Interview Advice (Promotions/etc.)

Many of us (academics) will be interviewed regularly, for example,

  • for promotion (e.g., for climbing the ladder from Lecturer (B)-> Senior Lecturer (C) -> Associate Professor (D) -> Full Professor (E1) -> Full Professor (E2) in Australia/New Zealand),
  • for conversion from tenure-track to tenure (i.e., from fixed-term to continuing), or, of course,
  • when applying for the very first or a new Professorship.

The questions asked by the committee might depend on the specific purpose, and even on the specific committee, which again might depend on the purpose.

Regardless, I collected a bunch of questions that might help you prepare for such interviews; they might be a starting point for your preparation, even if they might not perfectly fit your exact circumstances. Note also that these interview questions are specifically tailored towards promotion and conversion interviews -- for initial/new Professorship applications (i.e., for joining a new University), they might not fit perfectly, though still good enough to prepare; I'll cover them separately below. Also, the weight of the respective categories also changes based on your level. For example, when applying for Level B or C (more junior), they might ask for service, but maybe no or little Leadership. In contrast, when applying for D or E (very senior), clearly Leadership will play a major role. Anyway, these questions were collected over years, based on interviews I participated in as interviewee or interviewer; they also incorporate feedback from colleagues. I hope you find them helpful! (Good luck!)

To give you an idea of the setting: the interview usually takes place in a room with many panel members (often around 10), seated in an inverted U, and you sit at its open end, facing all of them.

Questions are usually asked along the different categories you are evaluated as an academic, namely Research, Teaching, and Leadership/Service.

General / Other

  • Would you like to tell us briefly about your journey to this point in your career? Or simply: What brings you here? // This might be an ice-breaker question they might ask in the very beginning.
  • Why do you think you're ready for promotion now? Or a variant thereof: Name one category where you are already acting at the level that you are aiming at. Do you, despite this, still see a path to grow beyond that level?
  • How do you balance research, teaching, and service?
  • What are your short- and long-term career goals?
  • What do you see as your greatest achievement since joining [this University]?
  • Can you give an example where you feel you did not do well, or where you think you could have done better? // Might also be asked for a specific category, e.g., teaching.
  • Is there anything left you'd still like to add? // This is sometimes asked at the end of an interview; so, think ahead of time what are the most important points to make your case.

Research

// achievements

  • What are your main research contributions so far? Or a variant thereof: What is it that you are most proud of? Or: What is your most impactful work, and how did it influence the field or the work of others? // This might be an ice-breaker question asked first, since you can surely talk about this flawlessly!

// research program

  • How do you see your research developing over the next 5 to 10 years? (Note that ideally, this should be supported by an impact statement of recent work since joining the ANU (/your school/University))
  • How do you involve students and early-career researchers in your research program?
  • Do you have plans to expand your research team (e.g., PhD students, postdocs)? How?
  • How do you differentiate your work from others in your field?
  • If you had unlimited resources, what research question would you tackle first? And why?
  • What strategies do you use to ensure your research has international visibility?
  • What do you do to make your research more prominently used or visible?
  • How does your work align with broader university priorities or national research priorities?
  • Do you have any interdisciplinary research? Do you deem this important?

// research impact

  • How do you define and measure research impact in your field?
  • Is your research impactful? (They wouldn't ask such a blunt question, but having an answer might help you prepare, anyway :))
  • Do you have any industry collaborations? Do you know potential industry collaborators in [your city/country]?
  • Do you ever communicate your research findings to the general public?
  • How do you make sure your research has long term impact?

// funding

  • Do you already have grant application experience?
  • What is your strategy for securing funding?

// collaborations

  • How have you built collaborations, and what are your future plans?
  • Did you already collaborate with people from the ANU?

// various

  • Were there any difficulties in research? How did you handle them?
  • Can you give examples of your leadership in research (e.g., supervising students, leading projects, organizing workshops)?

Teaching

// philosophy & delivery

  • What is your teaching philosophy?
  • What has been your biggest contribution to education so far?
  • How do you see your teaching portfolio evolving?
  • Do you integrate your research into your teaching?
  • What role do you think technology should play in university teaching? Are you using any?
  • Do you have good attendance numbers in your courses? If not, what did you try to resolve this?
  • How do you support student learning across different levels (undergrad, Master-level)?

// evaluation & improvement

  • Can you describe a time when student feedback led you to change your approach? Or a variant thereof: How were your SELT reviews? How did they influence your next iterations of the courses you teach?
  • How do you assess your teaching? // Careful, could be a trick question: Some people don't trust in SELT, so you saying good SELT (=student feedback) results might not be a good indicator since maybe only those vote who liked it
  • If you report an improvement (e.g., better marks after changing your course), how can you be sure it is due to your changes, and not, e.g., due to an easier exam or a different selection of exercises? And how did you achieve it?
  • Were there any difficulties in teaching? How did you handle them?
  • How would you like to develop your teaching skills in the future?
  • How have you contributed to curriculum development or program coordination?

// Supervision / Mentoring

  • How do you support your students' career development and well-being?
  • How do you ensure quality supervision and timely completion?
  • Can you elaborate on the typical research project student load and supervision arrangements (e.g., for Honours, Master's and PhD students) in your School? // Panel members from other disciplines might misjudge your supervision numbers without knowing what is typical.
  • Describe your contributions to pedagogical innovation.
  • What opportunities do you see to re-shape teaching and learning in your school?
  • How have you led others in their teaching (tutors, but also colleagues)? Can you give us a concrete example of your mentorship?

