So I've just come back from a lunch with the President. No, not that President. This one. Anyway, the lunch was a bit of a celebration for those of us at Shepherd University who are about to finish our second full year. We have been part of a new faculty "learning community" for these past two years. Today's lunch marked the end of that community's formal meetings. I asked, "Does this mean we can't play the 'I don't know--I'm new here' card anymore?" The answer: "That's right. Now people can say, 'You don't know that? Why not? You've been here long enough!'" Gulp. Anyway, now that I am no longer "new" faculty and will next year find myself in the position of chairing two search committees (another "gulp!"), I feel a bit more qualified to link to this story about job search advice.
Back when lots of my friends started to go on the job market, I cobbled together a list of just about every question I had been asked in my years on the market and every question I'd heard other people talk about having to answer. (And I'd be happy to share it with any of you who haven't seen it yet.) This list, though, is pretty terrific. Though it says it's tailored to community college jobs, I think it would work well for any job where teaching will be your primary duty (as opposed to research).
You'll also want to have a list of questions about your research, of course, but for teaching, this list is a great start.
It's also worth noting that coming up with smart, thoughtful answers to these questions (even once you have a job) can help you better understand who you are as a teacher and why you do what you do.
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