Academics Chat Thread

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I believe the old Chat thread has fallen off the front page of this section, and I thought it might be time to reinstate it. I know it's only sporadically useful, but sometimes it's nice, right?

I am a lowly postdoctoral English Lit type. Finished my PhD in 2014, teaching associate for a couple of years, and now part-time while DD is a baby. I'm currently working frantically to get my book manuscript to the publisher by my deadline (October), and also trying to regain enthusiasm for the job market.

Who else is lurking around here?

Thanks for the responses! It looks like I'm being unreasonable, then, - I had no idea that it was common to have people from other departments on the panel for lectureship interviews!

That's interesting to know - I didn't know other depts sat on interview panels. I think my interview had all my dept - even the Dean at the time was from my department. Strange, actually, since it was interdisciplinary position you would have thought they would have asked someone from the other discipline... but we are very 'siloed' here - I still barely know the people in my joint discipline at my Uni, most of my contacts are from outside the Uni.

fluctuat - have they given you any guidelines, like level to pitch it at? Do you have an actual whole lecture slot, or is it more like 15/20 minutes? I must say I've never done this, but I've sat through a fair few. If they don't give you a level, I suggest both asking for any advice now and then explicitly stating before you begin "first year" or "second year" or whatever so they can calibrate. Did they give you a topic, or is it free choice? And is everyone doing the same thing? If that, try to make it very interesting - after 4 renditions of the same basic info, one can get pretty bored - but do make sure to get the basic stuff out too, as there will be direct comparisons in how well something is explained!

I've just reached out trying to start some kind of women's social network at my Uni. Eep. Feeling very unsure of myself and want to go hide under a rock and not speak with anyone for a while. Does anyone else get like this? I just get tapped out with social interaction, and even email becomes something I don't want to deal with.

*basis

My goodness I am slipping.

However, we HAVE to have someone on the panel from another department for interviews.

I had no idea that it was common to have people from other departments on the panel for lectureship interviews!

Not just common but usually - in decent universities at any rate - required. The “outside” eye of the cognate discipline is good practice.

And as a senior woman ( ever since I was an HoD as a senior lecturer - so for the last 20 years!) believe me, senior women get asked to do this all the time. Far more than our male colleagues usually, because committees need at least one woman.

I got an interview!! (for the internal admin post) Oh, crap, now I'm nervous. It's not for a couple weeks. I have no idea how to prepare. I've never done anything like this.

And I've recently discovered that my disability isn't on any sort of records at all. I've been trying, extremely unsuccessfully, to find about how to just get it noted in my HR records (I found the place we can see our 'personal details' and there is a disability field, but it's blank). I'm worried that if I do get this internal post and need accommodations, it'll be harder to get without any official note. But also don't want to do something like bring it up in interview! It should have no baring on my ability to do the job - I can accomplish it fine with my current flexi work pattern. But I don't want to be in a situation where someone says I can't follow that pattern and I have no recourse.

Congratulations murmuration! Tricky on the disability. Is there no way to have a note added to your HR file?

I've heard on the grapevine that I'm in the final two for the job I'm appkying for. i made the mistake of looking up the other candidate - she's about ten years older and much more suitable on paper than me. Oh dear.

fluctuat, you'd think so. And so do my HoD and Athena SWAN lead. But HR has been unresponsive - and I've got enough to do without chasing up people who aren't responding to their emails! I wonder if it was a diffision of responsibility thing - we contacted both the HR Diversity Head and our Dept's HR rep. Next might just email ONE of them. I mean, there's a field right there to fill in - someone just needs to do it! I've even got a letter from my specialist nurse, but I don't know if it's needed or who it should be shown to.

On paper, remember! And, if they're only interviewing two, they must be being selective and now you know they think you're on the same level as her. When's your interview?

In a couple of weeks. I had a nightmare about it last night, being in the interview and being asked all sorts of questions I couldn't answer Her field of expertise meshes well with what they already do, while mine is a bit more of a new departure. Which might be a good thing or a bad thing. Ah well, time will tell.

Late to it, but just seen you got funding, murm. Congratulations!

Of course what is on paper matters fluctuat. But people's reputations, the feeling that they are reliable and sound I think matter more these days. DH has recently interviewed and turned down a couple of star candidates (on paper) for jobs, because he knows that they are difficult and non-collegiate. Don't assume that, because someone has a longer list of publications than you do, you'll always be second choice.

Well done murmuration!

Thanks, LRD and pigmcpig :)

fluctuat - similar time frame to me, although mine's not for a job (or a new job). I echo pig - paper and people can be very different. And maybe they don't want just the same thing again! There was no one doing work like me where I got this job.

I've been setting up meetings and asking for advice about my interview. Went to first one today, with a VIP at another Uni who used to do a similar role here (and went stratospheric afterwards - probably not my path!) - I'm afraid I took up more of her time than I intended (like, more than an hour!), but she seemed cheerful about it - would it be totally inappropriate to email to apologise for spending so long (and promise not to take so long next time - we have plans for future meetings), or should I just send an effusive thank you?

I am in the throes of exam marking.

