Post-Interview Updates

So folks, I made it back safe and sound (despite a freak snow and ice storm) from the interview, which went quite well. I've been meaning to update the blog for a while but I have been completely swamped under end-of-the-semester papers, bureaucratic nightmares, and unexpected financial aid problems.

Back to the interview though...it was a really hectic, nerve-wracking, and incredibly helpful experience. I learned A LOT about what to expect in these situations. And my earlier description of an academic obstacle course was definitley not far off the mark!

Here's a summarized breakdown of interview details: After a long trip (3 different planes to get there!) I arrived to find myself in a somewhat unexpected winter wonderland. (City X) had experienced a freak snow storm that dumped more than 20 inches of snow. Citizens were freaking out because snow is not a common weather occurence in their neck of the woods and so they were all a bit unable to deal with it. Apparently the campus of the university had even been closed for a day due to the weather. Anyway, I made it to my hotel safe and sound (although I was freezing!). And I will say, they shelled out some cash to put me up in a really nice hotel. I had one of those sweet loft-style rooms with a kitchen and living room downstairs and bedroom upstairs. Admittedly, I gave a bit of a squee when I arrived. I stayed up for a few hours doing some last minute note-tweaking on my research presentation and then I went to bed and slept for a solid nine hours. The next morning I was up at 6am getting spruced up in my fabby interview outfit. Then I made it down to the pub/restaurant for a hearty breakfast and several cups of coffee to give me plenty of energy for the day. I was ready and waiting at 7:45 for my departmental ride to appear at 8am. That's when I encountered the first glitch of the day. The person scheduled to pick me up phoned the hotel at 8am and told me she had overslept and would be late. Cue Sparks having a minor nervous breakdown but concealing it from one and all. I calmy asked her if this would affect my already tight schedule for the day, which she sort of brushed off. I endeavored to maintain my composure by telling myself these kinds of things happen all the time. Well, around 8:30 she shows up and we head to campus. By now I'm a half hour behind schedule and when I arrive she does tell the faculty members that it was her fault we were late (which I greatly appreciated). The department chair showed me to an office I would have access to during my breaks and then we all settled into a room for my research presentation. Cue glitch #2--they had not tested the projector unit for their computer in advance and discovered they didn't know how to use it properly. A technician was sent for and my presentation was delayed another 20 minutes at least. But fortunately (and I was sweating mental bullets at this point) they got the projector working and I was able to give my presentation without any problems. And I will say that it seemed to go over very well with them. I got several good questions at the end but we had to cut the Q&A short because I was scheduled to meet with two of the Deans and was already running late. So I was promptly hurried away to meet the Deans who were both very nice and made the university sound incredibly appealing in terms of research money and faculty benefits. But then of course I find out that they have no role in the hiring process whatsoever, which mentally makes me question why I'm spending so much time talking with them. But oh well. After these meetings I had time for a quick bathroom break before my extended meeting with the chair of the department. We hit it off very well and had a great conversation in her office. After this, I went to lunch with her and two other faculty members. Again, they all seemed very nice and we had a good conversation (no weird lapses or silences). They re-asserted their interest in my research, commended my presentation, and asked me some more questions. Once our meal was concluded we had to hurry back to campus for my scheduled teaching presentation. I have to say this started off a bit awkwardly--first of all, they didn't bring me to a classroom (which I'd been expecting) but instead used a small conference room. This proved a bit problematic in terms of space because there were a lot of students and they had trouble finding places to sit. There was no board or anything for me to write on, which meant I had to change the approach to my presentation somewhat. Then all the professors sat in a row against one of the walls, but with only about a foot of room between them and many of the students who kept fidgeting and looking behind them at first. But once everything settled down we managed to proceed in a decent fashion and they turned out to be a very smart and talkative group of students. After this was over I had about a 5 minute break before the formal 90 minute interview. By now I was feeling a tad tired, but I mustered my energy and went to the interview in high spirits. This formal interview was probably the most rigorous part of the process. My mock interview had prepared me fairly well beforehand, but I still received a large number of questions I hadn't really been anticipating. I managed to answer them all, although I found several of them to be quite difficult in terms of requiring me to have instant-on-the-spot recall for certain things. But it was definitely a very rewarding experience overall because now I feel better prepared for a number of different kinds of questions in these interview scenarios. Afterwards, I had a half hour to unwind and check email in my office before going to dinner. At first, the dinner was going to be canceled due to the weather. But then it cleared up enough that two of the faculty members were willing to go (the others lived further out and didn't want to chance not being able to drive home). They took me to a really fabulous Italian-fusion restaurant and we had some really fun conversations about things both academic and non-academic. Then I went back to my hotel and CRASHED. The next morning I was up at 5am and heading to the airport by 6am. But then, of course, my first flight was delayed 5 HOURS (!) due to ice and fog. So in the end I missed my final connecting flight in Atlanta and had to sleep overnight at an airport hotel before catching a flight the next morning to make it the last leg of the way home.

All in all, the interview was a great (albeit exhausting) experience. I learned so much that I now feel incredibly confident and infinitely more calm about future interviews. I was rather disappointed that one of the faculty members on the hiring committee could not be present at my interview because she was snowed in. During the process I also got a more balanced perspective on the school, department, and location in general. It was my number one choice at first, but after visiting I've discovered a few reservations that I didn't initially have. It's still a great job to be sure, but I won't be completely devastated or heart-broken if I don't get it because I guess it wasn't quite as perfect as I'd imagined it.

I have not heard back from the search committee yet and may not know anything until early January. I will definitely update when I hear anything either way.

But, I'm happy to say, I have at least one MLA interview at the end of the month! This was another job high on my list, so I'm excited to meet with some of the committee members. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a follow-up campus visit!