Phone Interview

[inpursuit]

I got an email from one of the places that I applied for an academic position saying that they were going to call me to discuss my interest in the position. I was wondering if this is going to be a phone interview, something that they are doing to decide which applicants they are really interested in. What kind of questions should one expect in such a situation? What kinds of questions am I allowed to ask about the position/ the department, without turning them off?

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[mlw03]

I did a prelim phone interview for a job I'd applied for (it was a semi-academic position). Seemed like a screening type of thing before deciding who to fly out for a full interview day. I asked about day to day operations of the job, and a few other things.

 

[KCShaw]

It's usually a bit more involved, and expensive, to fly a person out for a job position than it is to invite someone to a resident/fellowship interview on their own dollar. Flight, decent hotel (possibly 2 nights), dinner, in some cases a tour of the city and meeting a real-estate agent, etc. In my relatively limited experience almost -every- potential employer wants to have a telephone chat with you before getting into that kind of time and financial commitment.

That said, my experience in those chats was basically the same as the actual interview -- cautiously/professionally casual, some questions about your background, why you're interested in that institution/location, do you have any hobbies, do you have any questions (you should come up with some beforehand -- little says "eh" more than having no questions; say so if they answered your questions during the chit-chat), etc., and a lot of feeling out personality similarities & differences. IMO you can ask pretty much anything about the job, though I usually save salary questions for late in the process; they probably want to feel like you're interested or not regardless of the pay, even if it may be the only thing on your mind.

 

[inpursuit]

Thanks for your input. I pretty much figured the same. A quick and easy way to screen applicants. I was told that my application is being forwarded to the search committee, so I am assuming this is a really preliminary screening.

 

[sirenomelia]

Thanks for your input. I pretty much figured the same. A quick and easy way to screen applicants. I was told that my application is being forwarded to the search committee, so I am assuming this is a really preliminary screening.

Its a first cut. If they got 50 applications then 10 or so get phone interviews and 2-3 will be invited for actual interview.