Thursday, November 16, 2006

Interview

I think the interview yesterday went really well. It helped that as we were walking back to the conference room, the guy-who-would-be-my-boss said, "I've heard lots of great things about you. This should be fun."

It was the first interview I've ever done where I felt I was really being called upon to talk about ideas rather than defend or explain my skills. Does that mean I'm a grown-up (or an academic) now?

The talking-about-ideas part went a long way toward assuaging any fears I might have about the not-being-a-professor part of this job.

The folks on the panel agreed that me teaching occasionally might actually help me on the job, since the position requires me to help faculty integrate technology into their teaching and course management. I'm not sure how much teaching (or, rather, grading and lecture prep) I'd like to do, but it's nice to leave that door open.

I also really liked all four of the folks on the interview panel. One of them admitted she occasionally sends student spies into large lecture classes to see how successful (or awkward) professors are at integrating technology into their teaching. I thought that was really fun. I imagined myself dressing down like someone in 21 Jump Street in the hopes of seeing some brilliant (or not-so-brilliant) teaching. (Would that make me a narc?)

The guy-who-would-be-my-boss complimented me on many of my answers to their questions, and even told me I was the first person they interviewed who was able to answer a question about pedagogy. As he was walking me out of the building, he asked me what I thought about the job, and I said I was excited about it, and he said, "Well, it seems like a very good match." I'm supposed to hear from them by the end of the month, and possibly as early as Friday.

I'm thrilled, as things seem to be going my way, and the job really does sound interesting, and it's as much or more about pedagogy than it is about technology. When they asked me if I saw myself as a teaching person or a tech person, and I said teaching, they seemed to indicate that was the preferred answer. Yay!

Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

8 comments:

Jeff Mather said...

Nice. Good luck.

Dr. Brazen Hussy said...

That's fantastic!!

Debra said...

Fingers, toes, eyes, nose...

all crossed.

Hope you hear soon.. that crossed nose thing makes it hard to breath!

art-sweet said...

Keeping fingers crossed. My nose is too stuffed and snotty to cross today.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

...arms, legs, ankles, hair...

(Did I mention that I can simultaneously cross my legs and my ankles? It's sort of like having your legs crossed twice. No wonder I have such hip problems.)

That is just ridiculously fantastic. And your potential employer said that you sound like a good match! Hooray!

ArticulateDad said...

Wow... that's so great! Don't forget to breath. But, I'm hoping to hear some good news soon. Frankly, with all the rest of you out there in post-doc limbo too, I lose a bit of my uniquity. So, go and get a great job, so I can feel special again. ;)

Anonymous said...

AWESOME.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great interview for a job that's a good match for you. I hope it all works out!