So, it is quite possible that you'll end up with an interview at a community college. It may be the case that our processes at BNCC are diferent --- so take that into consideration...
How the process is different from interviews at a research university or SLAC:
- Your interview will be 1 hour long, no more.
- You'll be interviewed by a group of 6-9 folks, only one or two will be from your discipline. The others are administrators and faculty from other disciplines.
- You will be given a set of questions about 30 minutes in advance.
- You'll have to do a 10 minute teaching demonstration.
- You are expected to pay for your own travel etc...
Notice -- there is NO budget for interview costs. You won't get a meal, you won't have any informal chances to talk to folks etc. In fact, we are instructed to be as uniform as possible -- asking the same questions (the ones on the sheet) and only asking individual follow-up questions if you open the door for us.
This isn't how we'd like to do it -- but, it is the way it is...
So, the thing is -- how to handle this sort of interview?What not to do: -- know that I've seen all of these kinds of behaviors...
- Focus on your research
- Name-drop about your grad school mentors
- Waste our time -- this includes asking questions you could answer within a few minutes of snooping on the internet.
- Talk AT us instead of TO us
- Condesend to us, 'cuz WE have jobs -- and you don't, so talking down to us is a bad move.
- Read your teaching demo, or go over time
- Blab on and on without realizing you have lots of questions to answer...
What to do:
- Watch your time. It will tell us how you manage your classroom.
- Give a teaching demo you can finish in 10 minutes.
- Talk to us like colleagues, but understand that only a couple of us are in your discipline.
- Come with a couple of good questions, as you should have time to ask them at the end.
Later -- I'll do a post about the interview questions and other ways CCs are different from the schools you've attended.
