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I applied for some faculty position in September 2021, and four days ago, I received an email mentioning that

We have now started with the recruitment process and are pleased to inform you that your application has been shortlisted.

Please let us know if you are still interested in order for us to arrange an interview for you scheduled on XX-XX-XXXX [five days later].

I replied confirming that I still interested and will be available for the interview as scheduled.

However, no specific details were given for me regarding the interview, like how long it will last or whether I'm supposed to give a talk or not. My interview is scheduled online.

Should I ask for the above details or just prepare for either case?

Is it also going to make a negative impression on my side if I ask such questions?

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I think it is ok to ask what format it will take - just don't send multiple nagging emails. The best prep you can do is revisit all the info you have on the department/ institute, look at the student focused pages (what do they promise, who do they aim to attract) and look at some sample interview questions (best to get a friend to ask them for practice). Be prepared for:

  • Tell us about your career to date (positive, achievement focused, not too long) Why are you interested in coming to X? How could you add to our curriculum? What is your teaching philosophy ? How does your research compliment what we do here at X?
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Since you originally said that the interview is "tomorrow", it is probably too late to get any useful information, but I suspect that if they wanted a talk, other than a general chat about your research, then they would have made that clear. "Surprise" isn't a useful evaluation tool for potential faculty.

Given a longer time frame, say a week or so, it would be appropriate to ask if anything in particular is expected.

But, a discussion of research and teaching philosophy will likely occur. They will probably be looking at how you present yourself. They might even want you to meet a student (or a few).

But a formal talk would have been mentioned, so that they could, for example, advertise it locally.

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  • It is going to be online actually, I forgot to mention this.
    – AlFagera
    Apr 25, 2022 at 10:55
  • You still might have a few slides ready that you can share to support what you say, especially for questions about your research. Be careful not to exaggerate, though. But some things are easier to grasp when visualized.
    – Snijderfrey
    Apr 25, 2022 at 11:09

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