Hi everyone, i've had 1 campus visit so far, and there was only 1 question (asked a couple times in individual meetings) that I really didn't feel prepared for. What's more, I still don't feel I have a good answer to it. The question is: How did you get interested in ... (your research topics)?
I suppose this may come up in Psych because so many of us study things that overlap with "real life." So what i'm wondering is, are they expecting some kind of deeply personal story about my grandmother in which i had an epiphany about what i wanted to do with my life? B/c in my case that's not really the story, it was more an evolving interest in certain social issues and a gradual decision to pursue those issues via research rather than other avenues. Not very interesting from a storytelling perspective.
Just wondering, how do other people handle this question? What do you think they're really looking for?
I bet this is more about getting a sense of how you generally present yourself rather than about the how you came to your research interests. They probably want to see if you can sum up your background and what may be unique about you in a brief but engaging way. In individual meetings it may even be more of an ice breaker, or a way for the individual to catch up on your interests if he or she hadn't had time to read your materials very closely. Your answer about evolving interest in social issues sounds like a fine answer to me. Congrats on the campus visit and good luck!
I have a couple of interviews coming up, and questions like this one are helpful, because I get to hear what people are being asked, and think about how I would respond myself. I didn't have an epiphany either, so lacking a "story", I think I would use this sort of question as an opportunity to comment on an inspirational teacher or mentor, and describe how I've incorporated his approach into my own teaching and mentoring to pass the excitement and enthusiasm along. Does that seem too tangential?
Just wondering, are any of you applying to teaching positions at community colleges? If so, has the interview process been different from that of SLACS? Have they required you to do a teaching demo? Thanks!!!
I got asked the "how did you become interested in..." question, and the person asking it clarified that (s)he was curious about which of two aspects of my research led me in (e.g., whether personality or development was the primary interest leading to an interest in personality development). It may be an attempt to get a label on what school/subfield you see yourself as coming from?
Community college interviews are very different. I interviewed for a post doc a few years ago, two community colleges, and a private college last year. The post doc, one CC interview and the PC were all 8 hour-2 day interviews with numerous dinners and meetings. However the remaining CC position was a 45 minute interview with several faculty, and two students, drilling me. In other words it varies greatly at the CC level.
When you get an offer, what will you negotiate for, besides the obvious (e.g., office, furniture, etc) and equipment specific to your research (e.g., neuropsych tests)?
To negotiations question: If the position is tenure-track and you already have a bit of teaching experience, you may want to also consider negotiating time off of your promotion/tenure clock....
9 comments:
Hi everyone, i've had 1 campus visit so far, and there was only 1 question (asked a couple times in individual meetings) that I really didn't feel prepared for. What's more, I still don't feel I have a good answer to it. The question is: How did you get interested in ... (your research topics)?
I suppose this may come up in Psych because so many of us study things that overlap with "real life." So what i'm wondering is, are they expecting some kind of deeply personal story about my grandmother in which i had an epiphany about what i wanted to do with my life? B/c in my case that's not really the story, it was more an evolving interest in certain social issues and a gradual decision to pursue those issues via research rather than other avenues. Not very interesting from a storytelling perspective.
Just wondering, how do other people handle this question? What do you think they're really looking for?
I bet this is more about getting a sense of how you generally present yourself rather than about the how you came to your research interests. They probably want to see if you can sum up your background and what may be unique about you in a brief but engaging way. In individual meetings it may even be more of an ice breaker, or a way for the individual to catch up on your interests if he or she hadn't had time to read your materials very closely. Your answer about evolving interest in social issues sounds like a fine answer to me. Congrats on the campus visit and good luck!
I have a couple of interviews coming up, and questions like this one are helpful, because I get to hear what people are being asked, and think about how I would respond myself. I didn't have an epiphany either, so lacking a "story", I think I would use this sort of question as an opportunity to comment on an inspirational teacher or mentor, and describe how I've incorporated his approach into my own teaching and mentoring to pass the excitement and enthusiasm along. Does that seem too tangential?
Just wondering, are any of you applying to teaching positions at community colleges? If so, has the interview process been different from that of SLACS? Have they required you to do a teaching demo? Thanks!!!
I got asked the "how did you become interested in..." question, and the person asking it clarified that (s)he was curious about which of two aspects of my research led me in (e.g., whether personality or development was the primary interest leading to an interest in personality development). It may be an attempt to get a label on what school/subfield you see yourself as coming from?
Community college interviews are very different. I interviewed for a post doc a few years ago, two community colleges, and a private college last year. The post doc, one CC interview and the PC were all 8 hour-2 day interviews with numerous dinners and meetings. However the remaining CC position was a 45 minute interview with several faculty, and two students, drilling me.
In other words it varies greatly at the CC level.
When you get an offer, what will you negotiate for, besides the obvious (e.g., office, furniture, etc) and equipment specific to your research (e.g., neuropsych tests)?
To negotiations question: If the position is tenure-track and you already have a bit of teaching experience, you may want to also consider negotiating time off of your promotion/tenure clock....
A new version of this blog has been created for the 2008-09 season.
http://psychjob.blogspot.com/
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