69
votes
How to answer 'Is your research going to be in biology text books one day?' question during faculty interview?
The question is clearly not please accurately predict whether your research will be mentioned in standard graduate texts for biology students in the year 2050.
Rather, the question is presumably I am ...
- 10.4k
38
votes
Accepted
A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?
No, it's not a red flag at all, you are overthinking it.
While on the face of it the situation looks a bit like back-channel reference solicitation, which if frowned upon, I think this situation is ...
- 4,071
20
votes
Is it too much to create a book cover for a potential book for an interview?
In your question, you say that you are "proposing" a monograph. This suggests that you don't actually have a contract signed with a publisher yet. If that is the case, I think it is a little ...
- 3,885
19
votes
Accepted
How to Improve Quick Thinking Skills in Mathematics
On-the-spot mathematical questions mostly test current knowledge, not "quick thinking"
I have seen various situations in interviews and other contexts where people are asked to solve or ...
- 68.6k
18
votes
Accepted
Who is responsible for paying for an on-campus visit for a faculty interview?
This may vary from place to place (country), but generally you should expect that the institution will cover the cost. Probably they won't cover first class travel or expensive hotels, but otherwise ...
- 365k
16
votes
Should search committees interact with job candidates on social media during active searches?
If they are liking and retweeting, presumably they like what you wrote and this by itself will not sink your candidacy.
As a former member of many search committees, I find it very unprofessional of ...
- 13.8k
15
votes
How to answer 'Is your research going to be in biology text books one day?' question during faculty interview?
This question is similar to "where do you see yourself in five years?". It's an invitation to explain what is important to you. They are asking about your personal values and ambition. You ...
- 290
15
votes
Unprofessional hiring committee?
You might ask yourself what you would do about this situation if you had gotten an offer. If the answer would be different from mentioning your concern to the department, then you're probably not ...
- 31.3k
13
votes
A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?
In my experience this is not uncommon. (Although I guess the uncommon element is that you were not asked for a list of (potential) references when you applied, or did not give your advisor as a ...
- 12.5k
12
votes
How to answer 'Is your research going to be in biology text books one day?' question during faculty interview?
I might be tempted to go with something like:
I'm not a crank. I subscribe to the tentative hypothesis that the
current consensus understanding of <insert discipline> at the level
that's in ...
- 9,264
12
votes
Unprofessional hiring committee?
Sometimes you only recognize how good a place is if you compare it with your experience at your previous place. One of the things I really enjoy about my current department is how we're one big family,...
11
votes
How does accepting a non-faculty staff job affect faculty applications?
This is going to be field/environment/culture dependent... but in general the advice you got is not wrong.
It's just hard to land any TT job at an R1, and has been for quite a while. Each posting can ...
- 4,942
10
votes
Accepted
What should I prepare if my potential supervisor told me no extra document need I prepare in the first PhD interview?
You should just be ready to have conversations about research. Conversations about your research, conversations about theirs, conversations about your research goals, conversations about what you ...
- 115k
9
votes
Should I ask the professor, whether he can give funding for masters instead of phd
I don't think that this would be received well (but I also don't think anyone will take it personally). Just be prepared to either have the professor say no or even rescind the offer altogether. ...
- 7,362
9
votes
May the spouse of a tenure-track candidate accompany them during their lunch with the head of the department?
In general, the rule is:
During the interview (prior to an offer, as in your question), don't bring your spouse or partner to any events. Many people don't even mention their spouse, because it can ...
- 10.2k
9
votes
How to answer 'Is your research going to be in biology text books one day?' question during faculty interview?
"I will work toward the end that it might, hoping that it does, but expecting that it probably won't. Prediction is hard, especially about the future."
What more can you say? But laugh when ...
- 365k
8
votes
Accepted
Search committee and Dean asked for my slides
"Can I take their promptness in doing so as a positive sign? Can I interpret the Dean asking for a copy of my slides as a positive thing?" -- You can never know. They may have done the same ...
8
votes
How to Improve Quick Thinking Skills in Mathematics
While I'm not a mathematician and won't offer any advice specific to mathematics, I think I would revise how you see these situations. I doubt these questions are intended to assess your quick ...
- 115k
8
votes
How to interpret Chair’s email?
Stop grasping at straws, and don't expect to hear back for at least a month. US universities are run more democratically than UK universities, so hiring decisions frequently require discussion and ...
- 24.9k
7
votes
Is it too much to create a book cover for a potential book for an interview?
Honestly, if I received a manuscript with a fake cover on it, I would think it was a bit goofy. It would not make me angry or decide to reject the work out of hand. But it likely would not really ...
- 18.9k
7
votes
Possible reasons for second meeting after a postdoc interview
In addition to the answer by @ThomasSchwarz, this scenario can sometimes arise if the outcome of the interview is more complex than a straight "yes, you've got the job" or "thanks, but ...
- 20.1k
7
votes
Possible reasons for second meeting after a postdoc interview
If you were invited for a second interview, you are still in the running for the job, but not yet selected.
A likely scenario is that the interviewer decided that (s)he could not make up their mind ...
- 22.9k
7
votes
Unprofessional hiring committee?
Yes, that is unprofessional. However, people make mistakes, including unprofessional mistakes, and this does not seem like an unusual or remarkable one to me.
I should bring this up if asked to ...
7
votes
Accepted
How do I reframe getting an MPhil instead of a PhD the first time round, in the context of applying for a mathematical postdoc?
I don't think you have to frame it or reframe or anything, instead focus on your accomplishments and what you'll do next in your applications for post docs. Since you haven't finished your PhD yet, ...
- 115k
6
votes
Accepted
Not answering questions during PhD interview
As stated in one of the comments, it really depends on the university policy. At some universities, the interview is just a pro forma step. In that is the case, your prospective advisor already has ...
- 13.8k
6
votes
How does accepting a non-faculty staff job affect faculty applications?
Regardless of how the "commitment" to an R1 tenure track career is viewed, the main problem with moving from instructional staff to faculty/research positions is the gap that an ...
- 1,463
5
votes
Accepted
Should I ask the professor, whether he can give funding for masters instead of phd
Preliminary comment: Thinking in terms of ranking is usually not a good idea. You should think of the best place you can be for your specific area of interest. That may be the best groups in a field ...
- 48k
5
votes
Acknowledgment section in job talk presentation for a tenure-track position
You might be overthinking this. Just avoid something embarrassing.
Naming everyone you worked with will be a little bit like an acceptance speech by a beauty queen who thanks everyone and be ...
- 22.9k
5
votes
What should I expect from a paper discussion in a postdoc interview?
A simple question might be if you agree with the conclusions. A bit more intense is how it relates to your work. Even more would be what sorts of extensions might be looked into.
It would be worth ...
- 365k
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