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How Will You AnswerAdvice: . . . based on a failed search two years ago: Be sure to indicate what you would do if you were the WPA director to enhance the comp. program. Most folks were afraid to address that question. Responses: While I agree that the very general question, “how would you change our program?” is politically fraught and a little unfair, it may in fact be exactly what the people hiring you want and need to know. Search committees that are hiring people primarily to do research never balk at asking what your Next Book is going to be (and even WPA types need to have an answer for that one, but that’s another story). So admin searchers seem within the bounds of sanity to ask a future-oriented question as well — though sure, it’d be nice if they’d add some context to it. Still, one doesn’t have to leap out onto a limb to answer such a question, promising a takedown of anyone speaking the word “modes” or a conversion to 100% computer classes. There are things almost any program would be glad to hear, and that don’t necessarily diss the current system: ideas for new courses, new outreach, new grant proposals, new faculty development sessions, new assessment options, new institutional research, new online resources….What didn’t you see when you looked at the website? Which of these is most up your alley? And it’d be ok to respond to this question at first with a question (if you’ve done your research and haven’t seen an obvious answer): “Do you already have X? What sort of Y is already in place? I see that you have Z, but I couldn’t tell if everyone participated.” It’d also then be ok to spend the following sentence reassuring them that you’re not Gunga Din: “I would want to take time to learn about X and Y, of course,…” After everybody nods their Of Course, you’re free to take 60 seconds to describe the kind of thing you might really be interested in doing. (Yeah, it’s a leap, but hey, if you happen to say that you’re interested in collaborating with Engineering’s TechComm, and the ctte knows that their TechComm department is stone-cold crazy, they’re gonna nod politely — what, like they want to admit to TechComm’s craziness right there in the interview?! — and cut you some slack for having a good idea in theory, planning to fill you in later over nachos and margaritas if they hire you, and ask if you wouldn’t really rather work with the nice WACish people in Management.) If you’re honestly the kind of person who’d want to do that one mild thing (at *least*), and when you’re done saying so, they gasp in horror, well, everyone’s learned something incredibly useful, yes? That’s what should happen in a good interview. (If they all gasp inwardly and just decide not to pursue you further, you’ll feel bad and do a lot of self-berating but it’ll still probably be for the best.) I have to agree with [above] about this question—what you would do, as comp director, to enhance the writing program—cause, as he indicated, it’s a trap and, I would add, pretty disingenuous. I think it makes sense to say: here’s what we’re doing in our program, here’s what we think we could do better, here’s where we’re interested in going….now, what sort of thoughts do you have about how to initiate these moves? The onus is on the interviewers/the dept to be able to articulate problems/concerns/issues so that the candidate can get the lay of the land and get a foothold; shouldn’t be the candidate’s responsibility to point out what needs to be enhanced. |