Milwaukee Area Technical College Interview Questions
& Process

I applied in August and didn't hear back to schedule the interview until October. The questions were pretty simple, not trick questions. The interviewing team is who I'd potentially work with. They seemed really engaged, friendly, and happy to interview me, not like they were just going through the motions.

Since it was Covid, both the interview and the sewing demonstration happened online. An HR person introduced me to the head of the department and their assistant. The HR person watched for a bit, and then the other two asked me questions and watched my demonstration. It's a good idea to have a second camera ready or know how to switch between interview and demo views visually.

This hiring process is very different from typical academic hiring. The HR department handles many tasks usually done by academic departments, and they often seem unfamiliar with the positions. They didn't even know what a CV was, so I had to submit a resume. They asked me to teach a subject I don't normally teach because they confused sociology with another social science, but I projected confidence and got the job. The online application is hours long, difficult, and frustrating, but it does reduce the applicant pool for these relatively well-paying instructor roles. The group interview is formal and scripted, with identical prepared questions, some good ones about teaching and student diversity, and some that are just silly. Since someone in the room might have written them, treat all questions as if they are valid. Don't let the strange hiring process fool you; it's a great place to work. Because many applicants get discouraged, it's less competitive than other higher education jobs. You should be familiar with Milwaukee's issues like poverty, political shifts, and de-industrialization, as these affect the institution. Our students are often victims of a failing public school system, and we are their last chance at a middle-class life. If you want to make a real impact and are qualified, your abilities will show through this unusual process. They often hire later than other colleges, so if this is your top choice, be prepared for some negotiation, as I had to wait for this offer while declining others.

I applied for an advising job, and even though there were openings, I kept getting automated replies that the positions were filled internally. Then, I got invited to an interview, but the team seemed really disengaged and didn't seem to care about interviewing me. Right after the interview, they told me they'd gone with another internal candidate. It feels like they mostly just promote from within, which is nice in some ways but really a waste of external candidates' time.