Well Suited

Here is what I have learned so far from the comments in my recent Scientopia post about What To Wear for an interview for a faculty position, keeping in mind that for some fields there is only one comment, and some comments didn't specify field:

Unless you happen to know that your field or the institution at which you are interviewing is rather formal and is festooned with people wearing suits, you apparently can't go too far astray by wearing comfortable "business casual" attire. As I hoped, commenters seem to agree that there is a wide range of acceptable professional garb, so everyone (men and women) should be able to find something in which they feel comfortable, confident, and unselfconscious.

In the following fields, at least one commenter cautioned against wearing a suit as "overkill", especially with a tie (men), or noted that you will look like a sales rep (men) or administrative assistant (women), and that's not good:

• BIO-EVERYTHING (CHEMISTRY, ENGINEERING, MED, FIELD, GENETICS, INFORMATICS)
• EARTH SCIENCES
• ECOLOGY
• MATH
• PHYSICS
• ASTRONOMY (but see comments and list below for indication of lack of agreement)
  

It might be OK or expected (depending on subfield/geography) to wear a suit in ASTRONOMY, CHEMISTRY, COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING (many sorts). (agree/disagree?)

Speaking as an old(ish) professor who has seen many interviewees wander through my departments over the years, I can say that I don't notice what interviewees or any visitors are wearing (men or women), with the exception of the woman whose feet were bleeding in her uncomfortable new shoes. In that case, I only noticed because she kept slipping the shoes off.

It would be great if others continue to comment and provide more data, but can we now consider this pressing issue mostly dealt with, resolved, sufficiently addressed, and/or defanged, at least in this corner of the blogosphere?

My Grandmother Was Right

Not long ago, a colleague of mine spilled an acid mixture on his clothes.

He knew what to do: He immediately removed his lab coat, pants, socks, and shoes. He washed off his legs and feet, even though he didn't think the acids got to his skin. He called the appropriate emergency number and closed the lab.

The accident occurred at a time when few people were around (think weekend, holiday, night), but my colleague knew I was working in my office in another building on campus, so he called me. I ran over to his lab, arriving after the campus police but before the paramedics.

Fortunately there were spare clothes in the lab, so he was dressed, albeit strangely, and sitting in a small office near the lab. I talked to the police and one of the paramedics in the corridor, giving them some of the information they needed for their forms.

I know that accidents can happen, even to experienced researchers like my colleague. Most of the safety training I have experienced, either from in-person workshops or via online modules, has seemed like a waste of time, but I think that the training serves the general (and important) purpose of reminding us that accidents can (and probably will) happen. Everyone in the lab needs to know what to do, and the right safety equipment must be accessible and available. Information, equipment, and awareness need to be updated on a regular basis.

The fact of the accident was not remarkable, and fortunately no one was hurt, but there are few aspects of the incident that were notable for me:

- The campus police were great. I had a bad experience with a rude and patronizing campus police officer a few years ago, so it was very nice to meet these very professional, polite, and competent police officers.

- The paramedics were not great. They were completely unprepared to deal with a situation like this. I am sure that they know well what to do when they encounter someone bleeding or broken, but they had no idea what to do in this case of a possible exposure to a dangerous chemical. My colleague was 90% sure that no acid got to his skin, but he wasn't 100% sure, as he explained to the paramedics. The paramedics didn't even seem to realize that time was important. My colleague didn't look injured, and they wasted valuable time making phone calls to other people who also had no idea what to do. They asked questions of my colleague and me, then relayed something completely different into the phone. One of them even started to tell an anecdote about something that happened to his father years ago. My colleague angrily cut him off, the paramedic told him to "calm down", and the campus police in the hall heard those words and became alert to a possible "situation". They thought that my colleague was refusing medical care, and the incident spiraled into an absurd series of misunderstandings. That was bizarre, but the most disturbing thing was that paramedics working within the call range of a major research university festooned with labs containing dangerous materials not only had no idea what to do, but didn't even seem to know how to get the information quickly. When told the best course of action by my colleague and me, they ignored us and made more phone calls.

What I learned:

- Be as self-sufficient as possible for emergency procedures. In recent years it has seemed to me that my university has been emphasizing a "just call 911" message in safety training rather than providing specific information and materials necessary to deal with an emergency on-site. Certainly it is important to call 911, but you can't rely on paramedics to know how to deal with all situations.

- Store colleagues' phone numbers in your phone. Even if they aren't people you would call to chat or text a cute picture of your cat, you may need to contact a colleague outside of working hours in an emergency situation. The phone numbers of colleagues who tend to work unusual hours and/or colleagues who would be able to help you in particular types of emergency situations could be useful some day. This doesn't just apply to lab accidents. If you work on campus outside of normal weekday working hours, you might want to have some colleagues' contact numbers stored in your phone.

- Keep spare clothes in the lab in case you have to get undressed unexpectedly in a semi-public setting -- advice that is related to the title of this post. My grandmother was thinking more of car accidents and events of that nature when she relayed the classic maternal advice about always wearing nice underwear, but, if you care about such things, it could also apply to working in a lab.

