Campus interviews are the final stages of the academic application process that are 1-2 days of meetings, lunches, dinners, and tours during which you will be evaluated. Make no mistake, you are being interviewed the whole time. But also be aware that you are interviewing them, too, to determine whether the department, university, and/or location are the right fight for you.

The underlying goal for the search committee during the campus interview is to answer the following questions:

1. Will this person be successful at our campus and with our students, our community, our location, and our resources?
2. Will they like it here?
3. How will this candidate lessen my workload?

Your own questions are not that different. The market is tight, but this does not mean that you must accept a job that is not a good match for you.

The campus interview consists of most or all of the following elements, for which you will receive a schedule in advance of your arrival (if you do not receive one, ask for it before you arrive):

• Breakfasts/lunches/dinners with search committee
• Breakfasts/lunches/dinners with various department faculty members
• Breakfast or lunch with department graduate students
• Meeting/interview with search committee
• Meeting/interview with department head
• Meeting/interview with various individual faculty members who sign up to meet you
• Your job talk
• The reception following your job talk
• Meeting/interview with the Dean
• Tour of campus with one or more graduate students
• Tour of town with faculty member
• Small break periods, during which you may or may not get access to an office
• Visits to relevant places on campus (i.e. library, specific Research Centre, etc.)

Because each discipline has different measures of formality, we recommend asking this question to your supervisor or mentor or fellow colleagues on the job market. Additionally, attend job talks at your department and observe how other job candidates dress in your field. Taking into consideration the information you received from mentors and from the job talks you attended, dress however you feel comfortable and confident in.

Yes, they are. While less formal, you will be asked questions throughout your meal. Choose food that is less awkward to eat while also talking with others. Bring snacks with you to eat between the meals because you will likely not eat a full meal while talking for the majority of the time. Do not forget to drink lots of water. If alcohol is available, read the room: if others are drinking an alcoholic drink, you can, too, but do not feel pressured to do so. If you are drinking alcohol, pace yourself and limit the number of drinks you have.

Let the search committee know if you have food allergies or any other dietary restriction to avoid awkward situations that leave you hungry and awkward exchanges with your hosts as you arrive at a restaurant.

You will need to be prepared to move into details and specifics to discuss your qualifications for and interest in that particular department. Remember that researching the department and the university where you will be interviewing is crucial for handling the search committee/faculty questions. You must be prepared to give thoughtful responses to their questions, and relate your answers to the job and the needs of that particular department. Focus on projecting confidence and collegiality at all times.

How you frame and structure your answers will depend on the particular contexts of the position, department, and/or university. For example, are they a primarily undergraduate institution focused on teaching? If so, you will probably want to focus on your teaching and mentorship experiences. Are they are an R1 university? Then, focusing on your publication and conference record would be appropriate.

The kinds of questions asked are divided into three categories: Research, Teaching, and Service. Below are details for what they are looking for in each category.

Research

Questions related to research inquire if your research plan will enhance the department’s reputation and meet the department goals. The committee wants to know if you will be able to get started on a research program quickly. Expect questions about your research, methods, and the plans you have for your research. Below are a few sample questions:

1. Tell us about your current work, area of study/research, referred publications.
2. How does your work contribute to the field or society/community/university?
3. Why and how did you choose your dissertation/thesis topic?
4. What theoretical framework did you use when developing your research?

Teaching

Questions related to teaching inquire if you have the competencies to teach courses at the undergraduate and graduate level in their department. Prepare past evidence of effective teaching so that you can answer questions with concrete examples. Below are a few sample questions:

1. What is your teaching philosophy? How does it influence your approach in the classroom?
2. Tell us about your teaching experience, what did you like/not like? How did you deal with problems? What did student evaluations say? What have you learned from your teaching experiences?
3. How would you structure a course on X? (often a required or introductory course, but it could be any course you have indicated you could teach)
4. What texts/resources would you use in your classes or seminars?

Service

Questions related to service and/or collegiality are inquiring if you would be a good fit for the department and a good colleague to work with. Will you be able to share the work load of supervision and committees? What administrative experience/strengths do you have? Do you have any past service experience worth mentioning that would indicate the kinds of impact you can have on the department?

1. We encourage close connections between faculty and students. How important do you think this is, and how would you find the balance between close relationships and professional distance?
2. Why do you think you are suited to this kind of environment?
3. Have you been actively involved in committee work in the past?
4. How well do you interact with others in your field? How well do you get along with those who have very different opinions and/or whose work you do not respect?

In some departments, students, especially graduate students, hold significant influence on the hiring decision. While this will not be the case in all departments, it is a good strategy to assume they do. Take advantage of the opportunity to meet the graduate students. Take an interest in their work, in their insights about the department, institution, and area of research. Never talk down to them. Graduate or undergraduate students are usually responsible for the campus tour. The same rules apply in that context. Take an interest, be engaged, speak to them like equals. They will have some excellent questions to ask you, and can be excellent allies in the hiring process.

Like the search committee and faculty, students want to know if you would be a good match for the department but in terms of supervision, mentorship, and contributions to the graduate/undergraduate curriculum and experience. Students want to know if they can see you as a supervisor for themselves or for junior colleagues. Can you address a gap, whether course-wise or supervision-wise, that students feel exist in the department? Are you approachable?

