So, some background.
Back in December/January, I had several friends reach out through social media, asking if moving was an option, because they worked at high schools or community colleges, and would keep an eye out for jobs if interested. I was touched, said yes, and because of this started looking specifically at openings in a Southwest community college.
There were a couple of openings, and I applied.
And then, sort of forgot.
There were a lot of things to juggle, teaching high school full time, and frankly, by January/February, you sort of give up on the job market, as my last post showed.
So I was surprised several weeks ago to get a call to set up a Skype interview.
My Twitter support network was great for tips- I printed out my inspirational picture of Jeff Goldblum and taped it to my web camera. A friend recommended using a headset, as talking to a committee might make it hard to hear. I dressed well, and arranged for the dog sitters to come back and keep Nehi outside.
There were other things about the interview I want to make sure I mention because I think they're cool things all place should do.
- The recruiter who sent me the interview details also sent me an informational email that included:
- The benefit break down
- The salary chart
- Stated that they did not cover relocation expenses
This is a HUGE deal. You know what you're getting into, yes, but also, you have assurances that your pay is set, not dependent on gender or bias. It's a cool thing.
A week later they called to invite me to a campus visit.
Once again, my Twitter support network was great.
One friend offered to introduce me to a CC friend to answer questions as I had them. By serendipity, the friend works for the exact system, and in fact mother campus, I was interviewing at.
So, one thing I did was prep, pretty much as soon as I was invited to the interview.
For the teaching demo, I was told to focus on teaching analysis/argument, that students had already done some degree/career related research for. I prepped for my teaching demo first, which included three parts, so that I'd have time to reflect, tweak, get feedback.
I purposely chose materials that related to the degree programs and classes offered by the campus, and printed them, as though the students had come with them.
- The slide lessons that I would project to the class
- My lesson, which usually isn't so detailed, but because this was a cold lesson, I wanted to make sure I didn't get lost
- The student print out/materials
I then packed my materials for class. Usually I carry something similar in my backpack, because I run a pretty artsy-crafty, interactive class.
One thing I made sure to do was include index cards. I learn all my students' names the first week or so, but wouldn't know these students, so I explained this to them, and had them write their name on the cards and make little nameplates for me. It also meant I could call on people by name during the lesson.
Once my lesson was done I sent it out to Twitter and asked for extra eyes on it. I got nothing but good feedback.
That done, I next turned to prepping for the interview. They'd sent me a schedule, and they were paying to fly me out, which I took as a good sign, because I know CC usually expect you to pay your own way out to interviews.
So I had this form I created, printed on a large Avery sticker, and put on my folder for the interview, with all the information on the inside. I've blacked out identifying information about the campus but you get the idea. I add a few things here and there as the interview approached, jotting notes.
One question I had was which types of questions were campus interview questions and which were offer questions.
Campus Interview Questions:
- What does service look like for English professors?
- This was much like I thought- curriculum planning, student organizations, tech initiatives, writing center.
- Since it's a relatively new campus, what are their priorities, where would they like to see the campus go?
- They really want to grow the campus, connections with high schools, businesses, and build a full time English program
- For staff, what's your favorite thing about working here?
- Unsurprisingly, it was the students, mentoring them in and out of the classroom.
- The mother campus had an online presence, but not this one, so I asked about how much full time staff the campus had, as a way of talking about what staff there was to collaborate with.
- There's not much. Their only FT staff has been their automotive, machining, welding teachers, they're hiring this year to build English, math, etc.
- The ad said only full time, and I know CC don't always do tenure, so what did they mean by full time, was one of my questions.
- It is a permanent position. After the first year, based on evals, it's renewable, and after three years, they're three year renewable contracts, which is pretty standard. They don't do tenure.
Offer Interview Questions: Part of the reason I wanted to identify these BEFORE the campus visit was so I knew what to look for, as I might get the answers while I was there, and too, as much as I've tried NOT to be excited about this, imagining my whole life in this new place, I'm failing miserably, so IF I got an offer, I want to be able to say yes really fast.
- Space questions: do I get my own office, parking spot. These seem surface, but they're not. I believe your own space to meet with students is important. And while CC parking is not the same cutthroat as larger four years, it's still a thing that can impact your quality of life/payment.
- I knew several things from the ad, it listed an office with a computer, desk, internet. But I wanted to make sure to nail down specifics.
- On my tour, I saw the offices, they're nice, and nice spaces, and full time faculty gets their own.
