Section 2

Faculty Interview: Things to Consider

You are free to interview any faculty member you choose, including, but not limited to, someone in your department, in a related field, or in a field you rely on for interdisciplinary research. Likewise, he/she can also reside at a different institution, e.g. a high school, a two-year college, a small liberal arts institution, or another Research I university.

Once you have identified the faculty member you would like to interview, keep the following points in mind as you arrange and conduct the interview:

• Request the interview either by phone or email. Be sure to:
  • briefly introduce yourself if you don't personally know the interviewee.
    
  • explain why you are requesting the interview.
    
  • give an example of the type of questions you will be asking.
    
  • mention (and/or send via email) the Confidentiality Clause.
    
  • suggest (or ask the interviewee to suggest) a date and time for the interview; mention that you'll be happy to meet at his/her office and that you'll be sure to limit the interview to 30 minutes. Or, consider tapping into the TPT lunch fund (see "Lunch Fund" for more details) and inviting the faculty member to answer questions more informally over lunch.
    
  • provide your contact information (e.g. email address, phone number(s)).
    
• Confirm the meeting date, time and location a few days before the interview.
  
• Arrive at least 5 minutes early for your scheduled interview.
  
• During the interview:
  
  • introduce yourself again and explain why you requested the interview. The interviewee will likely be interested in why you chose him/her.
    
  • mention and hand the interviewee a copy of the Confidentiality Clause.
    
  • use the sample questions, or others you're interested in, to guide the interview.
    
  • be respectful of the interviewee's time and limit the length of the interview to 30 minutes.
    
• Before leaving the interview, thank the interviewee for his/her time. Also, be sure to send a hand-written thank-you note to the interviewee via Messenger Mail within 2-3 days. (A good rule of thumb for all informational or job interviews.)