tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post6190576360843530778..comments2023-12-23T04:56:29.702-05:00Comments on Ferule & Fescue: Convention interviews: don't overthink itFlaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-5339253135748094322013-01-14T11:12:39.883-05:002013-01-14T11:12:39.883-05:00What everyone here has said, and cheers for you, F...What everyone here has said, and cheers for you, Flavia. The fit component is something that can't be anticipated from the front-end on the part of the candidate, and we have certainly passed by excellent applicants because they didn't quite have what we needed. (Just this year: one very, very strong candidate with compelling and potentially game-changing scholarship and good teaching didn't end up overlapping as much as we had hoped s/he would with our field of real need). there's no need to feel bad about an MLA interview: if you were there in the first place, it's because you were seen as someone who is worth talking to further.Renaissance Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06243095907452011303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-49919877551807987342013-01-13T11:35:49.694-05:002013-01-13T11:35:49.694-05:00Another voice in the chorus of praise and agreemen...Another voice in the chorus of praise and agreement. This is a great post, and absolutely, spot-on true in every paragraph.<br /><br />I'm on a committee this year, and I see the exact same processes at work. I think what's particularly important for candidates to know is that "fit" is hugely important. There were some application in our pile that fit the job description, were beautifully written, and that clearly represented candidates of great accomplishment, with lots of grants and awards and kudos from the profession. Yet a few people, even in this highly-accomplished group, did not get to the interview stage, and were edged out by candidates who on paper were less accomplished, but who had a better set of interconnections with the existing faculty in our department. We want someone who can mediate between existing areas of strength and build on them for this position. Sometimes, in other searches, our priority is more to open up totally new areas of study and conversations within the department. <br /><br />Finding the right person is quite an unpredictable alchemical process, in other words. Being a fantastic and interesting scholar is a requirement, yes, but it also isn't a guarantee. There were many fascinating people who applied who just were not what we need right now. squadratonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-46039451474786251572013-01-13T11:29:23.701-05:002013-01-13T11:29:23.701-05:00And don't tell yourself that it's all in y...And don't tell yourself that it's all in your control. Committees interview three or four times as many people at MLA as they have funds to fly back to campus. So good candidates who have good interviews can still not get the flyback.<br /><br />This isn't all on you. And lots of things are going on that have nothing to do with you.Doctor Clevelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07326408523926507003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-31747061704578860722013-01-13T00:13:15.310-05:002013-01-13T00:13:15.310-05:00This is a great post, and very helpful.
You'...This is a great post, and very helpful. <br /><br />You're so right that some people really come through well in interviews. And sometimes people don't. I thought your point about someone being too close to a person already in the department was important, too. I think healthy departments will try to find people who add something different.Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-58368658214386199822013-01-12T21:27:02.281-05:002013-01-12T21:27:02.281-05:00I think the biggest revelation on the hiring end i...I think the biggest revelation on the hiring end is that there are terrific candidates who don't make our short list for fairly idiosyncratic reasons. And every search I've been involved with the middle is fuzzy, because it comes down to apples and oranges...Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-39863892310477138892013-01-12T19:27:17.351-05:002013-01-12T19:27:17.351-05:00Comment on this post from a veteran of 50 MLA inte...Comment on this post from a veteran of 50 MLA interviews: I agree, I agree, and I agree.EngLitProfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-65745386606128661122013-01-12T15:46:52.895-05:002013-01-12T15:46:52.895-05:00This all resonates with my experience, as well. A...This all resonates with my experience, as well. And when my department was completely free to run its own searches, this was also true: "We've never yet regretted a hire, regardless of how they were ranked initially." I can think of two instances when we did regret a hire, and in both cases, there was decanal-level influence at work, not in terms of whom to hire but at the point of drafting the ad, when The Admin wanted more of Something in Particular and the department didn't agree but wasn't willing to tell the dean to take a hike for fear of never again getting funding for the lines we did think we needed. So that's another thing that may not be personal. It also doesn't have to indicate long-term disfunction in a department or friction between the department and dean, just some admin-type fad or pressure from even higher up for something or other. Dame Eleanor Hullhttp://dameeleanorhull.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com