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Relax, gaspode. I completely understand the lack of interview experience. I am finishing my PhD right now after two masters degrees and I never once interviewed for any of those positions (it was exactly as you described it). But don't let that faze you.
You must be some kind of rockstar to get called in for an interview. Give yourself a big pat on the back for that. I mean, wow, in the current job market each tenure track postion seems to get hundreds of applications and you beat them all out! kudos.
Now just relax. Be yourself. People will understand if you're tired and need breaks. At this point they just want to see if you will get along with everyone and be a good fit in the long run (they already know you're smart and accomplished).
I have never met you, but it's obvious from hearing about you, seeing pictures, reading your posts, that you have a "winning" personality and anyone would LOVE to have you as a co-worker/colleague.
So relax, be yourself, and rely on you knowlege of your field. I am sure that in debriefing, they will be impressed, and if you are near the top, they will want to have you there, just 'cause, you're gaspode, after all!
Oh, and best not to mention your penchant for gay porn, at least in the first interview.
Enjoy the rush. I do like the suggestion of dressing up. Heck, wear evening wear. The only other thing I can think of is have someone record your voice over the phone so you can hear how you sound, and modulate if you think it necessary.
Congrats, gaspode! Looks like you got some good advice in that AskMe thread. With that and all the preparation you're doing, I'm sure you'll kick butt.
I've seen the responses in the AskMe thread about the pregnancy issue. Now, I know what the law says an employer can or cannot do. But if it were me, I would tell them I am pregnant from the get-go, not wait until they've made an offer and are then 'legally vulnerable'.
This is just my own code of ethics - I couldn't not tell a potential employer about something so relevant to my availability. This is an intervening event since you sent out your resumé. I know if I were an employer and someone I'd offered a job to then announced they would need maternity cover, I'd be pissed off at best and would probably have doubts about the employee's integrity at worst.
When I was newly married I interviewed at a law firm where I really wanted the job. At the end of the interviewed I volunteered that, although I'd only been married a couple of years, I did not intend to have children. After I got the job, one of the partners (who had been 8 months pregnant at my interview) said that she really appreciated my saying that. She knew the question couldn't be asked, but my volunteering the information was a big plus.
I know that this approach is probably wrong, wrong, WRONG in the far more politically correct United States, but this is just my gut feeling on the issue.
Show your enthusiasm for your field. And always answer the "Where do you see yourself five years from now" questions as if you see yourself at that place in five years, even if you're not sure right now. Because I have met the person who didn't get the job I got (at a small Master's I level university) by answering "I expect I will be at a large research university." And she regrets not checking out what the smaller teaching-oriented college had to offer.
As for the pregnancy, they can't ask and you don't need to offer that kind of information. But what they can legally ask is "Do you anticipate that you will not be able to do the stated duties of this job" or "Can you do the stated duties of this job?"
Oh, and best not to mention your penchant for gay porn, at least in the first interview.
Unless you recognise one of the panel members. In which case, ask for their autograph.
I'm with essexjan - even though you may not be legally obligated to tell them, you shouldn't start off on a bad footing with them that could stain your name for the entire time you are there. Often, there is someone available that they would be happy to have fill in for you if you are on maternity leave, but whom they would not want to give the job to permanently.
Oh, but wait until the end of the interview if you can - turn it into a positive by saying that you feel it's only fair to let them know. That way you can reinforce your high ethical standards, which may actually help you.
I've seen the responses in the AskMe thread about the pregnancy issue. Now, I know what the law says an employer can or cannot do. But if it were me, I would tell them I am pregnant from the get-go, not wait until they've made an offer and are then 'legally vulnerable'.
1. You Are More In Control Of The Interview Than You Think - please remember you're there to interview them as much as they are to interview you. Ask as many questions as you can - why are you being hired? What happened to the person who you're replacing? How long did they work there? And et cetera.
