SUNY Potsdam Interview Questions
& Process

The job was advertised on campus, and I applied with my resume, application, and three references. I had two phone interviews, one introductory and one more in-depth. After that, I was invited for a face-to-face interview with most of the department staff. It was a diverse group in terms of gender, age, and experience. They took turns asking questions in a relaxed atmosphere where dress code and punctuality were informal. Management was mature about expecting employees to make up time if they were late or left early, as long as they completed their hours.

I applied through my school's website and heard back in about a week. I actually applied for two jobs so my first interview was for both, which I don't really recommend. It was a phone interview with the director, box office manager, production manager, and the person who currently had the job I was interested in. About 1-2 weeks later, I had a second phone interview because I'd been narrowed down to one of the two positions. This time I spoke with the director, the person currently in the role, and someone from the funding foundation. Most questions were repeated. A week after that, I had my third interview, which was in person in Potsdam. They offered to cover travel expenses up to $1,000 and were pretty set on the date/time, but I made it work since they were paying. The in-person interview was really nice. HR met with me to go over benefits, which were great. They were supposed to give me a tour of the campus and town, but the weather was bad. I scheduled coffee with the person in the current role to ask questions and they even offered to take me to dinner. I met with the director, the current job holder, two fine arts faculty members, and the dean of the music school. The main part of this interview was a writing exercise: I had 45 minutes to read about an upcoming show and then write a press release and brainstorm marketing and educational programming ideas for it. Overall, it was a very good experience.

I had an initial call with a recruiter to set up a group interview, which was the first step. This first interview was a phone screen with about 5-6 other people, and it was recorded in case anyone was out of the office. After that, I was asked for my professional references and was told they'd get back to me in about 1-2 weeks. The next step was supposed to be an invitation to SUNY Potsdam, but I never heard anything back. Then, in mid-June, about 3 months later, I got a denial letter saying they chose someone with more qualifications.

The process started with a phone interview that lasted about an hour and included questions about my motivation for joining SUNY Potsdam, how my skills align with the job, what I would contribute, my comfort with the required technologies, and my approach to multitasking and prioritization. This was followed by a full-day face-to-face interview with five panelists, where many of the same questions were asked. The entire interview process spanned about two months before I received an offer.