Happy Halloween!

Although I’m not one of “the chosen,” for various reasons I chose to live in a historically Jewish neighborhood when I moved to this city. For all practical purposes, the neighborhood is really more international than anything else; it’s closely located to two large universities and a huge research hospital. I hear at least 6 different languages on my bus every morning. My end of the neighborhood is particularly Orthodox; there’s a substantial Chasidic yeshiva/community center just a few doors down from our house.

Overall, I love our location because of its diversity and because it is so largely Chasidic/Orthodox. On the international front, we can easily walk a few blocks to eat just about any type of world cuisine, and I have my choice of ethnic markets. Additionally, Chasidic/Orthodox neighbors make particularly great neighbors! From the outside, it seems like Chasidic, and indeed non-Chasidic Orthdox families and communities are enviably strong. Everybody behaves impeccably when in public, even the children and teenagers!
The only day of the year I don’t like my neighborhood is Halloween, because nobody around here seems to celebrate it. In two years of living here, we’ve had one single trick-or-treater!

I don’t get whether it’s because a) the neighborhood is international, b) my end of it is so strongly Chasidic/Orthodox (I presume but don’t know for a fact if celebrating pagan holidays is a big no-no), or c) if it’s something else, like kids not going trick-or-treating from house to house in the city, preferring to go to a mall or the suburbs. All I know for certain is that it makes me a little bit sad, and a bit wistful for a neighborhood that celebrates Halloween.

Regardless, this year I am still prepared with a bag of candy, and carved a jack-o-lantern last night (not pictured above; mine looks more like a kindergartener carved it!). If the weather cooperates, I’ll sit out on my porch and try to give away my caramels to any kids in costumes. If nothing else, I’ll get to have my own homemade pumpkin seeds for the first time in 2 years!

Happy Halloween!

phone interview #4 recap & invitation for virtual research talk

Phone interview #4 went well despite having a rough start. My interview was scheduled for 11 am, but at 11.10 I was still twiddling my thumbs. Then the interviewer sent me a snippy email about “finishing my phone conversation so we could start our scheduled interview.” I emailed them back, said that I wasn’t on the phone and that it wasn’t ringing, and that I was happy to call them in case something was wrong with my phone. We started the interview when I called 3 minutes later, and after we both apologized to the other for the problem (me for an unknown phone problem, them for being snippy in email), we proceeded with the interview. As it turns out, my university’s phone system was malfunctioning yesterday morning, but nobody bothered to tell anybody about it! The only people who really knew were my next-door office neighbor and I, as we were oth expecting phone interviews at 11.

The interview itself seemed good. I had a good rapport with the interviewer, who is particularly interested in my research because they do something similar at another point in development. The questions were good, and permitted me to show my strengths. I know that overall I’m a good fit for the position, and the questions reflected this. Only one threw me for a loop: “What are your general values in life?” Huh? This is not a typical question for a state-funded university, but thankfully, there is no wrong answer per se! The only sticking point for me is that they are interviewing 12-15 people by phone before inviting 3-4 to campus for interviews before Thanksgiving. Like all the other interviews, there’s no way to know how I rank in this short stack. I’ll know more in about 10 days, and will naturally post an update!

Later in the day I received word from the 2nd institution I’d phone interviewed with about two weeks ago. They’ve asked me to do a virtual job talk sometime before Thanksgiving. This will be a half-hour presentation of my research to faculty and grad students, conducted like an internet chat on Skype or MS instant messenger. I am going to do it but am not very enthusiastic at this point. Hubby and I used to chat this way over MS-IM and the connection was generally *awful*. There would be major lags in sound and in the picture, and using picture makes the sound lags worse. I have a feeling that these lags could cause big problems during a virtual job talk. I’m also a bit put off by this; the school is using it as an extra screening tool in order to decide who to invite for on-campus interviews (read: to save money on the search). They hadn’t mentioned it until now because they didn’t know it was an option until recently. My supervisor suspects it’s the “wave of the future” for the job market, because searches are so expensive to conduct. I guess I’ll have to start mounting enthusiasm for it, and start working on my job talk in the meantime!

My next-door office neighbor and I were commiserating yesterday about how tired we are by this point. He was so tired after yesterday’s phone interview (with my #3 phone interview department, for the same position; incidentally, he also has expertise in “Northern Italian cuisine,” does not cook on a stove, and has never taught a class on cuisine) that he wanted to go home and watch tv for the rest of the day! Unfortunately this was not an option for either of us. I’m totally whipped, and can’t motivate myself to do much of anything at this point, despite needing to do lots of stuff to keep on pace.  I suspect that later this week I will take a day *totally off* in order to recuperate from these last two intense months.

invited for phone interview #4

There were a couple of jobs at the very top of my list….even though they looked great, I refused to let myself get too excited about them, because you never know what the search committees will decide.

