Approaching Recruitment Weekends: How to talk to Profs

[MissingVandyCandy]

I have a question that has been percolating in my head as we collectively approach recruitment weekends at the various doctoral program(s) to which we were admitted. Namely, how are you each approaching the relationship aspect of your visit with potential advisors? I'm speaking here to folks who don't have relationships outside of maybe a brief e-mail exchange with faculty at the schools you will visit. Is it safe or naive to assume that faculty with whom you share an interest will:

a) be honest with you regarding their genuine feelings about your research interests and how well the department is structured to support those interests

be willing to discuss placement opportunities and by extension your career goals down the line (e.g. Liberal Arts College, or Research institutions)

c) demonstrate (either with a direct statement or with nascent signals) that they see themselves as a future advocate for you (assuming you don't screw up)

I know many of you are using visits to investigate the area, culture and life of grad students in the department (all valuable aims), but I'm particularly curious about how I should attempt to interact with faculty. 1) As a deferential no nothing who makes it clear that I haven't the right or audacity to expect anything in the way of your encouragement or support or 2) as a confident soon to be PhD student, respectful, yet more colleague-ial (pun intended), and outgoing to the extent that I want to probe whether you as professor can see me as your student?

Thoughts anyone? Maybe I'm making more out of this than I should. I just recall that at a program I was accepted to last year, when I visited the professor kept going on and on about how he loved my application and insisted on me calling him by his first name that "professor x" was in no way the way grad students addressed faculty at his school. I know the answer to these questions will vary and are textured by the nature of departments (conservative or more progressive, younger vs. older, crusty, non crusty) but can anyone shed some insight on the general theme here.

Thanks

VandyCandy

[Peter]

At my first recruitment trip I didn't push the issue of "will you be my adviser" to the profs I was most seriously interested in working with, but that was largely because a prof there had already let me know who my committee would consist of. So that made it easy, I suppose.

At my second trip the school was less committal and a current student there advised I be blunt and ask if the one I had assumed would be my adviser (we'd only emailed a few times though) would be "committed to me and my topic." I was not gutsy enough to word it in this way, though I did ask, "Since I have a bizarre topic it is important for me to find a univ. that would be amenable to X topic. That said, would you be willing to work with me if I attended X univ?" I think that's a good/delicate way to ask the question and from the fervor of their response you should get a good idea about how seriously this prof/profs will support you.

[JordanJames]

I'm very worried about my visit. I've been in contact with 2 people who will also be visiting the school who have been contacted by a few professors asking them to work for them and I haven't been contacted yet. I don't know if/how to broach the subject and who I should even talk to about this. I have an idea of who I'd probably work with, but I haven't spoken to anybody about this (I didn't email any professors before I applied). I also hate networking and can be somewhat introverted in these kinds of situations, so I'm worried that I might find a way to ruin my chances of working with the professors I have in mind. So, MVC, I don't know how I'm going to approach my visit, but I'm willing to bet that once I get there I'll grab a diet coke and remain as anonymous as possible as I sip on my tasty zero calorie beverage of choice.

[nativenewyorker]

Ammar,

I'm no expert, but I just attended one of these events at a school where I will be going next year. I think the blend-into-the-wallpaper approach is the absolute wrong one. If there are already matches being made, whether they are initiated by profs or students, I think you need to make a target list of profs whose interests align with yours and chat with as many or all of them as you can. In fact, to break the ice, you could send them a friendly email ahead of time. It's better to risk saying something stupid (which I'm sure you won't) than to be left out in the cold. And FYI, this is all coming from a total introvert. I completely understand where you're coming from on this issue and constantly have to push myself to open my mouth, have more confidence in my abilities, or at least appear that I do. Good luck!

[ampersand]

MVC,

When I had my first meetings with profs last week, I kind of went into it blindly. I'm sure I looked a little foolish during my first couple of meetings, but I got the hang of it. So here's what I wish I would have done. Remember that these meetings are for a chance the school to sell itself to you--they already saw your file and accepted you, so this is a chance to get your questions answered and see whether this school is a place you'd be happy at for the next 5-8 years. I'd recommend knowing ahead of time who you want to talk to, and make sure you do a little homework on the people you'll be meeting. You should at least scan their CV a couple days before, and maybe make yourself a cheat sheet with their research interests and any publications/papers you find interesting. Most professors like to talk about themselves and their research, so it usually isn't too much of a problem to keep the conversation going. You should also be prepared to discuss your background and research a little. I'd err on the side of honesty in these meetings--be upfront about what you're expecting to get out of your education, what you want to study, and what your other options are in terms of other schools you've been accepted to. Some professors will want to get you to their schools at all costs, but most others will be more honest about whether you'd like their school. You shouldn't be so deferential that you kiss their behinds, but don't be pompous and big-headed either. Find a happy medium where you're collegial but still respectful. Mirror the professor's behavior--if they crack jokes, then you're probably okay to do it too. Also, bring along some paper and a pen if you think you need to take notes. I think that business casual dress is the accepted norm for these recruiting days. Slacks and a collared shirt would be appropriate.

Ammar,

I'd also advise against the wallflower strategy (this is coming from someone who's usually very introverted, especially with people I'm not used to). Political science has a lot of very outgoing people with big personalities, so if you don't learn to stand up every once in a while and have some confidence in your abilities then you're going to get swallowed up in the crowd and miss out on a lot of great opportunities. I would recommend sending some friendly emails to professors saying that you're going to attend the recruiting days, you're interested in the research they do, and you hope to get a chance to talk when you're at the school. As long as you're friendly to the professors when you meet with them, I don't think you'll tank any chance you have of working with them. They understand that these meetings can be stressful and overwhelming for new students, and they'll cut you a little slack.

That was a lot of advice, but I hope you all find it helpful.

[silencio1982]

Hey Ammar- I agree with the others that you should not blend in during recruitment weekend. I am a very very shy person and I feel like not being outgoing/aggressive enough was a real detriment to me in my MA program. Obviously, I turned out fine, but I wasn't outspoken and didn't establish in-depth relationships with faculty members until my second year. It is a little bit different with PhD students, since faculty members seem to pay more attention to them (us) for various reasons - so you can work that to your advantage. Remember, they want you to be studying there and saw potential in you. One awkward encounter (worst-case scenario) probably won't make them change their minds... they aren't going to take their offer of admission away. I'll echo others and say break the ice either by e-mail or phone. I spoke to one prof by phone and now feel much less nervous about meeting her in person. They are there to answer your questions and probably won't try to quiz you on your own research beyond some general questions. As ampersand pointed out, profs will know that you are nervous and most of them will probably cut you some slack. The DGS at my potential program specifically told me to email and contact profs I wanted to work with before I visited. Just send them a brief intro email at the very least, and you can go up to them at the weekend and say, Hi, I'm Ammar, I emailed you about X. Just have a few basic questions to ask them and time will fly by. You'll be fine!