Palm Beach State College Interview Questions
& Process

You'll be interviewed by a hiring committee, and 3 or more people will take turns asking you questions from a list they use to grade everyone. You can ask them questions at the end if you want. They might get back to you in a few days or it might take over 3 weeks.

The interview focused more on my past experiences related to the job responsibilities than general interview questions. They were very open to answering my questions, giving me many details about the role and even sharing their own experiences in the field and at the institution.

So after I sent in my application, they had me do this interview using an app. It's like, you get 3-5 minutes for each question, and they use your phone's camera, but no one's actually watching live, they just review it later. You get like a minute to prep your answer. Most of the questions were pretty standard, like one about diversity and another about teaching philosophy. You only get one shot at each question, so if you mess up, it's recorded. There were 5 questions in total, and the whole thing took about 30 minutes. A couple weeks after that, Palm Beach State emailed me asking for a face-to-face interview and sent instructions about who would be on the panel and other people I'd meet, like the dean. This email came two weeks before Spring Break, and I was living in Texas. I had to buy plane tickets, and the cheapest was $682, but they only reimburse up to $400, which is weird given the distance and short notice. It also didn't cover lodging or food. The day of the interview had three main parts. First, I met with the sociology administrator, who was nice and helpful, but the college was having transition issues, which should have been a red flag. After waiting, I had to do an essay on the computer for about 45 minutes, with questions like 'How does your teaching philosophy align with the college's mission statement?' Then, I met with the interview panel for about 15 minutes. Right after that, I had to do a 20-minute teaching demo on sexual harassment, which they'd given me the topic for in the email. I talked about quid pro quo, hostile work environments, and how social institutions relate to sexual harassment. It seemed to go well. After another wait, I met one-on-one with the dean. Two weeks after that, I still hadn't heard anything, so I emailed the administrator. She said they'd let everyone know 'soon.' Two weeks later, still nothing. Then I was told by a higher-up that we'd hear by the end of the week. Nothing. Two weeks after that, I called the administrator again, and she said someone in HR quit and the college is a mess. Then, finally, in May (I interviewed in March), I got an email saying the position was never filled. No one was hired, and the HR department is a disaster.

The interview process started with a quick conference call where they asked general questions about my perspective on technology in the classroom, the specific qualities I'd bring to lecturing, how I'd collaborate with colleagues, and my interest in extracurricular activities or clubs. If they liked my answers, I was invited for an in-person interview. This involved a committee of about 5-6 people from different departments, including an associate dean. They asked many of the same questions, seemingly from a prepared list. I also had to give a teaching demonstration on a topic I was given a week prior, related to the field I applied for. Afterwards, I was asked if I had any questions for them about the job, the college, or the work environment. The rest of the half-day included a campus tour, a chat with the Campus Provost, and the Head Academic Dean. Lunch was also provided. It was a pretty standard interview with not much to make me nervous.