(On a lighter note) What not to do on a job visit

Writing about the goodness of February brought back some memories of different job interviews I have faced.  In almost all of them, I have made blunders that I am not very proud of.  As some readers of this blog have just finished interviewing or have interviews coming up soon, I thought I will share some of my job-interview-mishaps.

My first interview was within the first year of finishing my PhD.  I wanted to gain a few years of postdoctoral experience, but applied for this tenure-track position in Canada on the advice of my mentors.  Much to my surprise, I got shortlisted and was invited for the interview.  Clueless about what happens during job interviews, I asked a colleague who helpfully told me, "Don't get nervous.  The committee will not harm you." Throughout the pleasant train journey to this university, I kept repeating this to myself.

Here's how the interview began:

Committee Member 1: Is this your first job interview?
K: Yes
Committee Member 2: Are you nervous?
K: No, I am fine, thank you.
Just then CM 3, the senior-most mathematician, started coughing.
CM 2: Oh, it looks like CM 3 is getting nervous.
K: Don't get nervous. I won't harm you.

Everyone in the room, except CM 3,  started laughing and the interview proceeded very smoothly thereafter.  I did not get this job, but I am sure it was not because of this goof-up.

Now, Goof up 1 at IISER Kolkata:

IISER Kolkata had shown a lot of interest in my application and I was looking forward to my visit there.  Just before I left for Kolkata, my brother jokingly mentioned that I should play up my Bengali connection as that might help (no offence intended - it was said merely in jest. [1]).  Now, I have no Bengali connection, except that my last name is also a common last name in Bengal.

During my visit, here's how a conversation went with a senior colleague at IISERK:

SC: Hello, Koneenika
K: Hello.  err, it's Kaneenika
SC: Aren't you Bengali?
K: No.
SC: From your name, I thought you are Bengali.
K: (suddenly realizes that she has passed up a great opportunity to play up the Bengali connection and tries to make amends) I am not Bengali, but I have spent a formative period of my childhood in Bengal.
SC: That's interesting.
(On further grilling, it is revealed that this formative period of K's childhood was at Darjeeling for a few months when she was 1 year old.)
SC: (laughs and says) You have understood the Bengali psyche very well.

Goof up 2 at IISERK (and I still feel very embarrassed whenever I think of it):

On the morning of my departure, at breakfast with a senior colleague and a colleague from Mathematics:

SC:  So, are you flying back to Edmonton now?
K: No, I am also visiting City A before flying back.
SC: I see. Who is your host there?
K: Institute ABC.
SC (in a nostalgic tone, tells us about his job search long ago and return to India): In our days, we were lucky if we had one job offer. Your generation gets to choose between multiple job offers.
K (feels that it was perhaps not appropriate to bring up another prospective institute in the conversation and desperately wants to say something to change the topic and save the day.  So, with the noblest of intentions, says):  Yes, our generation is lucky.  You guys worked very hard and we are reaping the benefits.
SC: (Not amused at being addressed as one of "you guys", but maintains a practiced calm and stays quiet).
Other colleague: (Almost falling off the chair)
K: (blushes as she realizes her poor choice of words) I had a very nice time here. Thank you for your hospitality.

The conversation proceeds smoothly after that. [2,3]



And now the goof-up at IISER Pune:

CM:  What activity did you enjoy the most at IISERK?
K: (interprets the word "activity" to mean conferences, winter schools etc) I enjoyed organizing two winter schools at IISERK. (Then explains how much fun it was to interact with so many students from all parts of India and the experience of organizing something from scratch).
CM: (looks a little surprised and then explains) I am sure you must also have enjoyed your teaching and research activities there.
K: (then realizes her mistake, is embarrassed and starts talking about her research and teaching)

After coming out of the meeting room, she spoke to a future colleague about how she misinterpreted the word "activity" and gave an inappropriate answer.

Colleague: Oh no, I think they were asking about your hobbies.
K: (suddenly feels much better)


Readers are welcome to share interview-mishaps (either theirs or those of others) in the comments section.

Just out of curiosity, what would you have interpreted "activity" to mean?






[1]  He later wrote here about his experience in Bengal.

[2] In my first few days at IISER K, I shocked a lot of people with my informal language.  For instance,  I was told that it was impolite to refer to women/lady faculty members as female faculty (or men/gentlemen  faculty members as male faculty for that matter).

[3] I used the word "guys" in a generic sense to mean both men and women.