2. Nothing Changes In Your Life If You Don't Get Hired - So many people put all their eggs in one basket on interviews, and then crash and burn afterwards if they don't get the position. Nothing changes for you from where you are right now if you don't get the position.
In short, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose in this interview. Be calm, focussed and kick ass. No pressure. Zero. You are still THE PODE no matter if you get hired or not.
Oh, and by the way, a friend of mine once had to leave his position at the University I worked for because in fact, he was IN gay porn. They said later his endowment was bigger than Stanford's. And no, I'm not kidding. Good guy, too.
I wouldn't tell an employer if I was pregnant. It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against pregnant women during hiring, and I'm certainly not going to lead anyone down that road.
I would listen to the Americans on this one. Don't tell the employer during your interview that you are pregnant. It will completely scotch your application, even if they list another stated reason.
Instead, complete the interview without mentioning it. Give the ideal answers to all the questions about the five-year plan, etc.
The time to mention your pregnancy is after the interview, once you have a job offer. That's when you begin the actual hiring negotiation. This tends to be when people reveal disabilities, family situations, availability problems, etc - not(usually) in the interview. So when/if they call you back to offer you the job, you can say "I love it, I'm interested, I'm flattered, I really want to take it. Let's talk about the scheduling, though, because I am pregnant. My delivery date is ______. Is this something that would create a difficulty? Is there any way we can work out an agreeable solution that meets your needs for the job?"
That's the point at which to have this discussion, not right now. Always, always, always do yourself every favor in the world during the interview, and bring up the complicated stuff - no matter what it is - only if and when you have a concrete offer of employment. The beautiful thing is that you can still back out at that point. If they say "Pregnant! Heavens to Murgatroid! How will you teach Intro to Laboratory Explosives this fall!" you can always say "I think I'll withdraw from consideration. SHould another opportunity open up a year from now, I would be delighted to have another chance to apply." Because they may say "No problem. We love you and want you aboard and can grant a leave immediately provided you agree to do X and Y and Z upon your return."
Let THEM decide against you - don't do it to yourself. If it looks like it's advisable to withdraw if and when you get a job offer, then you can do so, and guess what? They're not out anything. It's quite common for the first and second choices for jobs to turn the employer down. Often (if they're hot shit) they get employed elsewhere. Or you can't reach a work agreement. Or you can't meet their salary requirement. Believe me, employers are prepared to work their way down the list to #5 or #6 if nothing is panning out for the top picks.
Ethics are good, very good. But the way the job interview process is governed by law in the U.S., you should not give anyone a single teeny bit of ammunition that might weigh against you in consideration for the position. It will be used. Even if you have to turn this one down, think how much better it will be, a couple years down the road, to say in another interview "I was offered a job at X University, but had to turn it down due to the birth of my child" than it will be not to have such an offer to mention.
I hate to say it, but the mere fact of being a woman of childbearing age is a factor in hiring, even if no one can say it outright. Don't add any fuel to the fire. Wait for the offer. If you get the offer, see what they say about what you can negotiate. If it looks impossible and if they sound like they can't manage it, withdraw. But give yourself that choice - don't let them make it for you.
Without disagreeing with Miko, because she's right (as always), I still think it's the right thing to do to mention it. Of course, it would be illegal here (Australia) for them to use that information in any way to make the selection and a public organisation like a university would never be brave enough to risk the drama if there was any sniff of discrimination. My opinion may be coloured, though, by being more often on the other side of the selection process and being mightily pissed off when people have applied for a job, undergone an interview and reference checks and then advised that they are unable to take up the position immediately for medical reasons. The amount of work and stress that goes into conducting a truly merit-based selection process is astounding and is often done in addition to people's usual workload. From my perspective, I would be inclined to score someone higher who provided full disclosure and would be likely to use it as a way to give another candidate a chance to sit in the job temporarily to gain some experience (everyone wins that way), but I think I am in the minority there.
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