The interview setup was pretty standard—an email from a member of the staff to schedule a time. There was a mistake in the time (1:30 am instead of pm, but I was able to confirm the correct time (the invite was not updated).
During the actual interview, things seemed off. A lot of technical issues (not on my side) at the beginning. There were two interviewers (both members of the team I would be working for).
The questions were in the standard STAR format, asking how I would handle situations involving student interactions, university guidelines, competing deadlines, etc.
What was extremely disheartening was the interviewers' disengagement. No responses to my answers, I had a handful of follow-up questions about the role, clarifying the questions, and expectations. Responses were short and unclear - no real specificity about the role or the day-to-day operations.
Multiple times during the interview, one of the interviewers walked away without explanation. Numerous times during the interview, the other interviewer turned their camera off to eat lunch.
The emphasis was placed, at the end, only after I asked, on how the role was student-facing and focused. I have years of experience working directly with undergraduates, doctoral students, and postdoctoral researchers. It's in my resume, and I highlighted it multiple times during the interview by weaving it into my answers to their questions. Yet they framed it as if I had no experience with students at all, which put me at a disadvantage.
Rarely have I felt that an interviewer did not listen to a single word I said/respond with the entire interview.
Afterwards, I followed up via email, thanking them for their time, and, as is traditional, asking for feedback on what worked well, what didn't, and more clarification on the role.
No response.
Two weeks later, I followed up again: no response.
Finally, they highlighted how it was a historically black institution, in a way that made it seem I did not know - I did. I am a black male; the two people who interviewed me were not. It was an odd thing to highlight, as if I would not fit into the University's culture (based on my interpretation of their comments).
Having worked in a university setting for years, I know the hiring process can be long, full of a lot of red tape, and often those who need someone are fighting against budget constraints.
But the factors you can control, like attentiveness to a candidate, basic engagement, and simple responses to people in the market, are key in encouraging people to want to work for you.
