SUNY Oswego Interview Questions
& Process

The interview was about 30 minutes and had two interviewers. They asked questions about my skills, past work, and how I'd deal with certain scenarios. The questions were clear, and I could answer them fully. The interviewers were nice, smiling, and interested in what I said. They nodded and gave positive comments, making me feel good. It was professional but friendly.

To become a Resident Assistant (RA), you first submit an application with your resume and cover letter. If your application is accepted, you'll get an interview. The interview itself is pretty simple, done by a current RA and a hall director. They'll mostly ask you what you'd do in different scenarios an RA might face. It's mainly about seeing if your personality fits with building a community for students living on campus.

So I applied online and then my references got emails asking for letters. Then, a search committee member contacted me for a 30min Zoom interview. They asked questions about why I wanted to teach at this specific university and about dealing with students who might not be as interested, noting that it can be tough to find faculty who will stay due to the winters. About a week later, I was asked to do a teaching demo. They offered a remote option because of the short notice, as they needed to fill the position quickly due to a faculty member going on maternity leave. However, I chose to do it in person. While I was there, I also met with the dean. Apparently, HR requires an in-person interview even if the search chair and dean are ready to extend an offer.

I had a panel interview with about 6 or 7 people from different departments. It's a good idea to remember their names. Each person had specific questions they had to ask, and they asked them even if I'd already answered a similar question from someone else. It felt awkward having to repeat myself, and it wasn't really a conversation where people listened to each other. It was more like going around the circle and asking the same pre-set questions no matter what was already discussed. I'd recommend practicing your responses to repetitive questions. There was also a skills test, but I'm not sure how they evaluated it since there were no clear criteria.