I can't think of any questions I could ask during the interviews.
Honestly, I don't care about these places one way or the other, all I want is a fly-out. Once I have more than one fly-out, I'll start asking questions for real. But preparing questions for all my interviews sounds like a huge waste of time, given most won't fly me out anyway.
Thoughts ?
Our placement director told us not to ask questions at the interviews. Just say something like "At this point in time, I do not have questions to ask. I am just glad to have had the opportunity to interview with you. If any questions arise in the future, I will be in touch with you."
OP here. I agree with ^. But what the f. should I ask ? Stuff I actually care about will either reveal itself during the fly-out or cannot be discussed at the interview stage (pay, teaching load, etc.).
Do you guys like to co-author ? Do you value good teaching ? Does the dep strive to be a close-knit community ? These questions are all CRAP.
Demand side - the only pertinent question for me is "what is your anticipated schedule moving forwards?" One might also ask the committee chair "may I contact you if I have questions regarding my status?". Everything after that is moot and a waste of time. Thank people for their time and the opportunity to meet with them and then get on to the next interview....if you have one.
On an unrelated note, keep track of who you meet. I cannot think of other events in our profession where you meet more people in a shorter amount of time and really get a chance to talk with them. Relationships matter - make good long-term use of your time in Denver.
I'm demand side too, and I don't quite agree with ^. A question or two that follows up on something we discussed or otherwise shows us that you've done your homework can be helpful in gauging your interest (provided that we're still interested in you, of course).
But I fully agree with ^ that you shouldn't waste anyone's time. The goal is to ask questions to which you want to know the answers, and that won't make you look like a putz.
Cawley's paper has some useful suggestions here as to things you might ask.
I disagree with d57d. I've never found it a waste of time to find out how motivated the candidate is. It's saved us from catching the spear more than once.
39d5: What should you ask? If you are interested in this field, the odds are good you might get along with the interviewers if you take a second to learn about them. Ask about what research they do that sets them apart; how their department is different; etc. Finish by asking what questions you should have asked; it lets them remind you of something obvious or gives them a chance to point out something standard questions would not get at.
Sheesh. On second thought: DON'T ask any questions. If you are such a dullard, the departments should be allowed to see that and decide if they really want to live with you for the next 7-10 years.
^^ I ain't dull. I have a *lot* of questions (and stuff I want to learn for myself during the fly-out), only nothing that can be asked during a 30min interview.
You really want me to ask a specific prof about his research, when we have so little time, and there are 2-4 other profs in the room who all know this already and couldn't care less ? Hell of a way to come across as a socially inept nerd.
I like the "what should I have asked" line, although I fear it might come across as a little too cutesy ...
"It's not that hard if you are used to interacting with other human beings"
Classic, and plenty true. It really shouldn't be a problem to come up with at least one relevant question stemming from the flow of your discussion during the previous 20-25 minutes.
"It's not that hard if you are used to interacting with other human beings"
Absolutely. Even if the search committee isn't considering this explicitly (and some do; I've been on committees that have talked about this for candidates) it's always lurking as an implicit/subconscious consideration. Search committee members are people (gasp!); individuals respond more to how they're treated in person then the sophistication of your proofs or your identification strategy.
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.
In short, just thank the interviewers and say you'll ask questions in the fly-out if you are invited for one. (This advice may not hold for schools that may be unsure whether you are really interested in them. In that case, showing that you've done a bit of background research on them might be a good idea.)