I am now excited, because a faculty member at one of these top 2 choices left me a voice mail at home bare minutes ago, and they are inviting me to do a phone interview with them next week!

This would be a great situation for me and for Hubby. My qualifications fit with 5 of the 6 listed on the ad, so it looks like the really want somebody like me. Plus, it’s relatively close to a major airport, which means Hubby could work from there as easily as he works from here.

What a great start to the weekend! I’m going to call them back and schedule that interview!

phone interview #3 recap

I had my 3rd phone interview on Tuesday morning for the “chef position” at a large state university on the east coast. The phone interview went well, and was almost *fun* in comparison to the previous two phone interviews. I’m not sure how great my chances are, and I’m partially convinced that they called me mostly to confirm that I shouldn’t be on the short list.

Recall that the ad was for somebody who specializes in Northern Italian desserts or cuisine, provided that they do at least some of their cooking with a stove, or possibly a grill. The new faculty member will also be required to teach a course on cuisine, broadly construed.

It became very clear during the conversation that what they really want is somebody to do all the cooking for the rest of the faculty. This is odd… it’s sort of like saying, “We want somebody who can cook for us, and will be content to only add a few side dishes to the menu the rest of us have already planned.”Quite frankly… this makes it sound like what they really want is a postdoc who will be tapped to do all of their assessments, without the faculty being obligated to provide them with any additional training. I’m applying to be a faculty member, dangit, not for a long-term, glorified postdoc position! I get the impression that they’re having trouble finding somebody who is able/willing to do this.

I suspect I won’t be invited to interview on-campus. The search chair ended the call with a confusing remark about how the program has to decide together on a short list, that he can’t predict which factors will ultimately play into the group’s decision, and that they’ll do this within the next 10-14 days. He said he’d get back to me whether or not I’m on the invite list, and if I’m not, he’ll stay in touch afterwards in case anything changes after the on-site interviews or in case another position opens up later on. This is also unusual.

I haven’t been contacted for any other phone interviews this week. I’m trying not to panic yet… after all, the academic job wiki suggests that phone interviews are really just getting started in my discipline. 1-2 new ads were also posted this week. Until things start to look really glum, I will remain hopeful that the right position is out there waiting for me.

a surprise invitation

Minutes after I finished yesterday’s post I was invited to do another phone interview. This time it’s with a large-sized state university on the east coast. This invitation was a major shock, and has done a lot to build my confidence. The ad was very specific, and I had to do quite a bit of tap-dancing in order to make a case for my fit. I didn’t necessarily think my story was all that great, either, but apparently it’s worked so far.

For the purpose of this example, let’s say that this ad was for somebody who specializes in Northern Italian desserts or cuisine, provided that they do at least some of their cooking with a stove, or possibly a grill. The new faculty member will be required to teach a course on cuisine, broadly construed.

The way I ended up juggling this was by saying that I specialize in Italian cuisine, which encompasses Northern Italian desserts. Although up until now I have done all of my cooking with a microwave, I am prepared to cook on a stove because of the extensive research I did for a paper about cooking with stoves, grills, and microwaves (see the enclosed paper). In my future work, I will use a microwave, stove, and grill in different combinations in order to produce exotic dishes. Finally, I have not yet taught any classes on cuisine, but am confident that my previous teaching experience on “what is food?” and “intermediate entree preparation” will be helpful. This new course will focus on European-fusion cuisine, and particularly its importance for desserts.

Yes, I realize this is an absurd example, but you get the idea. Exposing my precise area of expertise could be so very bad at this moment in time, particularly since this ad was so specific.

The bottom line: If there’s a connection, it’s worth it to go for it. You never know what could happen. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this foreshadows good developments in the near future!

on phone interviews

As I mentioned earlier this week, this entry is about phone interviews for academic jobs.

I just completed my 2nd phone interview for this academic hiring season, and all in all, I think it went ok. It’s hard to tell, so we’ll see what happens in another couple of weeks once the search committee has talked to all the candidates on the short list. It’s a strong program, and the base pay & teaching load are acceptable to me. The region is acceptable for Hubby’s work-related travel, and it sounds like a nice place to live. It’s early in the hiring season, however, so I’m reluctant to evaluate this option further until I know if/that I’m invited for an on-campus interview. Additionally, I’ve seen the heartbreak caused when a job candidate gets their heart set on a particular position but doesn’t get an interview. I refuse to let that be me.

