A faculty search isn't one interview. It's a first screen, then a campus visit that runs from breakfast to dinner, where every coffee with a colleague counts as part of the evaluation. The questions below are the ones committees come back to, with what they're really listening for.
They need to know you can teach your own work, and the committee often includes people well outside your subfield.
Tenure depends on sustained output. They want evidence that the dissertation isn't the only idea you have.
At research universities, grants pay for students and equipment and count heavily at tenure. Even at teaching schools, small internal grants show initiative.
They have gaps in the schedule to fill, and they want to see whether you've actually read their catalogue.
Everyone has taught a lesson that flopped. They want to see that you notice and adjust.
Many campuses serve first-generation and transfer students, and faculty who can reach them are valuable.
Your students' success becomes part of your record, and the department depends on advisors who don't burn students out.
Committees, advising and admissions keep a department running. Nobody wants a colleague who refuses all of it.
They're checking whether you'd make the department stronger as a whole, not just fill a line.
A liberal arts college fears you'll leave for a research university. A research school fears you won't publish enough.
Many schools ask for a diversity or inclusive teaching statement and follow up in person.
Your questions show how seriously you've thought about the job and what you'd need.
Ask at least two. It shows you're picking them too.
