Questions at a second job interview
May 2, 2018 12:25 PM Subscribe
I have a second interview scheduled for a position at a science journal. I would like to ask some questions about the journal to show my level of interest in the job. When I’ve searched for information about the journal, I’ve gotten a lot of hits involving advanced science that I don’t understand and that wouldn’t have any bearing on my position. How can I ace this interview and communicate that I’m enthusiastic about working in this lab?
Best answer: What if you concentrate on the journal end of things. Try searching for keywords regarding journals/scientific publishing/ peer review, combined with either the journal name or the field of research. This might give you intelligent things to ask about the lab's stance on these issues.
Some keywords that might help are
Open access, Open data, Peer review, Ethics in publishing, Impact factor, Research analytics
(source: I work on the publishing end of this field, in a technical support role, and these are issues that drive change for us)
posted by buildmyworld at 1:03 PM on May 2, 2018 [3 favorites]
Some keywords that might help are
Open access, Open data, Peer review, Ethics in publishing, Impact factor, Research analytics
(source: I work on the publishing end of this field, in a technical support role, and these are issues that drive change for us)
posted by buildmyworld at 1:03 PM on May 2, 2018 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: The job is in a lab, but my boss (the head of the lab) is also an editor for an academic journal.
posted by pxe2000 at 1:10 PM on May 2, 2018
posted by pxe2000 at 1:10 PM on May 2, 2018
Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding from the period that I was briefly working in this corner of the world is that a journal would be the responsibility of the professor qua professor and not of the lab. Not that it's ever a bad idea to seem enthusiastic about your boss's work generally! But the two actually aren't formally connected.
posted by praemunire at 1:12 PM on May 2, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 1:12 PM on May 2, 2018 [5 favorites]
So you're assisting a prof with their journal-editor-related activities? I'd agree with all of the keywords buildmyworld has listed, and I'd add preprints as a topic that I see a lot of folks discussing. If you're familiar with non-academic publishing, asking about the workflow from submission to publication would be very useful, since it's totally different.
(If I've misunderstood and you're working in the lab on technical things, the journal stuff is irrelevant, and I'd 100% focus on what their lab does so that you can be as knowledgeable about their output as possible. At minimum, I'd look at and understand all the titles from what they've published in the last 5 years, and look at their research website if they have one.)
posted by tchemgrrl at 1:49 PM on May 2, 2018 [3 favorites]
(If I've misunderstood and you're working in the lab on technical things, the journal stuff is irrelevant, and I'd 100% focus on what their lab does so that you can be as knowledgeable about their output as possible. At minimum, I'd look at and understand all the titles from what they've published in the last 5 years, and look at their research website if they have one.)
posted by tchemgrrl at 1:49 PM on May 2, 2018 [3 favorites]
Do you have a sense of what specifically your position would entail? This might help narrow down relevant questions.
posted by ChuraChura at 2:00 PM on May 2, 2018
posted by ChuraChura at 2:00 PM on May 2, 2018
Response by poster: ChuraChura (and others), here’s the job description:
Duties include coordinating review and publication efforts with the managing editor and editorial review staff; working with associate editors and members of the editorial advisory board; administering critical operations for the editorial office; coordinating communications between the editorial office and the office in Washington, DC; organizing the editorial board’s projects/activities; assisting with developing management tools for conducting and evaluating peer reviews (on-line); and providing input regarding development of the journal webpage.posted by pxe2000 at 2:47 PM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Your job will be process-oriented, so I would look up whatever you can about the journal's process. Almost every journal has an "information for authors" or "instructions to authors" page which describes some aspects of this.
Style guides often have some information about the process as well. If this were, for example, a chemistry journal, you might want to check out The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific Information. The first part is about the process. You can skip the style guidelines. If it were a biology journal, I'd check out the Council of Science Editors style guide. These are expensive books but the library at the university in question will probably have them. If you decide to
posted by grouse at 3:00 PM on May 2, 2018 [4 favorites]
Style guides often have some information about the process as well. If this were, for example, a chemistry journal, you might want to check out The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific Information. The first part is about the process. You can skip the style guidelines. If it were a biology journal, I'd check out the Council of Science Editors style guide. These are expensive books but the library at the university in question will probably have them. If you decide to
posted by grouse at 3:00 PM on May 2, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'd ask about circulation/subscription trends. Is your editor optimistic that circulation growth can continue? Of course you won't be dealing with advertising, but are there ads in the Journal? How do they get sold? How do the advisory board members get their jobs? Are Journal subscriptions tied to a medical/trade association membership or is it freestanding? Is the Journal online in its entirety? If not, how do articles get chosen to go online?
Good luck!
posted by kimberussell at 5:17 PM on May 2, 2018
Good luck!
posted by kimberussell at 5:17 PM on May 2, 2018
I'd ask about circulation/subscription trends. Is your editor optimistic that circulation growth can continue? Of course you won't be dealing with advertising, but are there ads in the Journal? How do they get sold?
These questions are not relevant to an academic journal. They do not fit with their business model and is not what an editor will care about. I strongly recommend not asking these questions.
posted by grouse at 5:58 PM on May 2, 2018 [5 favorites]
These questions are not relevant to an academic journal. They do not fit with their business model and is not what an editor will care about. I strongly recommend not asking these questions.
posted by grouse at 5:58 PM on May 2, 2018 [5 favorites]
These questions are not relevant to an academic journal.
I work for a medical association that also publishes a journal with peer-reviewed scientific and research articles. And a rate card for advertising. And an editorial advisory board. So I thought I could speak to that.
posted by kimberussell at 6:37 PM on May 2, 2018
I work for a medical association that also publishes a journal with peer-reviewed scientific and research articles. And a rate card for advertising. And an editorial advisory board. So I thought I could speak to that.
posted by kimberussell at 6:37 PM on May 2, 2018
kimberussell's questions would have been relevant to my similar position at a social sciences journal.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:52 PM on May 2, 2018
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:52 PM on May 2, 2018
Nonetheless, if this journal is the one what I think it is, if you ask those questions you will seem clueless. Don't do it.
posted by grouse at 7:12 PM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by grouse at 7:12 PM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
You could ask about the authors. Are they just from the US or world wide? How do they send stuff? Are they good with deadlines or not? Who edits? How is peer review arranged? Are any famous?
posted by SemiSalt at 3:52 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by SemiSalt at 3:52 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
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What kind of position is this? What job do your managers have?
posted by grouse at 12:53 PM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]