- While the salary schedule is set, what IS negotiable is how many years of teaching credit they'll give me. I have been teaching since 2001, a combination of high school, community college, and university. I have four solid years of university teaching. A year and a half of community college, so I feel good that I can make an argument for at least five years of experience, and it's a good salary, that I can have a good life on.
- What are the office hour requirements?
- The dean couldn't remember, but I think 10-15 hours is the norm. Also, the dean did say that holding office hours in the writing center was something their one other English professor did, so that was cool.
- What are the research expectations? Requirements for advancement?
- Do they try to limit preps for at leas the first year?
- They do
- How much/what conference travel is covered?
- I've thought about what scholarship would look like in this job. I'd like to switch to the regional MLA in the fall and PCA in the spring. Both conferences cover a wider range of issues, topics, classes, so more bang for the buck, more things I could use in the classroom. And easier. One local, one national. But we'll see.
Other advice I received from Twitter friends was to make sure I made it known I was looking for a place, a permanent place, not a jump and switch to something "better" so I emphasized that. I made connections to my own upbringing, life in eastern NC, and the similarities. Also, to emphasize teaching, which was easy. Also, to engage with students, which I did.
So the day came, and since someone said socks matter, I made sure my sock game was strong.
- Fly in
- Lunch with dean, some informal, but then a list of HR questions (about an hour)
- Meet with staff, not hiring committee (half an hour)
- Meet with the VP of Instruction and the President of the college (half an hour)
- Teaching demo (20 minutes)
- Questions with hiring committee (half and hour)
- Fly out
Lunch was a little hard, in that you're hungry, and trying to answer questions, but we did okay. AND, I ordered a salad, so no mess.
Unsurprisingly, most of the questions were about teaching. How to teach students where they are, support them. There were questions about how to help students who are struggling, what do I think was a "perfect" lesson/assignment and I pushed back that there was no such thing. I also talked about social justice, how my Twitter network helped me keep up on issues in the field, like new pedagogy, food insecurity, how these things influence our students and how to help.
The network went down right before my teaching demo. But, I had my print outs of what the slides would have looked like, so I gave those to the dean, and just broke out my whiteboard markers and winged it. As I told them, it wasn't like tech going out wasn't a problem teachers faced. Other than that, it went great.
I stressed the reasons why I wanted to be there, the cliche that I really did want to be part of a community, contribute, build programs.
I was asked about how I deal with conservative students taking issue, or cognitive dissonance, and my answer was that I tried to always make sure we stayed grounded in the text, that people felt class was a safe space, a place for hard discussions, but not proselytizing. We talked too about how the stakes for these conversations were different. And we talked about campus shootings. They do active shooter drills, and because they have a large vet population, and because of where they are, many carry, and as a result have had to make some changes. I appreciated the honest conversation, because sadly, it's the world we live in.
We also had a conversation about, how the interview was us all being polite, but what does every day look like. And I was frank about getting the "you don't look like a professor" line, because of the hair, the tattoos, because I'm an opinionated woman. She asked how I answered and I was honest, that cognitive dissonance can be hard, but that's what college is for. And I tried to Mister Rogers my students- more welcoming, sweater wearing for office, showing them I was there to support them.
I was asked about the scholar who most influenced me, and I was prepped for this because it came up in my internet research. I said Alan Dundes. Because I love him, his psychoanalytical approach, but too how he opens folklore, because I use him to make it accessible to students.
I was also asked a version of where I saw myself in the future and I was frank in that my greatest strength was that I was a worker bee, always willing to take on projects, pitch in, but that in no job I've ever had was that ever appreciated. I stated that I didn't want admin, although I'd filled in on those jobs, and had experience, but I just wanted to be someplace where my strengths were appreciated. The dean told me that they had a lot of programs in place for "leading where you are" and I liked the sound of that.
I have to say that it made a big deal to me that the dean was a woman. That the president was a woman. That the VP of instruction was a person of color, and was the first to mention the importance of social justice on campus. It was clear the staff was there because they wanted to be, because of their dedication to the students. They all seemed like really good people.
I would like to be able to say that I was totally professional and detached.
I'm not.
The campus, the buildings, the spaces, are all gorgeous. Well laid out, green, the students seem very comfortable on campus, and in those spaces.
The classrooms are fully tricked out, computers, large seminar tables, projectors, document cameras.
I got a great vibe from everyone and really, REALLY want to be there. I think I would be a good fit, I think I could contribute, help build the program, have a really good life.
Plus, Nehi could have a yard like this, which I have been promising her.
They said that they expect to check references/make an offer in the next couple of weeks and set a start date, so we'll see.
Fingers crossed.
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