You're ready to hang that diploma in an office and join the ranks of academia. The only thing left standing between you and the title of "professor" is an interview with the department chair.
But fret not. Sure, it's a big interview, but the department chair isn't your adversary. "My approach isn't to try and give the person a hard time," says Boston University psychology department chair Michael Lyons, PhD. "Interviewing is stressful enough without me making it harder."
In fact, the interview is designed to see how well your needs and those of the university mesh and give you an opportunity to showcase your ambitions. Nonetheless, plenty of perfectly fair questions can catch you by surprise.
Typical toughies
For example, the questions that most often trip up candidates are about how well they'll fit in at a particular institution, says Lyons.
"What we want to know is, 'What is your vision? What can you contribute to enhance the department,'" Lyons says.
To answer such questions, be familiar with the department and the faculty, Lyons recommends. Know what people are researching and suggest ways your expertise and training can contribute.
Another category of questions that interviewees sometimes find hard to field is: How well-prepared are you for academic life?
"I'm not averse to asking them to discuss the implications and applications of their research and how it relates to recent literature," says Stephen Hinshaw, PhD, psychology department chair at the University of California, Berkeley. The take home message: Be up on the current trends in your field and prepare to discuss how your research fits in.
Keeping your cool
If you're hit with a question you didn't expect, don't panic, Hinshaw advises. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that interviewers don't expect you to supply the perfect answer to every question. Then, be honest.
"Admit that this question caught you off-guard," Hinshaw says. "And then relate the question back to something you do know and can talk about."
Let's say the department chair asks you about your vision for the department and you suddenly find yourself blanking. Take a moment to compose yourself. Admit that it's a very large question, but your first steps would be to perhaps improve a few areas.
And if you really don't know the answer, don't be afraid to ask for additional information. For instance, if you're asked about a hot new finding and you've somehow missed the news, don't try to fake it. Ask the interviewer to explain the research a bit, and then discuss how your own experience pertains to it. Remember, your interviewer isn't playing mind games with you, so return the favor.
Stacey Daughters, PhD, an assistant psychology professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, who joined the department in 2006, hit a rough spot when an interviewer posed a question about her research and then pointed out that her explanation didn't answer his question. Rather than freeze up at his icy response, Daughters asked him to explain his question further and she nailed her answer on the second try.
"Don't get defensive if you think a question is a bad one," Daughters says. "Be confident about your work and...ask for explanations if you're unclear how to respond to something."