New office

My stay at IISER Pune has been going very well. Last week in particular was very exciting.  Members of the Mathematics group moved to the permanent campus.
IISER P is building an integrated academic building, which will house all the sciences in different but connected wings.  The construction of this building is well underway.  However, for the time being, we have been moved to another building in the permanent campus, which has the guest house and conference facilities.  The management has very generously converted some rooms into single-occupant offices and provided them to us until the academic building is ready.

I am happy about this move for various reasons.  To start with, for the first time in my life, I have my own office.  It is very spacious - the kind of office in which groups of students can drop by and sit comfortably while I show them something on the board.  We can have animated discussions without disturbing any office mate!  The cafeteria is on the ground floor of the same building - so, no more commutes to have lunch.  I teach my course in a classroom on the same floor.  So, all in all, the management has made a very comfortable arrangement for us, even though it is temporary.

I also like being in the permanent campus of my institute for some emotional reasons.  Somehow, it gives me the uninhibited feeling of being in my own space.  I enjoy being able to walk around the gardens adjoining the building.  I can also enjoy the excitement of observing the progress in the construction of the academic building right next door.  Recently, our registrar and the co-ordinator of Mathematics took some of us for a short trip to this upcoming building.  We went to the floor designated for our group.  My colleagues and I were so happy that we even started self-allocating our offices-to-be (although I am sure we will have forgotten this by the time the building is ready to be occupied).

Happy one month!

I have now completed a month at IISERP.  Apart from some delays in arrival of my household luggage from IISERK and acquiring internet connection at home, the transition has been very smooth.  Well equipped office space was alloted to me on Day 1, administrative joining-in formalities were done promptly, I found a suitable apartment [1] and got a new car on Day 2 and started driving practice immediately thereafter [2].  While I waited for my luggage etc to arrive from N1, I enjoyed the warm hospitality at my favourite guest house.

My colleague, Prof. Sunil Mukhi, who joined a couple of months ago, summarizes his impressions of IISERP very well in this post and I couldn't agree more.

Here are some things that I like most about my new workplace:

1) The Mathematics group, of which I am a member, is fairly well staffed.  Other than a comfortable teaching load, this ensures that committee work and other responsibilities get evenly distributed among all members.  So, while a couple of colleagues can focus on, say, building the course curriculum, some others can take care of student counseling etc.  One group takes care of seminars etc and another takes care of library matters pertaining to Mathematics.  We even have a Happiness Committee which organizes regular get-togethers to facilitate interaction between faculty and students.  I will write later about the responsibilities given to me.

2) We have a separate course structure for PhD students.  Mathematics graduate students need more course preparation than other STEM fields and we have the requisite courses to offer to our students.  My student seems to be benefiting from this a lot.  While he has started work on his PhD project, he is taking some core foundational courses that he had missed out before.

3) My colleagues, including the senior ones, across all STEM fields, are in general, very friendly and approachable.  This is totally not meant as a complaint, but it took me a lot of time to make friends in my former workplace.  For months, I went to the office, did my work and came back home without talking to anyone.  It was more common there for people from the same grad school to hang out together.
By contrast, over here, it is impossible to be left alone in a corner while having lunch at the faculty lounge.  Even if people come in groups, they reach out and talk to others on the table.  I like that very much.







[1] "Suitable" is an understatement!  This apartment is a dream.  The kitchen itself is bigger than the biggest room of my previous dwelling!

The worst kept secret ever?

This blog is no longer anonymous.  Well, frankly speaking, it never was, really! The Indian science community is very small and the things that I like to write about (or can write about) also make it very easy for people to search me if they want to!
In fact, I just realized that anyone who figures out that I am at an IISER (super-obvious) and do Mathematics (easy to see because I don't talk about setting up labs etc) can put the search words "IISER Mathematics blog" on google and be directed to my webpage!

So, N1 = IISER Kolkata

New1 = IISER Pune

My STEM field: Mathematics

I never really cared about people discovering my identity, but an anonymous blog stylistically made it easier to write about certain people and incidents without revealing their names.  Hence, the reluctance to go public!

But, I am aware that many people at IISER Pune read this blog (I don't think this was the case at IISER K). [1]

So, it is a little awkward to pretend to be anonymous!

Going public also gives me more freedom to write about Mathematics-based issues and about life in Pune, which I am enjoying very much [2].

IISER Pune, my new academic garden, is a lovely place.  I am very happy to be here and will be writing more about it shortly.  Stay tuned!



