Dive Summary:
- The cancelation of the annual conference of the American Political Science Association last week in New Orleans due to Hurricane Isaac resulted in numerous job interviews being called off or postponed.
- According to department chairs, initial in-person interviews can be invaluable, but the canceled APSA interviews are considered to be an early stage in the interview process and easily rescheduled via Skype or telephone.
- David M. Primo, director of graduate studies at the University of Rochester, predicts that such interviews will become obsolete due to technology and costs and says that many research universities interview candidates without "pre-interviews through APSA or through Skype."
From the article:
Job interviews at disciplinary conferences can be traumatic. There's that awful anxiety that comes from sharing space with scores of other candidates vying for the same job. And then there's the cost of getting there, which can be hard on a graduate student's budget. Still, these interviews (and informal meetings and introductions) remain the best chance that some candidates may have to impress a raft of potential recruiters. But in the age of Skype, how important are these interviews, such as the ones at the annual conference of the American Political Science Association? ...