Physics Teacher

Yes. In fact, I highly encourage you to take this action, for a number of reasons. First of all, you do want to know why you didn't get the job, and often the decision-maker will give you truthful insight. This is especially likely if you networked with her or him before you applied, or when you interviewed for the position you had especially good rapport). The reason you were not selected might have nothing to do with you (perhaps they had to hire someone else for timing or because they are the boss's brother-in-law). Or it might be that another candidate had a superior set of skills and experience. Alternatively, if it was a reason relating to your interview performance, you want to know this so you can remedy it for the future.

Your request for feedback also shows the interviewer that you are interested in their opinion, and, by extension, that you are still committed to the company. So in the course of asking for feedback, be gracious, thank them for their candor, and clearly indicate that you are still interested in working for this organization and hope to help them in a future capacity.

Finally, people respond positively to those who show they want to improve. After all, successful workers seek opportunities to develop skills and improve the circumstances and skills of their team. By sharing your desire to learn how you might have erred in the interview, you demonstrate this important attribute and you keep the door open for you to come back, perhaps for a different job, or perhaps for the same job should the successful candidate not work out.

You will have to make a personal choice. Make sure you have all the information about each offer in order to make an informed decision. Carefully compare the offers analyze the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) associated with each position. What strengths will you be able to leverage and expand? What are the position's weaknesses, and can they be remedied? What opportunities will come your way to improve and learn skills, gain access to new networks, and collaborate with professionals? What threats might there be to your career? That is, could you lose time away from what you really want to do? Is it in a location that for one reason or another can't work for you? These questions apply to both short-term and permanent positions.

You might also choose to tell the interviewer that you have received other offers and that you are carefully weighing your options. However, if you do this, your interviewer might think you are employing a negotiation tactic.

This is actually quite simple—though not always easy—to do. Interviewing will get easier the more you do it, so if you are just about to graduate or are mid-career and haven't interviewed in a while, practice in advance. Do mock interviews with friends, family, and colleagues. If you have access to a university or community career center, check to see if they offer mock interviews. When you attend career fairs, approach first the booths for companies for which you are certain you don't want to work and practice introducing yourself there before moving on to your dream companies. All this practice will benefit you tremendously in easing your nerves and giving you confidence.

Next, prepare. Extensively research the organization, learn their research goals and projects, and, for nonacademic environments, their products, services, customers, and competition. Read its websites, pore through its annual reports, and understand media coverage about it. You can even use LinkedIn to search for the decision-maker (if you know who this person is) and senior members of the company, and read their postings on this site and others. Know the organization, and be able to articulate why you are the best candidate to solve their problems. Be prepared to speak in their language. Refer to the data that you have collected so they know how committed you are to the organization.

Thirdly, prepare for typical and so-called behavioral interview questions by finding them online and practicing answers to these. Get in the habit of being able to answer these questions in a natural, conversational style as opposed to reciting answers from memory. Fourth, go in to the interview with a sense of joy! It is a rare and enjoyable privilege to have a conversation with someone who is passionate about your subjects and with whom you could be a potential collaborator. Such an interview is not a chore. It is a fun enterprise and even though you will maintain your professionalism, you should adopt a mindset that it is an enjoyable activity. Smile. You will notice as you interview that the more you adopt an attitude of enjoyment, the more the interviewer will mirror that attitude right back to you.

Finally, recognize that if you have made it to the interview, the decision-maker is intrigued by something special about you. They would not waste their valuable time interviewing you if they didn't think you were a viable candidate who could deliver greatness. So use this knowledge to give yourself a boost of confidence.

You can handle the timing of a spousal hire request in several ways. There is no one right answer for everyone. I used to recommend bringing up the request only once you have an offer and begin formal negotiations. However, I recently spoke with a physical sciences department chair, who shared the following case. His department interviewed a scientist, and during the private interview with the chair the candidate revealed that her partner was also a scientist in a different discipline. She asked whether is was possible to find a position for him. The chair told me he was happy she brought it up at that point in the interview. It didn't impact this search committee's ultimate decision, and it gave the chair time to explore available resources for the partner, if the search committee recommended that the candidate be hired.

So in some cases the question of a spousal hire can be raised during the formal interview. I generally recommend against addressing it in the first communication with the department—that is, in the cover letter—but I have heard of cases where such an early overture has been advantageous for both the candidate and the employer. Whenever you chose to bring it up, you will need to weigh the benefits with the possible negative effects it could have on your candidacy. But if you think creatively, you might even orchestrate a new opportunity for both you and your partner, such as offering to share a faculty line.