Thread by @rwidome

In this installment of unhiding the #HiddenCurriculum I want to focus on interviewing for first faculty positions!

(#academictwitter, @AcademicChatter, #epitwitter) 1/14

https://twitter.com/rwidome/status/1272923501708656644

In my field (epidemiology) the daylong or multiday in-person interviews for faculty positions (which some fields call "the fly-out") include a public talk and a series of one-on-one or group meetings and interviews. First, let's talk about the job talk.

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There are two things you need to accomplish in this job talk, you'll need to:

1) Seem like a professor
2) Display your prior work in a way that highlights your strengths and shows niches you could fill at this institution.

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#2 is obvious, I'm going to skip talking about it. #1 is really the #HiddenCurriculum piece that people aren't so aware of.

#1 is also where institutional biases (racism, sexism, classism) *really* creep in.

So let's not pretend like #1 isn't important.

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How do you seem like a professor? You need to show the audience that you are not a postdoc or student by:

1) Showing you can come up with and chase your own ideas
2) Demonstrating you can clearly communicate complex stuff
3) Illustrating your future directions

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So when you talk about research you led, be very clear that it was your idea, or you are the lead author on the paper, or you pursued funding to launch the study.

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If you want to talk about a study that you didn't wholly lead, that's okay! Just be clear about your role and the parts you did lead. It's maddening when people are vague about this and you can't tell what they actually did!

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Talk about not just what you did in your research but what you found, what it means, how it has been or could be used. What is possible now that wasn't possible before you did this work? How does it impact human health or your field?

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It doesn't matter how technical or methodological or theoretical your work is. You should still be able to clearly communicate it to a room of academics in your field. If you can't do that they will question whether you can teach or work with students.

When you talk about next steps, don't say: "Next I want to study X."

Instead say: "I want to learn about how Y influences X so that we can do Z. To do this I will apply for this grant and I'd love to work with Awesome Center Here that many of you are a part of."

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And most of all, DO NOT GO OVER TIME. This really annoys people. Practice your talk and be sure that even if it gets off to a late start there will be time for questions. As you prep ask the search chair how much time they'd like for you talking and for questions.

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Regarding one-on-one (or group) interviews. I see a lot of candidates make the mistake of only talking about themselves the whole time! Weird, you'd think a polished 30-min elevator speech monologue that really toots your horn would be the way to go, right? NO!!

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You are not trying out for valedictorian or giving a stump speech for an election. You are auditioning to be a colleague!

What do colleagues do? They have conversations and discussions, they are interested in their colleagues' research, they look for ways to collaborate.

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In conclusion:

When interviewing, show expertise, experience, what you do, your productivity, your scientific rigor, gaps you can fill, etc.

But also, if you want the job, project that you are a *professor* and a *colleague* that this faculty would be excited to have.

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Epilogue: The day after be sure to write individualized e-mail thank yous to everyone you talked to. Yes, e-mail. Yes, the next day. Yes, individualized. Yes, everyone.

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