It's not going too badly, actually. But I'm running out of apocalyptic music to accompany the marking ...

I'm at a conference without the DCs. I finished my module marking earlier in the week (though it was a bit frantic as I had to get it done plus I had a grant deadline last week). I think I have a load of 1st year papers to do later in term but basically that's me finished till Oct.

I've been asked to write a testimonial for our department/faculty's application for Athena Swan. I said no I couldn't say enough positive things, thank you.

worst - I've been approached twice for such testimonials - was able to delicately suggest I might not be the best person but get back to me if they couldn't find anyone better. They never get back to me :)

So incredibly swamped!! Our exams haven't started yet, but have final year projects to mark and a bunch of other deadlines I agreed to way back when I imagined the time right before exams would be 'light' plus all those meetings I've just scheduled. And exams are going to be a nightmare - will be away at a PhD viva (whose thesis I still need to read...) so won't get them until 2 days before they're due. Just hoping that not too many of the 70 students pick my essay...

I know that feeling. I am very much behind and letting people down all over the place.

I have to stop saying Yes, but there were a couple of things which I let myself be persuaded into and I shouldn’t have. Added to which a couple of personally rather difficult —very buddy awful actually— things in Jan- Feb put me behind.

I should have a template sackcloth and ashes I’m very sorry email ...

In other news, a grant I was waiti so long to hear about I thought we hadn’t got it has just come through. It’s invthe Humanities so it’s something like a 15% success rate? So I’m quietly chuffed. And safe in my job for the next 3 years whatever happens. And can step back from senior admin roles. Although I get a perverse enjoyment from doing some roles.

Onwards! Working early today so I can take the afternoon off.

I'm spending the afternoon firefighting after a massive admin ballsup the day before exams are due to start. Oh joy.

Trying to think of qus I can ask at my interview next week. Is asking how much scope there is for working from home, which I currently do 3 days a week, a really bad idea?

Um, on the face I it, yes.

Well unless there were carefully laid out context, it’d put me off if I were on the selection panel.

But there may be good reasons and it might be quite doable. However, i would want to be sure that the job can actually be done under those conditions and that the workload wouldn’t be shifted to others just because they were there.

Congratulations TheRagingGirl!

thanks TheRagingGirl, that's what I suspected. It's perfectly doable in my branch of the humanities, everyone does it, just not sure it's the case in the new dept. I'll keep my lips zipped then.

I'm doing a bunch of skype interviews from home this morning, ignoring the dog being lavishly sick on the floor in the background. Oh the glamour.

It's perfectly doable in my branch of the humanities, everyone does it

Yes, here too - am at home today & actually don't need to go into the office till Thursday (hurrah!).

But ... I think there's a difference between doing it because I'm marking and writing, and don't have any meetings or need to be physically in my office for the next 3 days, and saying from the outset that I won't be in my office 3 days a week.

Last week I was in the office 6 days, because I needed to be. Next week, it'll be 3 days in, and 3 days out of the office - although one of those days 'll be in the Library.

Congrats raging! Glad things are looking up for more of us :)

Yeah, I agree fluctuat - I wouldn't bring it up in interview. Honestly, I'd simply assume that in any academic faculty-level post you would be able to work whatever pattern you want -- that seems to be how it's been where-ever I've been. There are people who are barely around because they're off at meetings, being interviewed on TV, or whatever else. Or just working from home that day. You've got no clue, really, where anyone is.

Do you have any visits with staff? That might be the way to find such things out, "What's the environment like here?" "How regularly do people come to coffee?" "Is there formal procedures for being away for confernces, or is it more casuaul?" or other questions that might give you answers to the presenteeism or not ethos.

Well ti's been two weeks since my interview and I've not heard a peep so I'm guessing it's a no. Given that there were only two of us interviewed you'd think sending a "no thanks, sod off" email wouldn't be too much to ask

On a lighter note, I dreamed last night I became a part-time air hostess with Ryanair so that I could jet round the world going to various research libraries. A flawless plan, I'm sure you'll agree

FluctuatNecMergitur well, there is always that option...

@FluctuatNecMergitur its horrible when they do that, especially given the hours of prep that goes into academic interviews. Although if they can't even contact you to give you the outcome you may have dodged a bullet anyway - or somewhere with a really poor HR division!!

It usually means that you weren't first choice, but that you might still be in the running.

Often they're still negotiating with the preferred candidate, but can't tell you "No" because you're appointable if the preferred candidate refuses.

And some people mess about when offered a job ... I'm a member of a 'secret' FB group (I expect quite a few of you here are) where there was a dilemma posted a few weeks ago by a job candidate. I can't give details here, but it was one example of why it can sometimes takes ages to hear.

Speaking as someone who's done a lot of job interviews, but also een on the other side and been doing the interviewing, I find it amazing that people still haver when offered a job that they've said they're interested in throughout the process. If it's last minute nerves about moving or a partner's resistance, or whatever, why oh why don't people imaginatively work through the situation before interviewing for a job?

Havering and negotiating can be stressful for everyone, not least the second & third-in-line candidates.