Interviewing Info III

Here are some more random thoughts about interviewing for a faculty position, based on questions from readers. I was hoping for some really strange questions, but I don't mind discussing some of the classic ones:

What should you wear to an interview for a faculty position?

The answer to this will certainly vary depending on the specific field. There may be some fields in which suit-like garb is the norm, and others in which a person wearing a suit will seem bizarrely dressed. I have three things to say on the issue of Interview Attire:

1. Look around your own department and at conferences and see what faculty wear when they need to look particularly professional. If you were alert to this issue during any faculty searches conducted while you were a grad student or postdoc, perhaps you have an idea what interviewees in your field typically wear.

2. If you're going to dress up a bit, at least wear something nice and comfortable. I remember one interviewee whose heels were bleeding profusely into her nice new shoes during her interview. I discreetly asked her if she wanted a bandage or if there was something else I could do to help her, but she refused all assistance and said it didn't hurt. There is no way that did not hurt. My advice: Try not to acquire physical scars from interviews.

3. Others may disagree, but I think that unless you wear something wildly inappropriate, what you wear does not matter much. If you dress slightly more formally or informally than is typical, this isn't going to detract from your awesome interview talk and the strong positive impression you make with your energy and your ideas for cutting-edge research. Even so, although you should explore new frontiers in research, it might not be a good idea to explore new frontiers in interview attire -- there are probably sartorial limits that aren't worth pushing past in the interview, but, although I shall avoid defining these limits, I will say that I think there is a broad region of acceptable attire. I have seen successful candidates, male and female, interview in suits and in jeans-and-nice-shirt. It didn't matter.

Summary: Wear something that is professional-looking within the norms of your field but that also makes you feel confident and comfortable.

Can you push the start-date back for starting a faculty position?

This is of course not an interview issue but, like salary and start-up, a once-you-get-an-offer issue. You may have other alluring opportunities, such as a postdoc you want to do to help launch your subsequent faculty career, and it might be in everyone's interest that you have this experience. Or, it might be essential to the department that you start as soon as possible.

If this issue comes up during an interview, you can be open about your options, but these types of conversations shouldn't really take place in detail until you get an offer and start negotiating. Your getting an offer or not should not depend on whether you can start by a certain date.

If the department insists that you start by a certain date, you can take it or leave it. If the department is more flexible, that's great. Either way, this is a post-interview issue.

Most departments with which I have been associated have been very flexible about start dates. If a candidate has an opportunity that will help them launch their research program once they arrive, that's seen as a good thing and the faculty and administration are supportive of this.

Should you mention marital status and/or kids in an interview?

Much has been written about this, here and elsewhere. In fact, there was something about it in The Chronicle of Higher Education just this week. A decade ago, the answer was a definite No. It is illegal for you to be asked, and there was no benefit (and perhaps even a penalty) for mentioning such things, especially for women.

Today the answer is still No, but there is a but.. You don't have to mention anything about this and you still can't be asked, but in some cases universities are trying to be proactive (in a good way) to increase their chances of getting their top choices in searches.

How do you know if you are interviewing at a university that wants to help new faculty with families, e.g. by helping spouses find jobs (academic or not) and parents find daycare? Universities that want to help, not penalize, candidates whose job decisions involve (or may eventually involve) family issues may schedule a meeting between the candidate and a human resources counselor who provides the same information to all candidates (so the candidate doesn't have to reveal any personal information). Or you may find some information online about a university's policies about hiring academic couples or the availability of daycare on or near campus, so you get the information you need but don't have to ask anyone during your interview. You may also feel comfortable talking to certain faculty who have dealt with similar issues.

Whatever the case, you don't have to mention anything about your personal situation during your interview. It is not lying and it is not being unfair to the department to mention Dr. Spouse only once you get an offer.

If you want to talk freely about all this during your interview, you can do that. I don't mind being asked for advice about these kinds of issues by interviewees, although I prefer if those kinds of conversations happen after we have talked about Science and other research-related issues for a while first. Whatever your priorities are re. career and family, you are being evaluated for your research and teaching potential.


Tomorrow's topic: During a search, how do faculty decide which candidate they prefer? I will describe my personal approach to this.

Tentative topic for Friday: Once you've got a tenure-track or tenured position, what are some of the issues related to searching for and interviewing for other academic positions at another institution?

Teach-Wear

A quick survey of the FSP archives reveals that I have discussed the general issue of Professorial Attire approximately 8-9 times, most directly in some posts in 2006 (here and here). It is clearly time for another.

Several days each week for the next few months, I have to remember to wear a particular type of garment that allows me to attach a microphone clip somewhere not far from my face. The wireless microphone in the auditorium in which I teach has no other attachment mechanism, and I must use a microphone so that the students who are sitting 0.25 kilometers from the front of the room can hear me.

