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Academic Job Interview Questions
by Heppner, P. & Downing, N. (1982)
1999/03/24~
(Y/M/D)
An Introduction
by site owner SASAKI Yoshinori
What follows is a list of interview questions prepared by Heppner &
Downing as supplement to their following journal article:
| Heppner, P. & Downing, N. (1982) Job interviewing for new psychologists:
riding the emotional roller coaster. Professional Psychology 13:
334-341. |
This is a document which I often consulted and cherished when I was
seeking a job in my early days in academia. I hope that its dissemination
over the net will help a large number of young scholars in various disciplines.
I hereby express my gratitude for Professor Heppner's generous permission
to feature this informative and insightful document on my Web page.
Professor Puncky Paul Heppner, Ph.D.
Professor and Editor of The Counseling Psychologist
16 Hill Hall
Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211 USA
e-mail address: HeppnerP@missouri.edu
|
Minor editorial touch-ups on the strength of the Web tools, such as
indenting, emphasizing, captioning, linking and numbering, were added by
the site owner (Sasaki).
Interview Questions
Heppner, P. & Downing, N. (1982)
TABLE OF CONTENT:
I. You may be asked...
Some typical questions that might be asked of an
applicant for a clinical or counseling psychologist faculty position
are delineated below. Parallel questions could easily be adapted for other
academic divisions within psychology or student service positions.
- What is your theoretical orientation
in therapy?
- Who has had the most impact on
your style of therapy?
- What courses would you like to
teach? What texts
would you use? Why?
- What would you be like as a chairperson of
a dissertation committee?
- How do you see yourself in the
role of a university professor?
- What is your style of supervising
interns or practicum students?
- What is your ideal work environment?
- Under what circumstances would you request that a
student be terminated from a counseling psychology training
program or internship?
- How would you go about recruiting qualified
students for this program?
- What are your professional goals
for the next five years?
- What kind of research do you see
yourself doing in the next few years?
- What kind of involvement, if any,
do you see yourself having in professional
organizations, such as the American Psychological Association?
Why?
- In the last year what is the most important
thing you have learned professionally? Personally?
- What is your style in working with students?
- How would you see yourself fitting into a
department such as ours?
Return to the top of the document.
II. You may ask...
For an academic position, it is functional to have specific
questions for the department chairperson, the college dean, the search
committee, the professional psychology faculty, other faculty, and students.
Similarly, for a student service position, specific questions can be asked
of the center director, the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, the center
senior staff, and interns. Many of the questions listed below will overlap;
the purpose in differentiating the questions is to highlight the appropriateness
of some questions for specific individuals.
For example, when speaking with the department chairperson, one might ask:
- What are the strengths and weaknesses
of the department? the college? the professional psychology program?
- What are the immediate needs of
the professional psychology program? How do you see me fitting into those
needs?
- What are the relationships like among the
various departments in the college?
- How are departmental decisions made
that affect the faculty?
- What behaviors are valued in this
department?
- What are the procedures for promotion and
tenure?
- What kinds of monies are available to cover professional convention
expenses?
- Are salary raises computed on a
percentage basis or a sum increase? What has been the past "track
record" for raises?
- What other resources are available,
such as research assistants, computer accounts, research space, and secretarial
assistance?
Return to the top of the document.
For the College Dean,
some questions which are appropriate might be:
- How do you perceive the department in relationship
to other departments in the university?
- How do you perceive the college in relationship
to other colleges in the university?
- Five years from now, where would
you like to see the college? department?
- How is the economy affecting the
financial budget for the university?
the college? the department?
- What are the strongest departments
on campus? the "up and coming"
departments?
- What is the legislative atmosphere
in the state regarding funding for higher education?
How does this state compare with other states in terms of funding for higher
education?
- What have been the enrollment trends
in your college? In the university? Why?
Return to the top of the document.
For the Search
Committee, it is appropriate to ask several additional questions,
such as:
- Where is the committee in the job selection
process? How many people
are you bringing in? When do you want
to make a decision? When will I know?
- How did this position become open?
- Who was in this position previously?
Why did they leave? What did this previous person do well in their job?
What do you wish he/she had done differently?
- If you had magical powers, and could create the perfect
person for the job, what would that person look like?
- What does the work load consist
of in terms of courses, advisees, case load, etc.?
Return to the top of the document.
Specifically, for the professional
psychology faculty, questions
such as the following might be added:
- What are the strengths and weaknesses
of the program?
- How do you evaluate the strengths
and weaknesses of the program?
- What are the needs of the professional
psychology program?
- How would you describe the ideal candidate
for this position?
- What kind of research is being
done within the program? within the department?
- Do you do collaborative research
with other faculty members?
- What is the expected courseload?
caseload? number of advisees?
- What are the students in the program
like? How are they selected? Where have they been employed prior to and
after completing the program?
- What is the history of the program?
the anticipated future direction of
the program?
- Is this a good place to work? why?
- What are the areas of conflict
in the department? How is the conflict handled?
- What is it like working for "the boss?"
- What are the support
services like (e.g., secretarial assistance, computer time)?
- What are the licensure laws in
this state? Could post doctoral supervision be arranged?
- What do you do for enjoyment?
Return to the top of the document.
Most interviews also involve time with graduate students. Often the time spent
with students provides the candidate with the most accurate
and honest perceptions of the daily functioning
of the program. Additional questions to ask students are as follows:
- How do you feel about your training
as a counseling psychologist?
- What are your professional goals?
after graduation? in five years?
- Does the faculty of this program have national
professional visibility? Who? What kind?
- Who "turns you on" on
the faculty? Why?
- Are graduates of this program competitive
nationally for jobs?
- How many of you have published an article in a professional journal? presented at a national convention? belong
to national professional organizations?
- How frequently do you socialize with faculty? with other students?
- Is the program atmosphere conductive
to your learning and development?
- If I were a good friend of yours, what would
you tell me that I might not ordinarily find out about this
place?
Return to the top of the document.
(End of document)
Last updated on 1999/05/27 (Y/M/D).
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