So I have kind of a weird background. I have worked in industry almost the entirety of my career. Prior to my phd, during my phd, and upon finishing my phd I took an admin position at an R1 institution and then a NTT position during covid. I ended up going back to industry after about a year for some personal reasons. I some how managed to get a phone screening for a TT position at another R1 and I am freaking out a little. I don’t have the strongest research background and don’t have the strongest publication history or funding history. I am kind of unsure why I even got a screening. I am sure there is some self doubt and imposter syndrome impacting me here. I feel like I have prepped decently for the interview. Read a couple of papers from the search committee members, looked up research overlap, identified some research centers and labs I would want to work with and identified what courses I could hit the ground running teaching. Anyone have any other helpful tips for me?
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You should prepare an explanation for your journey and why you wouldn’t jump back to industry or admin or make a change again shortly after they hire you. I think your research and stuff will come later.
If you got an interview, they like you on paper.
Just be your normal self and you’re fine. “You know you best.”
Source: I’m an assoc prof at an R1 and have done hiring way too many times.
Have a good answer to “Why are you interested in this position?,” know the basics of the department, have a couple of questions of your own to ask at the end of it that demonstrate some interest in the university
Do you have advisors/mentors from your PhD that can do a mock interview with you? We always do this with our students. There are standard questions always asked in our field, so we help the students prep for those. I would assume this differs from field to field, but in case it’s similar I’d be ready at least to give a short description of your research program, discuss your teaching philosophy (your approach, what you think is important, not textbook you’d use), what are the interesting/important trends/developments in your opinion in your field, and have questions ready for them. Good luck!
Go on the departmental web site and learn all you can about the program and the faculty.
I’ve sat on hiring committees and the thing that always irked everyone on the committee was when someone tried to BS us and try to be someone they are clearly not.
Just be yourself. Be honest, and answer the questions the best you can.
Good luck, my friend.
Knowing what you’ve written, I would encourage you to prep these questions:
Relax! If they wanted somebody with a massive publication history etc. that is who they would be interviewing. I’ve run into departments in the past that are looking for someone with less academic experience, someone who they are hoping will come in and fit into their culture – and your non-academic experience probably stood out in comparison to all the other applicants.
Just be confident, and remember, you are also deciding whether or not they are good enough department for you! You are not a beggar here, you have something to offer 😊
I would also be prepared to answer which funding mechanisms you’re gonna apply to. I’ve had this q during all interviews so far.
They want to know if you will be successful as 1) a tenure candidate, then 2) as a teacher, then 3) as a colleague who can develop or support the program and foster whatever changes they can see.
Here’s the thing about your case based on what you’re saying here: you’re good one 2) and 3). You have some teaching experience and you have plenty of industry, and I assume your industry experience is relevant to the department. Your teaching experience in an NTT means you understand how academia works (this can be a problem for committees hiring on people from industry.)
For your teaching, look closely at the curriculum and see where you would fit and what you could amplify.
So you need to concentrate on tenueability. That means publicatipn, grants, possible grad students (if the program has them). So rather than presuming that you do not have enough now, spend some time thinking about what you can do to develop a plan and agenda to develop a publishing record and grant warning record. It’s okay in many cases to admit you don’t have it, but only if you have a plan to present material that helps your tenure case. So research how you can move your industrial work into academic research and publications and grants, and present a viable plan of a few posters/papers a year in order to earn tenure. Be realistic and have some pretty concrete options of projects you could pursue over the next couple years.
Best of luck!
There’s really nothing you can do either way, because it’s not about you.
I secured a TT position at an R1 institution with an incredibly weird background. In the interview I acknowledged that my publication and funding record were weak, but made a case that was reflective of the positions I had been in (which did not allow for publishing or applying for grants) and not my abilities. I highlighted elements of my record that were evidence of my skills and motivation, so I would be able to make up those deficiencies in my record and do what I needed to do to get tenure. Some departments value people with a non traditional background and see it as an asset, particularly for mentoring graduate students. Also, remember that they are hiring someone they may work with for the rest of their careers, so being friendly and personable does actually matter.
Just be yourself and do your homework. Look at the university mission statement. Look at their student demographics (Lots of first generation? or No? Or whatever?). Look at the course schedule if it’s public; look at the course catalog, course descriptions, and degree requirements for the major department. Know the course titles you can teach. If you can’t, the answer is “With time to prepare, I could cover that”.
Sit down and plan a research agenda for the first 5 years and be able to talk about it.
If it helps, I had a similar past, with two 2-year visiting positions and 5 years in industry when I went back to TT (not to an R1, but to a regional Master’s-level). I had a story prepared: here’s how I can help students with interests in jobs after undergrad due to my industry experience; here’s how my research agenda can include graduate students. I had no publication or funding history, just conference presentations and good teaching evals, which I included with the application.
I said I decided the 9-5 wasn’t for me and wanted to get back into academia, no more detail than that, and it was fine. No one pressed for details.
Good luck!
Be prepared for generic questions. It doesn’t look good if you can’t answer questions about your 5 year plan, courses you could teach (if that’s part of the job description), etc.
The 5 year plan gets me. It’s a dream job and something you want to do, so you should have at least some specific things you plan to do. R1 especially should be building up to scoring big funding.
I wouldn’t even worry about your background as much as you want to show you are prepared to hit the ground running.