Astronomy

'Tis the Season: Job Interview Resources & Advice

With phone and campus interview season underway, I thought it would be useful to compile CSWA, AstroBetter, and other site's advice and resources.

If you know of other useful resources or have additional advice, please add a comment. The more we know, the better prepared we can be!

Before I get to the list of links (see below), first some advice from my father :-)

Why Laura or David, rather than Peter or Mary? Highlight your strengths. Assume you and the others selected for the interview are all about equal on paper -- what sets you apart? What?s unique and great about you? Don?t be shy about stating these strengths, but find a way to say them so it's natural to your voice.
What can you say to them so that they will remember you (in a positive way) over the other 10 candidates and tip the balance in your favor?
Focus on the positive.
Have a clear set of reasons for why you specifically are a good 'fit' for the department and the University.
Do your homework. Bring up the Department's strengths and how you can enhance those in particular. Relate your research directly to the interviewers, if possible, or work their research into the conversation. People remember this, take it as a sign that you're serious, and, well, everyone likes to hear how great they are.
Be ready to handle questions about potential weaknesses in your application.
Be yourself and get a good night's sleep beforehand.
Specific to phone interviews:

Create specific talking points for questions that are likely to come up. Write these on notecards as short bullet-points to use as prompts.
If you can, walk around during the phone call to keep your voice energized.

Interview Advice & Resources:

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2012/02/job-interview-advice.html
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/careerprep/jobsearch/interview_proce.pdf
http://www.astrobetter.com/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Interview+Advice
http://www.astrobetter.com/practicing-a-phone-interview/
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,64844.0.html
http://disccrs.org/files/job-interview-question-list.pdf
http://disccrs.org/files/Magic_Guide_to_Interviewing.pdf
http://disccrs.org/sites/default/files/interviewhints.pdf
http://eric-eisenstein.com/interview.htm

Campus Visit Advice:

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2012/05/guest-post-lisa-winter-on-academic.html
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/careerprep/jobsearch/interviewing.html#preparation

Negotiation Advice:
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2012/11/negotiation-is-dialogue-compiled-advice.html

Advice on Dealing with Rejection:
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2012/03/guest-post-dealing-with-rejection-by.html

General Job Hunting Advice:

http://www.astrobetter.com/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Job+Hunting+Links
http://www.math.ncsu.edu/grad/academicjob.pdf
http://disccrs.org/?q=career#Communication

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