Expect questions about your research, teaching, and service. But these questions will be focused on how your research, teaching, and service impact graduate and undergraduate students. Below are a few sample questions:

1. What opportunities would you create for graduate/undergraduate students to participate in your research?
2. How will you help graduate students with the development of ideas or to get involved in research?
3. What meetings/journals/conferences have you been involved in? What would you recommend to graduate, or undergraduate students?
4. How active do you plan to be at the university (committee work, working with graduate students, conducting research, etc.)? Will you offer to supervise graduate students?

Broadly, you can ask questions related to the department’s future plans, the university community, teaching experiences, research support and opportunities, professional development advancements, industry partnerships, and students and colleagues. Below are some questions to ask specific groups of people during the campus visit.

Questions to ask Deans/Chairs

1. I have read the university’s strategic plan. What is the current strategic/development plan for the department? (If you can gather this information ahead of time, ask a specific question based on what you read in the plan)
2. Based on my research, I think there are several courses I could teach immediately and a few I would be interested in developing. What courses would you see me teaching?
3. I see that X department is working on Y. I am interested in cross-disciplinary connections. What is the departmental plan for interdisciplinary relationships?
4. In the future I would like to X. What is the process for establishing new courses or new areas of research?

Questions to ask faculty

1. What types of support and mentoring opportunities are there for new hires?
2. What is the working atmosphere/colleague support/workload like here?
3. What strategies/technologies have you found particularly useful with students?
4. What committees are available for faculty to join? Do these committees have influence on decisions made in the department/on campus?

Questions to ask students

1. How have you found the faculty as mentors/teachers? Are they approachable and supportive?
2. How does the university support your experiences? What services are provided and where are they lacking?
3. What type of training did you receive as a TA/RA? Was it sufficient?
4. Is there enough diversity of people and ideas to encourage and support students with diverse or unique areas of interest?

For additional questions that you may be asked or that you can ask, click here to download a list.

The job talk is widely considered the climax of the campus visit of an R1 institute and of most research-focused positions. The Teaching demonstrations are the standard equivalent for teaching-focused institutions/positions. Sometimes the teaching demonstration replaces the job talk, and sometimes it is required in addition to the job talk.

The job talk is a presentation of a specific topic related to your research that is relevant to the position. Audience members are both faculty and grad students. The presentation is typically followed by a Q&A.

The teaching demo can be organized in a number of ways, but here are the most common: 1) The teaching demo occurs in an existing class that is currently being taught; 2) a mock class of students is assembled for the demo’s purpose; 3) you present to the faculty, treating them like a potential class. While the teaching demo does not have a Q&A, there is the interactions with the students that you must anticipate.

Be sure to prepare well in advance so that you can present your material confidently and deal effectively with the question period afterwards. Specifics about the job talk (such as length, delivery method, etc.) can vary widely by field. Make sure you research this important information to prepare adequately.

One way to prepare for your job talk is to give a mock job talk in your home department or with some fellow students. The key is to practice until your job talk is confident and smooth, including how you respond to questions. Practice using an authoritative tone that projects confidence. While you are practicing, make sure to time your talk. Do not go over time.

Practicing your job talk often will allow you to speak dynamically, to look up from your paper if you are reading it, and to speak fluidly about your topic if you are using only notes. If you are unsure, tape yourself giving the talk so that you can listen to how your voice sounds and what message it is sending.

Advanced research into the student body, the department’s courses, and, if possible, their courses’ syllabi is important for determining your job talk. When you are told the topic and level of class you will be teaching, research the standards and expectations of similar courses. Do not assume that those standards and expectations are the same across universities. If your supervisor or mentor has connections to the department, gather advice and information from them. Like the job talk, you can practice this, too, with friends or colleagues.

You can anticipate what questions faculty may ask based on the research you have done on the specific faculty members and the department. You can also integrate some level of control what will be asked by how you organize your presentation and what content you choose to include (or exclude). Additionally, practice how to respond to questions that may seem odd or perceived as hostile. Always work to bring your answer back to your own research and strengths, rather than what you do not know.

Never apologize for what you do not know. It is best to avoid this language entirely. Instead, redirect to what you do know and can talk about. It is generally an effective strategy to respond to a question with “that is an excellent question” or “thank you for that question” and pause for thought. Doing so will give you a chance to collect yourself and to structure your answer. Also, be sure to finish strongly. Rather than “Does that answer your question?” rephrase to “I hope that answers your question,” or even “Next question.” This will project confidence and allow you to establish yourself as a colleague, rather than a grad student.

When you are dealing with questions, it is generally expected that you call on more senior faculty/audience members first before moving on to other faculty or graduate students. At the same time, make sure you are aware of the etiquette in the department for how a question period works. Do you control the Q&A, or is a faculty member responsible for selecting questions from the audience? You can ask about this in advance.

Prepare a class that is participatory, interactive, and engages in discussion. While you may prepare a lecture, keep it brief to allow more time for activities and discussion. The teaching demo is not just about you; it is about the students and how you work with students. So avoid lecture-like discussions about your research. It is okay to incorporate your research organically, but you have to demonstrate that you can, like other faculty members, teach outside of your own research. Thus, it is encouraged to choose a topic outside of your research expertise if you are given the choice to demonstrate your willingness and ability to teach more than what you research.