Did I screw up my job talk? « Political Science Rumors

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Did I screw up my job talk?

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Jeannine

The other day I did a flyout to a flyover. My teaching demonstration was given to an intro class, and I did it as such. I taught a piece of research of mine that fit in with what the students are studying in their intro class. The presentation went smoothly and many students indicated to me through their body language and their questions that they understood the points I was making. I did not teach a chapter of my dissertation, which is well above the heads of Gov 101 students and which would have required me to explicate a number of concepts that are completely foreign to them but which are known to PhDs.

When it came time for the interview by members of the department (six tenured faculty and one AP present but not questioning), at least two were furious that I had not presented my dissertation. I pointed out that it was a teaching demonstration and not a job talk, and I had tailored my presentation to my audience. I thought there might be trouble when a second faculty member expressed his anger at the presentation and mostly repeated the comments made by the earlier faculty member.

Is my application going in the wastebasket? Where is it written that your presentation has to be about your dissertation, especially when the presentation is to a roomful of freshmen?

What can I do at this point to smooth things over?

5 years ago # QUOTE 8 YEA 7 NAY !
Lawson

If they explicitly said it was to be a teaching demonstration then you were right. I've known several people who had to do this and gave a lecture on something the kids were studying. If they didn't make it explicit, though, you should've followed up and asked them what exactly they were looking for. However, it seems odd that they'd want you to present your dissertation to a bunch of undergrads. I find it odd members of the faculty would be that abrasive, though.

5 years ago # QUOTE 26 YEA 3 NAY !
Mattie

It's a flyover (your words) so why do you care? Starbucks is in all the major metro areas so you can still be swank as you want to be.

Oh, and yeah, you f**ked it up royally.

5 years ago # QUOTE 6 YEA 23 NAY !
Dean

SC member here, it was pretty clear you were just testing the market and were going to blow us off in the event we made an offer.

Well, pal, that ain't how we roll. We don't put up with that 'testing' bull s**t. We found you out.

And we will make you pay.

5 years ago # QUOTE 3 YEA 18 NAY !
Jeb

Furious? Sounds like a drama queen.

Always ask for details about the talk or teaching demo. Always ask.

5 years ago # QUOTE 20 YEA 1 NAY !
Jessye

I did not teach a chapter of my dissertation

If this was your only presentation during this job talk, then, yes, this was a major mistake. Who gives a flying f**k who's in the audience. At job talks you always (ALWAYS) show them what you know -- i.e., how you're contributing to the discipline. The other issue is that if you cannot make your research lucid to undergrads, then what purpose could it possibly serve?

5 years ago # QUOTE 8 YEA 9 NAY !
Jeannine

^ Thank you, Jessye. That is good advice. Other times I've presented to undergrads it's been in addition to a job talk for faculty. And to answer your question (which I think you intended to be rhetorical), yes, I can make my dissertation lucid to undergrads; but it would take longer than to present it to PhDs.

^^ Jeb, I'm no drama queen. I was the one who was in that interview session, and the second faculty member (at least) was furious. He was visually displaying anger and impatience with both my presentation and my answer to the first faculty member, which is why he repeated that faculty member's question.

5 years ago # QUOTE 1 YEA 5 NAY !
Chanel

You should have smoked weed, bro

5 years ago # QUOTE 4 YEA 3 NAY !
Jeb

^^ I'm saying the person who was "furious" was being a drama queen.

5 years ago # QUOTE 3 YEA 2 NAY !
Eleanor

Sounds like you went from your (presumably reasonably well-ranked) R1 to some school where the faculty is out of touch with contemporary research practices. Grad students now do a lot of research other than what's in their dissertations, but this might not have been the case when they were in grad school. Hence, you not presenting something from your dissertation was an indication that it wasn't very good, and by extension, you're not a very good scholar.

Pretty ridiculous situation, and I think you did the right thing, but I think that's how it is.

5 years ago # QUOTE 9 YEA 5 NAY !
Glory

If they wanted your dissertation presented they should have said so. They are supposed to tell you the topic or tell you that you choose for the teaching part. That has been my experience at least. Most every time I've interviewed they gave me a teaching topic to match what the students were doing in class. Op, if you aren't making this up, I'd honestly write it off as a bunch of turds who have clear emotional problems and lack basic professionalism. I'd also formally complain to the dean by email and tell them that because of that bad behavior you wouldn't even consider accepting an offer if it was made. You should do this before the final decision is announced. Seriously do you want me to work with borderline psychos? They did you a favor by showing their true colors early on. You shouldn't tolerate inappropriate and abusive behavior.

5 years ago # QUOTE 7 YEA 8 NAY !
Teddy

OP, you cannot connect your dissertation topic to a group of undergrads and faculty. Trust me, it isn't because your research is so sophisticated. It is because your research is useless and you lack the capacity to make any connection with a generalist audience. You failed. Nice work, tossing away a chance at a job, but you clearly didn't deserve the opportunity in the frst place.

5 years ago # QUOTE 4 YEA 21 NAY !
Haylee

Yep, you screwed up. Anytime someone is that pissed during an interview process you've lost the ball.

5 years ago # QUOTE 4 YEA 3 NAY !
Tennyson

^OP didn't screw up any more than the department did. Who fails to give instructions for a teaching presentation? It's unheard of, and unprofessional. It's even more unprofessional to dress someone down during the interview because of it. Behaving like a petulant child is simply unacceptable.

5 years ago # QUOTE 6 YEA 6 NAY !
Derek

Why not just ask for clarification before hand? If you do and a couple folks are still upset, there's nothing you can do about that. But I can't imagine being asked to do a teaching demo and not asking for clarification on the topic -- whether something related to the course material, a "dumbed down" discussion of your research, or a sophisticated yet accessible version of your research talk.

Bottom line: unless it's painfully clear, don't be afraid to ask for clarification.

5 years ago # QUOTE 8 YEA 2 NAY !
Rylan

"Where is it written that your presentation has to be about your dissertation, especially when the presentation is to a roomful of freshmen?"

its in Poli Sci Job Search Manual, Ch 5, page 49

5 years ago # QUOTE 5 YEA 3 NAY !
Rylan

OP
something similar happened to me recently.
I gave a great presentation, but later in the day with interviews, some in the SC were sort of hostile.

My 2 cents is that they want to see you under stress, how you react,etc.

these things are crap shoots anyway, so relax and good luck

5 years ago # QUOTE 3 YEA 3 NAY !
Tennyson

"these things are crap shoots anyway, so relax and good luck"

Exactly. Ryan is completely right. I've done research and teaching talks that some committees thought were stellar. The exact same presentation is dismissed as "meh" by another search committee.

5 years ago # QUOTE 4 YEA 2 NAY !
Jim

OP sounds like an unfortunate situation. The lesson for any job seeker is to ask as many questions as you can about the nature of your interview, especially the presentation.

I tried to ask the size and likely composition of the audience, lay out of the room (long and narrow, seats in rows, etc so to figure out how to engage the listeners), expected length, etc.

If you see the schedule and it showed only a single "teaching" demonstration, definitely call to try to figure out if this is actually the job talk.

5 years ago # QUOTE 2 YEA 2 NAY !
Nicky

"two were furious"

If two were furious, then they screwed up the job talk.

5 years ago # QUOTE 3 YEA 2 NAY !

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