ADVANCE presented a workshop on “Securing your first faculty position: Keys to successful interviewing” at the Annual Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Conference  October 14-17, 2014 in Los Angeles, CA. The workshop provided skill-building answers to key questions: What does it take to make the “short list”? What are search-committees looking for? What skills are needed to make the in-person interview successful? 

The workshop aimed to empower participants (with the knowledge, skills and best practices needed to navigate the academic interview process from start to finish. It examined (1) Preparing an application that can help candidates make the short list; (2) Preparing for the demands and expectations of the in-person interview; (3) Effective post-interview follow-up, including how to respond to the offer. 

The conference itself was specifically geared toward supporting undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and career professionals at each transition stage of their career as they move towards positions of science leadership.

Presenters included:

Manuel Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, PhD, Professor of Physics, University of California, Davis

Mary Lou de Leon Siantz, PhD, Professor of Nursing, University of California, Davis;

Karen McDonald, PhD, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Davis 

Raymond L. Rodriguez, PhD, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis

Maggie Werner-Washburne, PhD, Regent’s Professor, University of New Mexico.