[1] A few days ago, Professor VS Rao, the registrar at IISERP, mentioned that he appreciated a certain post I wrote about the guest house at IISERP.  When I asked him how he figured out that I was writing the blog, he thought I was joking! :-)

[2] One of the things, for example, which is very Pune-specific, is that the National Defence Academy is located here.  It is my father's alma mater.  I visited it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was an extremely profound experience, about which I would like to write one of these days.

Happy new year

A very happy new year to all.

I am settling down in New1 very comfortably and hope to write about it soon.  Life is going to be very different here.

Right now, I am a little busy preparing for the PhD course that I will teach this semester, setting things up in my apartment and taking driving lessons.

Will be back soon, but wanted to write a small blurb on the first day of the year.

Thoughts on moving

My stay at N1 is coming to an end.  Packers and movers will move my household tomorrow.  I plan to leave the day after, spend an evening with a very dear friend and colleague and fly out to New1-city after that.

Planning and coordinating the move has been very smooth this time.  After a couple more signatures on my no dues form, I will be good to go!

I was going through some of the initial posts on this blog about my excitement at joining N1.  I have spent a little more than two years here and have learnt a lot. At the time of joining, I did not anticipate that I will move.  I imagined that I will live "happily ever after" at N1, but now realize that one cannot predict the future in such certain terms.  My experience here has been mostly very positive.  I feel privileged for getting a chance to teach motivated and sincere students,  work with talented and energetic colleagues and serve the institute.

I hope that my experience at N1 can enable me to do a much better job at New1.  The three most crucial lessons I have learnt during my stay here are

1) the importance of time management  to balance both research and teaching activities

2) to serve the institute wholeheartedly, but not to take any unpleasant interaction with colleagues personally

3) to always remember that while an institute needs the employee, the employee needs the institute more [this is something I learnt from my colleague, Prince Calming]

But, I have to admit - I have developed a serious aversion to attending meetings!  See the contrast in what I felt about attending meetings here (last year) and here (this year). [1]

Recently, when I was talking to a relative [who thinks I am too starry eyed for my own good] about the upcoming move, he remarked, "It's nice to see you excited to move to New1. But, weren't you as excited two years ago when you were moving to N1?"

Yes, I was, and I don't see why I should not be so all over again.  

I am now moving to a place where I will be a much better fit.  There are many reasons to be happy about - the presence of an active group in my research area, the efforts made by the leadership to encourage and facilitate the growth of my future department and of course, the interest they have shown in my application.  It is always great to join a place where one feels welcomed and an integral part of the system. 






[1] During my interview at New1, members of the selection team remarked about the high number of committees that I was a member of at N1 (this was mentioned in my CV).  When one of them mentioned that I might find myself without a lot of these jobs on joining New1, I wanted to stand up and dance in joy. 
 

Conflict of (non) interest?

Tomorrow, there is going to be a meeting about a very important issue which involves our department.  Thus, the department needs a representative to be present to clearly convey the departmental requirements/point of view and ensure that these are understood and taken into account.  Due to logistical reasons, the meeting is scheduled during a weekend.  As almost all my colleagues are on leave, I have to be present in the meeting.

Members of my department have had serious discussions about this matter and we have a proper plan of action.  So, technically speaking, I am prepared for this meeting.  As a responsible member of the department, I will do my best to convey the above requirements.  But, I am a little concerned that tomorrow's meeting might come to a final decision about this matter.  This is because I personally will not be affected by the outcome [I am leaving N1 in less than a week].  Members of my department, who will be affected by the outcome, may later feel unhappy with the decision.  Some may also feel that I did not push our department's interests strongly enough because I do not have long-term stakes in the matter.

It did not help at all when both my father and guest writer, on hearing about this meeting, advised me to take it easy and not get involved. "Just keep quiet during the meeting and don't react to anything," my father said.

I just called a colleague and requested him to go for this meeting instead, explaining my concerns.  Due to some urgent personal issues, he can't do so.  We once again went over the main points that need to be presented tomorrow.   He suggested that if there is any confusion, I can call him up to clarify.

It is possible that no final decisions will be taken tomorrow and this meeting is to just set the ball rolling, so to speak.  Apart from representing the department, I also need to communicate the outcome of the meeting to my colleagues so that there is no misinformation or gap in communication later.

This will be my last meeting at N1.  I just wish it weren't so important [1].





[1] On a totally unrelated note, it is not clear to me if one should say "I just wish it wasn't so important".  So, I googled and came across websites which talked about indicative mood vs subjunctive mood, formal vs informal, but am still confused.  Any help, blogosphere?