Law Teaching Interview Advice I
posted by Timothy Glynn
The entry-level hiring season for law faculty has now begun in earnest. The blogosphere has become a useful source of information on a host of relevant topics. Now that I have stepped down from an appointments committee and will not be an active participant in the process for the first time in a number of years, I thought I would add my two cents.
Since the hiring conference is just around the corner, my contribution consists of some basic “dos” and “don’ts” for initial interviews and callbacks. I will start with five “dos” today and add five “don’ts” on Monday. I am, of course, not the first person to post such advice, so be sure to check out the views of others, including Gordon Smith, Dan Solove, Brad Wendel, and various posters at Prawfsblawg (and these link to other helpful comments).
My suggestions reflect what I have seen and heard during the interview process over the years and are consistent with what I have heard from others. Oh, yeah, here are the disclaimers: the interview process is important, but only one small piece of the overall puzzle; my general comments do not account for individual variations in institutions and areas of substantive expertise; because the market is competitive, idiosyncratic, and otherwise imperfect, it is unpredictable; and my evidence is purely anecdotal. But this advice is free. . . .
My aim is to help you take full advantage of the process and sidestep a few avoidable pitfalls. If everything I am about to say seems obvious, that’s a good sign.
1. Do Rely on Your Common Sense. Okay, this is the meta-advice. When thinking about, inter alia, how to prepare, how to answer questions, what questions to ask, whose advice to take, and whether to stay out late with law school friends the night before your callback, use your common sense. Despite the stress, try to default back to what makes sense to you. Here’s an easy example: if, during a callback, the school has set time aside for you to meet with students, don’t see this as an opportunity to disengage for thirty minutes because you are tired. If students have been included in the process, you need to take the cue. Certainly, the market is idiosyncratic enough that your instincts might steer you wrong in certain circumstances, but I doubt there are better alternatives. So go with your common sense – it has gotten you this far.
2. Do Show Genuine Interest. Faculties want to feel appreciated, and, frankly, they are entitled to expect you to show interest once you have taken an interview slot. The faculty at some schools – Yale comes to mind – might reasonably assume you are really interested in joining them. For most other schools, you need to show it, which is done in two ways. First, be genuinely interested. You can feign interest for thirty minutes, but you can’t for a full day. And, for a host of reasons I cannot explore here, you shouldn’t try. Second, demonstrate genuine interest. For example, do as much homework on the school as possible (while, you don’t need to read everyone’s scholarship, you should at least have a sense of the areas the interviewers teach in). Also, know something about the institution and show excitement about it in your answers, in your questions, etc.
3. Do One or More Mock Job Talks Before Your First Real Job Talk. This is not because you don’t know what you are talking about – if you don’t, practice won’t help. It is because, despite your knowledge, you need to be able to 1) communicate your ideas effectively in a short period of time and 2) answer questions from, and engage in give and take with others who may see your subject through entirely different lenses. The only way to ensure that you are doing these things is to practice. Your best option is to arrange a mock with a group of professors (your mentors or others). If you can’t, put together a panel of colleagues, and make sure they know to interrupt you with difficult, wide-ranging questions within about fifteen minutes and to critique you at the end. BTW, now is the time to set this up if you have not done so already.
4. Do Get to the Point Quickly. When discussing your scholarship in an interview or while giving your job talk, remember that you will have less time than you want. While background is important, getting out your main point – your new conceptual framework, finding, approach, normative takeaway, etc. – is essential. How you do this will depend on the circumstances, but consider moving right to your conclusion after describing the problem or inquiry, and then developing the details thereafter.
5. Do Answer Questions (and Answer the Questions Asked). Answering questions will consume most of your interview time and probably most of your job talk. You will get questions you have a hard time answering because you don’t understand them, you have never considered them before, they are completely out of left field, or there is no answer. There are some questions you ought to understand and be able to answer. For all others, if you don’t have the answer, that is okay. First, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for a clarification (in different ways at different times). It is also acceptable to respond that you don’t know the answer. But don’t be defensive about it – and complimenting the asker about the acuity of her insight isn’t a bad idea (okay, this is sucking up, but . . . .). And where appropriate, take this opportunity to talk about the question and what you do know, e.g., why you chose not to explore that particular aspect of the problem, how you might approach finding the answer, your plans to explore related matters in later scholarship, or why an answer might be difficult to find. What is unacceptable is not answering the question by, for example, obfuscating or answering instead the question you wish had been asked.
I hope what I have said so far is reassuring rather than stress inducing. More to come on Monday.
October 13, 2006 at 8:06 am
Posted in: Law School (Hiring & Laterals)
Print This Post
Leave a Reply