mentatdgt/Shutterstock
You’ve made it to the campus interview! It’s time to put your observational skills to the test. While the campus visit offers potential colleagues a chance to evaluate you, it also provides an opportunity for finalists to assess whether this job, this campus, and the people are a good fit for you, your talents, and your values.
Why Values Are Important During the Campus Visit
In a prior post, I shared that values can ground our career and job search decisions so that we stay true to ourselves and the impact we hope to have in our work. During high-stakes situations like campus visits, values can help us assess job fit so that our nerves, non-stop meetings, and constant questions do not distract us from what’s important. Focusing on values also prevents us from becoming swept away by the prestige of the title or the institution we are visiting, or the flattery we may receive. So, values are just as important during the visit as it is when we are simply considering whether to throw our hats in the ring.
What To Observe
Most on-site visits, unless they are part of a closed search, include a campus tour. If not already included on the itinerary, ask to move through the spaces that students occupy. If your role is focused on staff or faculty, request to visit their spaces. Having some access to the places where the work is done allows you to put your observational skills to good use. Even if there is no formal tour, pay attention to your surroundings to pick up important details you can use in your assessment. You can also engage in this observational assessment before, during, and after presentations or town halls you are asked to deliver.
Symbols, words, and other cues can be helpful indicators of how people are able to live out their values within institutions, and whether you can imagine doing your best work at this particular place. Here are several questions to guide this kind of assessment:
Symbols and Celebrations
- What kinds of events and announcements are posted on public bulletin boards?
- How are symbols (including flags, imagery, and signage) used or not used? What are students hanging in their dorm windows? What are faculty and staff displaying outside their offices?
- What kind of music or other media is being broadcasted in public spaces?
- What kinds of symbols, signs, and media are used in off-campus housing and nearby business establishments such as restaurants and shops?
- If there are anniversaries of global, national, or local events, is there any indication of a commemoration or celebration on campus or locally?
Informal Chatter
- As you move about campus, what’s the overall mood of the people you come into contact with?
- How do colleagues interact with each other during those moments before and after formal interview meetings? Is there a sense of friendliness and good humor, or a more somber tone?
- What kinds of events are people excited about during your visit?
Ask Questions and Reflect
Your observational data can be used to reflect on what it would be like to work at this institution. Your observations can also spur more questions to ask your hosts. For instance, if you notice a discrepancy between what is or is not posted and the stated mission of the institution, get curious: “I noticed that there was a recognition of x event but not of y event. Is that typical?” or “Are there policies that govern what students can display in their windows?” Your goal is to obtain as much information as you can at this stage to determine whether the values stated by the institution and its representatives are aligned enough with your own values.
When I was a dean finalist, I used this method to discern whether the university was a right fit for me. The university was located in a part of the country in which I had never lived and so I wanted to ensure that a major move for my family was worth the risk. During my on-campus interview, as my host walked me to another part of campus, I watched students, faculty, and staff excitedly streaming in another direction. I asked what was happening, and it turned out people were headed to a basketball game. It helped me appreciate the importance of athletics, and it led to additional questions about the relative valuing of academics and athletics on this campus. Also, during my interview, I saw some signs in the lawn commemorating the witness of leaders from the Universidad Centroamericana, which I took as an indicator of a values match because I had been inspired by their courageous leadership under oppressive circumstances. I went on to write about these leaders in my book “Leading Toward Liberation.” These examples and others during my visit helped me make a values-driven decision to accept the role.
Values are always important drivers of our choices. But in a time when free speech and academic freedom are under threat, it is especially important to engage in the liberation practice of “reading the reality” of our prospective places of employment so we can make decisions that are rooted in what we believe in. When values are at stake, no amount of prestige, power, or money is worth the damage to your integrity.
