are typically conducted by a search committee of 4-6 faculty who will cull 100+ applicants down to the top 4 or 5 to bring in and interview. Usually 1/2 to 2/3 of applicants are completely unrelated to the position announcement and are quickly discarded based on the cover letter and resume. The Department does not want to waste faculty time or money bringing in people who aren’t appropriate The reputation of your Advisor / Group / Lab / Department is taken into account. Diversity is something that all search committees need to take into account.

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Research Group Searches Searches for post-docs are much smaller and more focused. They are looking for a very specific set of skills. Individual Labs / research groups run those searches. Prior relationships are key here. Have you worked with these people before? Has your advisor worked with them before? Has one of you advisor’s former students worked with them before?

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Before the Interview Do your homework on the web. Find out about the group / department / college / university Find our about the city / region / state before you go there. What are the topics in the local news. You may be living there for the next few decades. You do have a cell phone, right? Make sure the committee members have your cell phone number, and you should probably get the number of the committee chair. This makes it much easier for members of the search committee to contact you in case of emergencies (flights being late, etc) or vice-versa. Get a good night’s rest the night before, and set multiple alarms to wake you up on time.

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago The Interview Resumes tell you something about a person but the in-person interview tells you much more. There will usually be one person or a small group who is / are interested in hiring you. Usually you meet them first at breakfast and they will give you some ’inside information’ on the department / unit that you are interviewing with. The meetings over food are important - the faculty find out what kind of person you are and you find out what kind of people they are. What neighbourhoods do they live in? What about K-12 schools? Who gives concerts in this town? Be friendly, open, and honest. Don’t get drunk. You are interviewing them and they are interviewing you

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Presentation to the Group You give an hour long presentation including questions. It should cover 2 projects in reasonable depth to show that you are diverse and deep. It should be accessible to people in other disciplines but rigorous enough for people in your discipline. You are being judged on how you present yourself and your work. This matters a lot. Most people who will be polled about hiring you will ONLY attend this talk. It is your ONLY chance to make an impression on those people. This talk will be similar, but not the same as your dissertation. Revise your slides, don’t just skip over slides during the talk. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Rehearse multiple times in front of people who will be honest with you. Really. Make sure your slides are very well done Bring backup copies of your talk, put a copy on a public ftp site Learn from going to every other talk you can go to

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Talking Individually You will meet with several of the faculty/staff for about half an hour each, usually in their office or lab. This is where you try to learn about what they do - to see if you really want to be part of the department / unit, and to show them that you could be a potential collaborator that can help them. Figure out what things that you have done that might relate to what your interviewer does. This is where having taken a broader range of classes in the past and worked on a number of different projects helps you. This is also your chance to find out what the department / unit is like from different points of view. Is the department / unit fragmented? Do they seem to like each other?

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Talking with the Head You meet with the head of the department / unit. Here you will get the big picture. Departments will usually provide a “startup package” to get your research off the ground. You need to figure out if that amount is enough to get your research going until you have grants of your own. The department will rarely have equipment already there for you to do research. It is OK to ask the Department head what that package is, and the department head might ask you what you need. Be prepared to answer. At a University you can also asked what teaching loads are like, and what the expectations for getting tenure are.

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago Things to keep in mind You should have 3-6 month plans and 1-2 year plans figured out - you are expected to hit the ground running. You are now the master, remember. For a university position: How are you going to differentiate yourself from your advisor? How are you going to get funding? How are you going to attract students? Be prepared for the Q: “Where do you see yourself 10 years from now.” An important issue: Are you being hired to expand an existing group or to start your own group? There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

electronic visualization laboratory, university of illinois at chicago More on the Job Interview It might turn out that you don’t want to go there. You are interviewing them. They will always try to present the best picture possible too. Sometimes you will be told that you will receive an offer letter in a few weeks. Don’t talk about salary until they talk about it. The salary they offer will come in the offer letter. If you have a 2-body problem ask about options for your significant other When you go home, send a “thank you” card to the head of the department / unit.