- Almost every interview I had included questions about my article and the question ‘do you have any question for us?’
- I found most of the questions in most of the interviews centered on my article/job talk and more generally on my proposed research agenda. The hiring committee wanted to "play" with the ideas (and so having a reasonably accessible topic, not too specialized but just specialized enough, was valuable). Those questions will, of course, be different for everyone.
- I tried to design my answers to questions about my scholarship so they triggered follow-up questions that showed my real excitement and passion for the job. So, when the ideal course package question came up, as it always did, I was usually able to steer the discussion into (1) I think teaching 1Ls will be fun and challenging and (2) I like intellectual property law. I got naturally animated on both topics.
- The most common question is some variation of "What are you working on?" "What will your job talk be on?" "Tell me about your forthcoming article in so-and-so journal." These questions frequently lead to substantive back-and-forth, some interview teams more probing than others. And of course depending on your project you can always guess what questions will be asked -- if you have a theoretical project, you will be bombarded with questions like "how will this be implemented" "will this work in practice?" "do you have any data to support what you are arguing?" if your project is more concrete, you will be asked to answer broader questions like "what are your normative theoretical assumptions?" "can you defend your methodology? what is it?" "what is the broad theoretical perspective that ties your various projects together?" if you have a comparative/international project, "what does this have to do with our country?" (usually less crudely put, but that's usually the idea.) One should also generally be ready for, ‘What is your methodology?”
- Be prepared to speak articulately about what you are working on (talking about your job market paper is a great answer to this question, as substantive questions follow from it), what your general research interests are, why you want to get into teaching, what book would you use, how would you organize a certain course, what teaching style you prefer to use and why.
- During the interviews, be ENTHUSIASTIC about your work and the meeting. Enthusiasm and excitement (without overdoing it, of course) makes you a more memorable candidate. It also makes it easier for them when they don't have to struggle to get you to talk. Also, at the end of each interview, people will ask you if you have any questions. You should always have a question, as it shows interest. A friend in a hiring committee told me that he thought candidates probably weren't interested in his school when they didn't have questions. (the same is true during call back visits, when you have over 10 interviews. everyone will ask you if you have questions. if necessary, repeat the question).
