Seeking a New Job (III)

I sent the application package off to the university in January and then worked to forget about it.  My brother gave me some good advice several years ago that whenever I was applying for a job, not to “move there in your mind.”  And so I tried to manage the amount of time I thought about it, particularly since I didn’t expect to hear anything from them for a few months.

So I was surprised to get word in mid-February that they wanted me to participate in a “telephonic” interview.  I was unfamiliar with this term, but apparently it means the same thing as a telephone interview.  I then spent about ten days preparing for the phone interview, memorizing names, familiarizing myself with significant issues on the campus, and preparing to articulate my own personal and professional goals.  I also spent a great deal of time reading through articles on the peculiarities of job interviews in higher education.

I had not participated in a telephone interview before, and approached this one with some degree of anxiety.  The hiring committee (search committee) was chaired by the program director from another area and six faculty members whom I would be supervising if I applied.  But the committee did an excellent job of putting me at ease and generously asked questions that I had spent a considerable amount of time thinking about.

By the end of the interview, it felt more like a conversation on pedagogy and leadership skills than an interview.  I felt that it went very well.  After several weeks of waiting (about three weeks) I received word that the committee also felt that it went well.  They invited me to come to their campus for a face to face interview in April.  Everything was lining up perfectly.