The interview process generally involves two steps: the phone interview and the campus visit. Search committees typically meet in January to start whittling down the list of applicants to a smaller group for phone interviews. After phone interviews, they further trim this list to a group of four to six candidates, who are invited to campus for personal interviews. This is the so-called short list. When you're waiting to hear, phone calls mean good news, letters mean bad news.
In January or February, you will receive a call or an e-mail message requesting the time for a scheduled phone interview. The phone interview may take one of several formats. Some are one-to-one and others are with a committee via speakerphone. This second type is particularly difficult to navigate because of the awkwardness of the speakerphone, which makes it difficult to gauge the committee members' reactions and impossible to discern who is actually questioning you.
In either case, however, it is important to do your research on the school before the phone interview. The World Wide Web is obviously very useful here. Know the names of the professors and their research areas, what the program offers, how many students they have majoring in physics, and so on. Also, try to anticipate their questions and come up with suitable answers ahead of time. In my first interview, I was caught off guard by their very first question: What interested you in this school? ("Uh, you were advertising?")
Other questions during the phone interview often cover your application materials: Tell us about your teaching experience, what research you will do here, what equipment and startup funds you will require, and so on. When answering, use specific examples to augment what they already know from your application. After the phone interview, they will generally tell you within two weeks if they want you to come for a campus visit.
Most campus visits happen in late February and April. When you are invited, the school will suggest a few dates for your interview because they need to arrange times with the search committee, the dean, and other people with notoriously full schedules. Remember that different schools are on different schedules, so you probably won't receive invitations at the same time. I urge you to go on no more than five interviews, as they can be very taxing. What follows is the general layout of the interview trip and any advice I can offer.
The school will pay for your trip. Usually, it's up to you to reserve the plane tickets and pay for them, but the school will reimburse you. Keep any receipts for expenditures like airfare, taxis, hotel, or food, as the school will need these for the reimbursement.
The main event of your visit is your colloquium. This talk should be about your recent research and should target the audience carefully. Do not make the talk too difficult to understand! There will be students at the talk and keeping them awake is critical. Include humor in your talk. Don't be afraid to entertain them a little, and remember that each audience you encounter on your campus visits is brand new, so you can repeat the same joke (but only if it works the first time).
One of the things the search committee is interested in is your composure before an audience. At one of my talks, I wondered if they were out to rattle me by sabotaging my presentation at every turn (they weren't). More could not have gone wrong: The projector bulbs were burned out (both of them), Apriling music erupted in the middle of my talk (the school band was practicing outside), it took 15 minutes to turn on the VCR, and finally, when I tried to start my video, Charlie Chaplin showed up instead. These moments are either incredibly awkward or chances for levity, depending on your attitude.
At liberal arts colleges, they might also ask you to teach a mock class. They will ask you to prepare a one-hour lecture on a topic of your choice and then give it to the students. At several of my interviews, I prepared a short lecture on the derivation of Snell's law from Fermat's principle of least time. Then, at the conclusion of the lecture, I invited the students to come up and experiment with "Jell-O™ Optics".
Jell-O Optics is a fun demonstration in which students can very easily observe the refraction of a helium-neon laser beam as it passes from air into Jell-O (Jell-O is primarily water, of course). Remember that the search committee weighs the impressions of their students heavily, so if you can deal with the logistics of this sort of endeavor, the payoff can be great.
Campus visits generally last two days, and throughout each day you will have half-hour meetings with professors, students, and college officials. It is important to have questions ready for all the people you meet. They will want to know about you, but you should also have a healthy list of questions for them. When talking to professors, you might ask them about their research and how you might be able to collaborate. When talking to the dean or president you might ask about salary, startup funds, matching funds, or the future plans for the college (their five-year plan).
When trying to decide what to wear for the interview, it is probably better to err on the side of being a little overdressed. For men, I recommend a comfortable suit and tie. The female candidates I conferred with generally wore suits – either a skirt-suit or pants-suit – stockings, and low heels. Although physicists generally dress casually, I urge you to look sharp. It is better to stand out a little because, after all, you are the candidate and people should know it! If you're still uncertain, a good idea is to observe what the well-respected scientists wear to conferences. They generally dress in a style known as “business professional”. Also, wear comfortable shoes! You will be on your feet for two days straight.
The committee will take you out to dinner at least one night, so the obvious question arises: Should I order an alcoholic drink with dinner? The answer here is very simple: Follow their lead. If they order a beer, then order a beer. If they order a bottle of wine, order your own (just kidding). Obviously, if you don't drink or just don't feel like it, then don't.
Remember that these people are interested in your scientific side, but also in your personality. Departments are usually very collegial and they are looking at you as a future member. At these dinners, they are trying to decide if you are someone they would want to have lunch with for the next 20 years. Do your best to interject interesting stories from your graduate school or teaching experiences.
Stories are a great way to break the ice. Before you go on your interview trip, think about your experiences as a graduate student and I'm sure you can come up with a handful of great stories. Everybody in graduate school has blown something up!
Here is more potentially helpful advice for your trip:
II. Pay attention to your body. These interviews are exhausting! Get to bed early, eat healthy food (not fast food, ever), and drink lots of water.
III. Be enthusiastic. When you talk to people about your work, or the school, or your future plans, be very positive. People respond to enthusiasm.
IV. Remember people's names. This is critical. You will be meeting a ton of people and it makes a world of difference if you remember everyone's name. If you have trouble with this, practice.
V. Do not worry about the competition. It really doesn't matter who else they are interviewing and asking just makes you look weak. Focus on yourself.
VI. Get a time frame. Find out how long it will take them to arrive at a decision, and let them know if there are constraints (such as the enviable position of having competing offers).
VII. Remember the goal of this trip: You are trying to get an offer. That's it. Don't worry about whether or not you would actually accept the offer. You don't have a choice if they don't offer it to you. The entire purpose of your trip is to get them to offer you the job.
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