It’s hard to perform well on an academic phone interview if you’re not prepared, and you can’t be prepared if you don’t have any ideas about the questions the committee will ask. The questions are usually about teaching and research, and the balance between them depends on the type of institution.

Initial/General Questions. The substantive questions about teaching and research might be prefaced by 1 or 2 “let’s get to know each other” questions:

• What attracted you to our position?
• What do you know about the department/program/university/city/geographic region?
• How would you like to divide your time between teaching and research?
• When are you available to start?

It should go without saying that positive answers to these questions are good, and that they should be customized for the position. For example, one should never tell a teaching-oriented institution that they are really interested in research-oriented jobs, or that they don’t care about teaching or mentoring students in research. If research is the school’s #1 priority, the answer to the final question should weigh research more heavily than teaching.

Likewise, if the position is in your home state, don’t say that this job would permit you to come/stay near home.

Teaching. Expect questions about your teaching experiences and interests. Here are some sample questions about teaching:

• What do you like about teaching? What do you dislike about teaching?
• Do you have experience teaching X, Y, or Z courses?
  
• Are you willing to teach X, Y, or Z courses?
• What courses are you currently teaching?
• Have you taught any methods or statistics courses? If you have, could you tell us about this experience? [Relevant for social sciences and sciences; there are probably parallel versions of this question for other fields]
• How prepared would you be to offer courses online, and what would those courses be?

Research. Sample specific questions about research:

• What projects are on your research horizon? What studies are underway, and what’s still being planned for the future?
• What do you like about research? What do you dislike about research?
• What do you need to do your research (e.g., lab space, staff support, participant populations)?
• How do you involve students in your research? [predictably important at teaching schools]
• How would you develop your research program here? How could/would you involve students as you develop your program of study?
• Are you willing to seek external funding to support your research? [predictably more important at research-oriented institutions, but I've also had this question for positions with heavier teaching loads]

Service. I don’t know if questions about service are ever asked. I’ve never experienced them, although I do tend to mention it when answering questions about balancing my time.

What else to expect. Expect to feel nervous before and during the phone call, and to feel like you’re either talking too much or talking too little. This is normal. It’s hard to read people’s reactions when you can’t see them, and this can increase your anxiety level. Expect to remember important details or questions after you’ve ended the call. Expect that there will be awkward silences and pauses in the conversation, and don’t freak out about them.

Search committees will expect you to have questions about the program, position, etc. It’s best to prepare questions in advance. Make these count, and write them down so you can’t forget! I like to ask about what the students are like, and how many students are in various class sections. If they haven’t mentioned the teaching load already, it’s good to ask about it! Service expectations, too.

I don’t ask about salary, but the search committee has voluntarily told me the base salary during my last two phone interviews.

The final question should always be about their decision timeline, if they haven’t told you about it already.

Expect the unexpected. Don’t expect that you’ll get warning about phone interviews, or that search committees will contact you via email to set up a time in advance. Some really like to surprise candidates by calling out of the blue. In fact, this happened to one of my colleagues just a few days ago. If you provide them with your home and office phone numbers, they will feel free to make unscheduled daytime calls to your office number, and surprise evening calls to your home number. It’s best to avoid picking up the phone if you are not prepared. It’s a good idea to have and use caller ID at home. It’s also acceptable to tell the caller that you’re in the middle of a task and would be happy to call them back in 15-20 minutes. This will give you a chance to prepare if you haven’t already.

Closing suggestions. Just a few final thoughts…

• Be honest and be yourself. Don’t try to present yourself as what you think the search committee wants for the position. You’re doing yourself and your potential employer a serious disservice.
• Be professional. Don’t bring up anything personal, particularly if it could be cause for discriminatory hiring practices. It makes the search committee uncomfortable, even if it’s not cause for concern. If you’re an academic with ADD, don’t mention that you have it. If you’re married and have 3 kids, refer to yourself as “I,” not “We.” If you strongly desire a family-friendly institution, it can be addressed during an on-site interview.
• Be polite. Don’t interrupt. Thank them for taking the time to talk to you. Use the interviewers’ names if it’s appropriate.
• Be engaged. Refer to things they’ve already said or the program’s official materials when you answer questions. Don’t try to do other stuff while talking to them. Turn off the music, and close your email program. Let your colleagues know that you have a phone interview, and request that they avoid knocking on your (closed) office door during the scheduled time.
• Be confident, but not arrogant. Know that your phone interviewing skills will improve with practice, and that the right job is out there waiting for you.
• Be brief, but give complete answers to their questions.

almost done with applications

At long last, I am almost totally done with the academic job applications. I have done 30, and did 9 of those in 4 days last week. It goes without saying that I am very tired. I’ve worked very hard on all my materials, customizing each package, etc., and all of this is very time-consuming. I’ve also worked hard to keep up my research and paid work in the meantime. This has involved a long string of 10 hour days, which I’m happy to leave behind me for a while.

