Economics Job Market Rumors Topic: Asking questions at the interviews

Economics Job Market Rumors Topic: Asking questions at the interviews http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews Economics Job Market Rumors Topic: Asking questions at the interviews en-US Thu, 23 May 2013 08:28:39 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://www.econjobrumors.com/search.php Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-315856 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:24:31 +0000 Economist 315856@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ Something a lot of interviewers do is to ask "Do you have any questions for us?" at the point when they are done asking you any questions. This means they basically want it over and some schools really do want it over ASAP at that point. But asking no questions at all is not a good signal, particularly if they want one. So, the person who said one or two good questions, especially if show knowledge of and interest in the school, are better than none, but worse than a dumb question or some stupid laundry list. Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-315840 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:53:02 +0000 Economist 315840@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ I have no flyouts so far. I really think that I shouldn't have asked any questions. Most of my interviews went fine. I felt that the interviewers and I had good time. We were laughing in some. Only God knows why they don't like me. Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-315742 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:27:28 +0000 Economist 315742@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ how did it work out for you, op? Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-315738 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:25:05 +0000 Economist 315738@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ bump Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-5056 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 22:25:11 +0000 Economist 5056@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ Go with the flow, baby... Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-5046 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 22:02:02 +0000 Economist 5046@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ ^^ I'm the person quoted above ('Top 30 demand side...'). Fair point. Schools and interviewers are different, there's no single rule that works everywhere. That should make all the candidates out there feel even better about the ordeal that awaits them... Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-5033 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:47:46 +0000 Economist 5033@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ Good question for an Ohio State interview is to ask how happy they were with the Wisconsin game this fall... :-). Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-5009 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:19:25 +0000 Economist 5009@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ <blockquote>Top 30 demand side here: I don't want to answer the same boring questions about my dept from the 25+ candidates we're interviewing. I don't want to spend the last 90 seconds of your interview summarizing my research, or hearing about my colleagues' research. Conversation abilities do matter, but the fly-out is much more useful for that, and asking a question in the last minute or two is not going to save you if the previous 28 minutes revealed you have none.</blockquote> If anything shows how much preferences are idiosyncratic, this is it. I want to find out if a candidate can converse before the flyout; and, I don't find myself answering the same questions. I also don't find that the conversation is limited to two minutes. But this person is of an opposite mind. Now, I have many reasons and plenty of experience telling me why my approach is superior; and, I suspect this guy also has reasons and experience. My point: What schools look for differs more than many candidates think. That and being able to read the interviewer and what they want from the interview matters. Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-5008 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:14:36 +0000 Economist 5008@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ d6df said: "Why would anyone prefer a candidate who wastes everybody's time by asking useless questions? Are there no other ways a PhD candidate can show his interest in a job opportunity to a room full of people with PhDs, except by asking stupid and absolutely unimportant questions?" I can't think of a way to signal my interest in a job opportunity during an interview without speaking. And if I'm going to speak, the norms of conversation dictate that I do so in the inquisitive form expected in contemporary American colloquy. Maybe wearing a Buckeye sweatshirt to my OSU interview would be a better signal (and avoid wasting your time), but I suspect not. Economist on "Asking questions at the interviews" http://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/asking-questions-at-the-interviews/page/2#post-4987 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:58:04 +0000 Economist 4987@http://www.econjobrumors.com/ if you're interviewing william and marry be sure to ask about the bestiality dude