In this video, Steve Tippins, Ph.D., explains that many qualified academics lose job offers not because of a weak CV but due to a lack of understanding of the academic hiring process. He outlines the typical two‑stage interview system, focusing on the first “conference” interview—now often a 30‑minute Zoom meeting with 2‑4 faculty members and a set of 7‑9 structured questions aimed at assessing fit and professionalism. Tippins offers practical virtual‑interview advice: dress professionally (at least from the waist up), ensure a tidy, quiet background, and even rent a private hotel room if needed to control distractions. He concludes by highlighting the Scholar Career Network as a dedicated resource to help Ph.D. candidates navigate these moments and secure meaningful academic positions.
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Most people do not lose out on academic jobs because their CV is set up poorly. Many times it's because they don't really understand the process or what schools are looking for. So let's start by understanding that the academic interview process is typically set up in a two-interview process. The first interview in this process is typically what many people think of as the conference interview. It doesn't always happen at a conference anymore, but it is the initial scanning interview. From the school's perspective, they're gonna get 50, 70, 300 applications. They're gonna review those applications and determine, oh, these are the 20 to 30 people we have interest in pursuing to see if they fit. Now, many times they just set up Zoom meetings, and that meeting many times is a 30-minute meeting. This 30-minute meeting is going to be you and typically 2 to 4 members of the faculty of the school with whom you're interviewing. And there are highly disciplined programs set up, structured, where there are going to typically be 7 to 9 questions they're going to ask, and they're going to rotate those questions around the committee members. The goal for them is, are you who you represented in your CV? Is there fit? Is there the professionalism that they're looking for, for their new colleague? First, dress professionally, even on a Zoom call. At least dress professionally from the waist up so that that's where they can see. Second, make sure you're in a background that looks professional and is quiet. The cat's not walking across your screen. The dog's not barking. I've had clients in the past who've gone to hotels rented a hotel room so that they know they could control everything and, in one case, that their 6 cats wouldn't be asking for attention during the process. The Scholar Career Network exists specifically to support Ph.D.s through moments like this and help them find meaningful careers.