I still have 1-2 applications left to go, and I doubt I’ll make time for them this week. One application isn’t due until mid-November. I’m stuck on this one because the department’s website is dysfunctional. It’s good to customize each packet according to the department’s themes, needs, etc., and this is particularly true in the cover letter (i.e., ‘You want me to work for you because I fill this particular gap in your current program/department”). It’s extraordinarily difficult to do this effectively when the department’s website is down. I’m undecided about the other, which was just posted this morning. I’ll hold off on this one for now, since the application isn’t really due until December 1.

I’ve started to get some feedback in the meantime, which is great, even when the feedback isn’t strictly encouraging! Last week, I found out that I wasn’t invited to do an on-site interview with the mid-sized southern university that had interviewed me by phone last month (application #1). I’d actually forgotten to blog after the phone interview. It went ok, but after talking to their search committee I was fairly positive that I wouldn’t be a great fit there. The salary was also pretty crappy! I’m not too disappointed that I wasn’t invited for an on-site interview, as I would have declined it anyway.

Better yet, earlier today I received an email requesting a phone interview for a position at a mid-sized southern university (application #5; application submitted 25 days ago). I will accept very soon, and will blog following the phone interview (perhaps about phone interviews, the typical questions, etc.).

In the meantime, another 25 applications are still out there, including 2-3 that are truly good fits with my qualifications. These include a small liberal arts college in the northern Midwest, a large state university in the west, and a mid-sized university on the east coast. I’m still hopeful, so please keep your fingers crossed for me!

how not to manage an early-morning flight

Last Friday I traveled for a friend’s wedding, which occurred in a rural location on Saturday afternoon.

My flight was scheduled to depart around 6.45 a.m.; in order to have time to park, get through the nightmarish security line, make my way to the gate, etc., I need to leave my house at 4.30. Unfortunately Friday morning was one of those times that I decided to turn off my alarm in my sleep. I rolled over and woke up at 4.59 a.m.

Somehow, by 6 a.m., I’d made it and was waiting in the looooooooooonnnnnnngggggg security line. All I can say is that the hour between 5 and 6 wasn’t pretty, and nor was I on Friday morning:

• I left the house 15 minutes after I’d finally gotten up (had washed face, brushed teeth, put in contacts, and thrown last few items into the suitcase. No chance to say goodbye to the kitties, who were pretty freaked out by my frantic behavior!)
• I drove 70 all the way to the airport, which is about 20 miles away. I kept my fingers crossed the entire time that I wouldn’t run out of gas.
• I parked in a closer, more expensive lot than my normal economy lot. Had I not done this, I would not have made the flight.
• I got stuck in lines at check-in and at security.
• I ran all the way to my gate once I’d passed security. In my hubby’s words, “You’re not running late unless they’re paging you to your gate.” They were paging me and 4 other delayed passengers at the gate.

Naturally there was a witness to my embarassment; a co-worker from my lab was seated in the row behind me!

All my flights made it on time. I met a high school friend at the destination airport, and finally got to take a shower later that afternoon before the rehearsal dinner. The wedding itself was great, and I’m glad hubby and I decided to make the trip!

There is a moral to this story for ADDers, naturally. Here are some travel tips for ADDers who are challenged by early morning engagements:

• Set 2 alarm clocks, or arrange a wake-up call. Lay out the clothes you plan to wear.
• Don’t stay up late the night before, even if you’re not done preparing. Start preparations earlier rather than later.
• Don’t put off preparations until the morning of departure. If nothing else, this is recipe for distraction!
• Make sure the car has a full tank of gas. Get it filled the night before if it doesn’t.
• It’s worth it to pay a premium to park close to the airport if you’re running late. A few extra bucks in parking is still less than a new ticket, or the hassle of missing flights!

pdoc troubles yet again

Sometimes I wonder if my pdoc needs her own ritalin prescription.

I had my regular appointment about two weeks ago. Med Shrink wrote my usual prescription for ritalin, and I barely looked at it before dashing back to the office. I wasn’t out and was pretty swamped with work, so I waited a few days to fill it.