Service / Leadership

  • What roles have you taken in service to the School/University? Or a variant thereof: Which committee roles or admin duties have you found most rewarding, and why? Or: What is your most significant service role so far?
  • Which service roles do you see yourself taking in the future? And why? Or a variant thereof: If promoted, how would you use the new level, e.g., for a significant leadership or service contribution?
  • Apart from joining committees, have you led anything (e.g., chaired a committee, driven an initiative)? Do you plan to take on ongoing roles with more leadership responsibility, also beyond research?
  • How do you contribute to the research community (reviewing, organizing conferences, etc.)? Do you hold (or plan to take on) senior roles, e.g., on editorial boards or as program chair?
  • What culture would you like to see in your School/University, and what would you do about it?
  • How do you foster a positive academic culture within your team or department?
  • How did you contribute to building a sense of community in your School/University, and to making your local area an inclusive and supportive environment?
  • What does leadership mean to you, and how are you demonstrating it?
  • What is your greatest leadership strength, and what would you like to develop over the coming years?
  • How do you see yourself contributing to strategic initiatives at the School or College level, or to your University's strategic plan?
  • Stepping into a continuing role carries a different expectation of service — what are your service ambitions? (Note that this question is tied to a conversion-to-tenure interview, but it might also apply to higher promotion levels, such as D-to-E, i.e., to Full Professor.)

Additional Advice:

  • Note that besides all the criteria listed for the respective level you seek, an implicit criterion is already acting at the level you want to get promoted to. So, make sure your answers in the interview (and also the application document) actively demonstrate that you are already operating at that level, rather than merely meeting the formal criteria of your current one.
  • Consider structuring your answers like a paper: give the short answer first, then the evidence and details.
  • Always be concrete: For example,
    • "I mentored my tutor throughout the course" could be claimed about any tutor, so say how you did it.
    • "I will apply for a research grant" is way too abstract. Instead, mention the exact grant scheme, maybe the amount of funding planned, but certainly the staff (how many PhD students etc.).
  • Be concise. Don't repeat yourself and get to the point quickly. As a rule of thumb, take at most 3 minutes per question — though some questions are really several questions in one.
  • Please note that some questions might be a follow-up from your application. Consequently, you could think about what they might ask based on what you conveyed or focused on. Note that your interview might be a long time after documentation submission, so re-read all your documentation a few days before the interview so that you "understand" what they might aim at! Typical follow-ups ask you to elaborate on a claim (e.g., a "measure of success" you listed, or what an award was for), ask about what you left out (e.g., teaching beyond the course you highlighted), or probe apparent gaps in your record (e.g., few PhD completions, a low teaching load, mostly one-off service roles, or no senior roles in journals or conferences). So prepare an answer for every gap a panel member might spot.
  • Should you repeat what is already in your CV/application? Opinions diverge: Some advise against it, since the panel knows your documents anyway — give context, not facts. On the other hand, your application should not block you, so of course you should not leave out a fitting fact just because it was mentioned already in a document. What counts is a perfect answer to the question.
  • Keep in mind that usually at least some, maybe many, committee members are not from your field. So, keep your answers simple. You can practice this with friends who are not from your field. Also note that this transfers to very foundational knowledge, which might differ across fields. E.g., in some fields conference papers are the primary publication means and top-tier; in others they are entirely worthless and only journals count. You might have to clarify these things.
  • Finally, you can ask chatGPT/Claude/etc to hypothesize which questions might be likely, maybe even based on your application (if you are willing to share it with that LLM). You could also feed it this page, and engage in a mock interview! These LLMs all have voice communication mode, so a decent mock interview is literally just one copy/paste away.

Interview Advice (Professorship Applications)

When you apply for a new position, a lot changes. The committee wants to see that you looked into the new position, e.g., know their teaching portfolio and where you could support them, know which colleagues there are and with whom you could collaborate, and know how to obtain funding. They basically want to see that you are very well prepared, fit in perfectly, and can start to shine from the first day.

So, several of the questions above might still fit, others might not make any sense. Below are a few that specifically fit this context.

General / Fit

  • Why did you apply specifically to this university? How do you fit the specific call?
  • How does this position fit your career trajectory and goals?
  • Would you be willing to adapt your research agenda to align with local priorities? If so, how?

Research / Integration

  • Have you looked at our faculty? With whom would you collaborate, and how?
  • How would your research fit into the priorities of our University?

Teaching / Contribution

  • Have you looked at our courses? Where could you contribute?
  • Which teaching experience do you have?
  • Are you looking forward to teaching?

Funding

  • Do you know relevant funding schemes that you could apply for?
  • Do you have plans for acquiring funding?

Supervision / Mentoring

  • Do you know how PhD supervision and acquisition of PhD students work here?
  • How would you contribute to supervision here?

Questions you can ask them

  • Are there any courses where you would be happy if I could take them?
  • What are typical class sizes or infrastructure to support teaching?
  • Is there infrastructure to support grant applications?

Note that questions should be used as a tactical means to make them want you! You should not use them to compensate for your incompetent preparation.^^ I.e., whenever you could possibly find something out yourself, don't ask unless it makes you appear in a better light (and even then: ask for confirmation of your research, not as a substitute). Keep in mind that they do not know you, so you want to prevent them from drawing wrong conclusions about you.