I tried to fill it the following Tuesday, only to discover that a) she hadn’t written the actual dosage on the prescription (i.e., she’d written “15 mg 3x/daily” instead of “1.5 10-mg tablets 3x/daily”), and b) hadn’t signed the prescription itself. Naturally the pharmacy wouldn’t fill it, and the pharmacists probably now think I’ve swiped my doc’s prescription pad!

I called Med Shrink on Tuesday night. She called me back Wednesday afternoon, and said that she’d write a new prescription and leave it in “location a.” She called back a while later and said “I wanted to leave it in location b, but I couldn’t, so you can pick it up at location c sometime before 8 pm tonight.”

I went to location c at 4.45 p.m. on Thursday, and found that they’d closed at 4.30.

I went back to location c on Friday morning, and they said they didn’t have anything for me. I subsequently visited locations a and b in order to make sure I hadn’t misunderstood (keep in mind that I’m doing all this on foot, and it takes me 15-20 min to get from my office to location c). I hadn’t — they didn’t have anything for me, either.

I called Med Shrink on Friday afternoon to double-check the location. She didn’t call me back until Monday afternoon (Today), and was pretty testy with me about the whole ordeal. She called location c to verify that they had the prescription she’d written; it turns out that they did, and that the person I’d spoken to on Friday didn’t “know where to look.”

So, I stopped by location c on my way home this afternoon, and was finally able to pick up the envelope. I opened it on my way home and nearly had a heart attack.

It was written for 15mg 2x/day instead of 3x/day… and indicated that the pharmacy should dispense 45 10mg tablets.

Let’s do the math together: 15mg x 3 doses per day = 4.5 10mg tabs per day. 4.5 tabs x 30 days per month = 135 tablets. Not 45. The prescription I’ve now spent hours trying to pick up is enough for 10 productive work days, and my next appointment is 15 days away.

I’ve already called and left a message on Med Shrink’s voice mail. Given that it typically takes her 24+ hours to respond, it looks like I’ll run out of medication and waste several more hours of precious time before this mess is straightened out. At this moment, I have 4 tablets left, and I am hesitant to fill an incorrect prescription for ritalin.

But it does look like it’s time to find a new doctor, does it not?

application overwhelm!

I knew it was coming, but I still didn’t expect it…. I’m talking about “application overwhelm!”

Academic jobs are posted in cycles, and usually the first of each fall month are big days for job postings (of new positions, and reposts of ones already “out there”).
This morning, I searched 4 job sites for position postings, and each website has 10-50 or more new jobs today. Some of the site sort by domain (APA website), but most lump all psych jobs together (APS website; Chronicle website; HigherEdJobs.com). I also search postings on two professional society websites (SRCD; SRA), and receive them via email from another society (EARA).

When I find an interesting job, I print the description and transfer the details into my spreadsheet (the spreadsheet includes the basic job info, the address for submitting the application packet & letters of recommendation, and links to the ad. I send a pared-down version to my letter-writers. I also use this list to track when I’ve applied for a job, which materials I’ve sent, if/when I’ve heard back from them, etc.).

There are a few problems with this procedure, from an ADDer’s point of view:

1. The same positions get posted on multiple sites, and typically on each university’s HR website, and sometimes the ad’s details conflict across sources.
2. After a while, everything starts to sound the same, and I can’t remember whether I’ve seen an ad already without having to refer to my spreadsheet and/or do extra research about the position.
3. It’s just naturally overwhelming when one has to wade through 50+ positions, and make relatively quick decisions about whether to apply or not.

Today I found myself getting stuck on point #3, particularly when I had to decide whether or not to list a position in my job applications spreadsheet.

I have two drafts of it (one for me with all the positions I’ve ever considered, and one for the faculty). Adding a job one place means adding it in another. Today I just didn’t feel like doing this, and felt panicky each time I had to look at either of the versions on my desktop.

Part of it is because I’m particularly annoyed that the faculty draft requires further personalization for each of my four letter-writers, as they all follow different systems and seem to think it’s my job to keep track of the letters they send on my behalf… but I digress.

To get through it, I printed the six new, interesting ads and put them in my pile. I went though them after they were printed, and tossed two that no longer looked interesting. I will now enter them into my “master” spreadsheet, will transfer the new rows into the “faculty” version, and will then make the tailored versions for each writer.

I will persevere and get these versions to my writers by 4 pm. I have a plan, and it’s a workable one. Small chunks, with little breaks in-between.

My goal was to have all of my apps finished by the time I take off for a four-day weekend on Friday, but I don’t think that will happen unless I drive myself batty. The 12th is definitely doable, and I’m really looking forward to having all of this behind me!