I have considered rigging up some sort of string-like attachment that I could wear around my neck. These days, many conferences offer string attachments for badges, and this is much more convenient than the old clip-style (or worse, the treacherous safety pin). A string would be much more convenient and would free me from having to spend time in the morning figuring out whether my apparel is mike-appropriate.

Earlier this week I made the Wrong Decision one day and the microphone kept flopping around too much, and it even got tangled in my hair and made horrible scratchy sounds, distracting from my attempt to make an Essential Point. Do I also have to wear my hair in a nice Science Lady bun so that I don't have these issues whilst teaching this term?

I really do like the courses I am teaching this term, but the logistical aspects are proving to be rather severe.

Basic Black

A few weeks ago I had to acquire a new Outfit to wear for a Special Professional Occasion (SPO). Shopping for Outfits is one of the few things that inspires me to procrastinate, and I put off my shopping trip for as long as possible. It is probably best that I procrastinate about shopping, though, because if I went early, my tendency would be to make a feeble effort at some stores and then leave without getting anything, and then I would just end up shopping at the last minute anyway. With my typical method, procrastination actually saves me time; or at least that's what I tell myself.

This particular SPO involved my giving a Speech in front of a scientific group that is overwhelmingly dominated by men. This Speech has been given by someone every year for nearly a century, and although I am not the first woman to give it, I am one of very few. The reason I mention this is that it describes the environment of the speech, my feeling of not really fitting in with the rest of the group, and my uncertainty about what to wear.

So I went shopping, and I ended up in the type of store (and/or the type of sector in a department store) in which the saleswomen take an active interest in the customer's shopping activities. I don't mind this, but I found that in most cases my ideas about what I would want to wear differed greatly from those of the women assisting me. Perhaps I should have just acceded to their possibly superior sense of fashion, but most of the items that they suggested I try were too something (too frilly, too beige/pink, too sleazy, too ugly).

After I had rejected her suggestion of a low-cut blouse that looked to me like lingerie, one saleswoman said: Why don't you tell me about the special occasion that you're shopping for, and that will help me help you better.

So I said: Well, I have to give a sort of speech to a big group of scientists, most of whom are older men. It's kind of a traditional, formal event, but not too formal.

Saleswoman: I'm sorry, I can't help you at all. Maybe you should just wear black.

At the next store, after I rejected a suggestion of a cranberry silk crepe short jacket with merino cami (note: I could not have written that sentence before my shopping expedition), the saleswoman asked me to tell her about the places I would be wearing this outfit, so she could help me decide. This time I tried a slightly different angle:

FSP: Well, I'm going to a dinner for some distinguished scientists and I'll be giving a speech, so I'm trying to find something professional yet comfortable but not too businesslike.

Saleswoman2: Is it like what you'd wear to a wedding?

FSP: No.

Saleswoman2: A funeral?

FSP: Maybe.

Saleswoman2: How about this black dress?

So I found something (mostly black) eventually, and felt happy about that until I realized I needed New Shoes to go with it.

FSP @ shoestore: Do you have this shoe in black?

Shoesaleswoman: No, these only come in toasted pinecone. This is a really stylish color. You can wear these with almost anything.

FSP: I need to wear them with a black outfit.

Shoesaleswoman: Are you going to a funeral or to Europe?

Professor/Shopping Fantasy

I am still on the road, though have finally found a good internet connection. For the past few days, my only option was a coin-operated kiosk with a sort of keyboard that wasn't really meant for typing words.

During our travels, my daughter and I talked about how we will have to do some very quick back-to-school shopping for her, and somehow this led to our constructing a fantasy scenario of back-to-school shopping for professors. We imagined a special clothing store, just for professors, with different departments: Science Women, Science Men, Humanities Women etc. It would have all the latest fashions. What are the stylish Chemistry Professors wearing this year? What cannot you absolutely not wear at the next big international meeting?

We later told my husband about this idea, and he mused about whether the different departments might need further subdividing. We are fairly sure that the physical sciences could probably share one department of this store, but it may well be that engineers will need their own section, and the humanities might need some very significant subdividing. Do philosophers dress the same as historians?

Another feature of this store for professors is that you get a discount on a new item of clothing if you turn in something that you have worn since graduate school, with the discount greater the longer you have been out of grad school.

Professor Hair

I hate getting my hair cut. I avoid the experience as much as possible, and hence my long non-professorial hair. It always amazes me how quickly the ritual conversation with the hair cutter reveals that I am from Planet Academia and not from the real world. Example:

Hair cutter: You know, when you turn 40, you're going to have to cut your hair short.

Me: I turned 40 a long time ago.

Hair cutter (after a little scream of shock): But you CAN'T have hair this long if you're that old.

Me: But I do.

Hair cutter: Of course you want to look young, but we SHOULD cut it to shoulder length. In fact.. (pointing to my chest).. hair that goes down to there is.. STRIPPER HAIR.

Me (wondering whether I can convince my husband to cut my hair next time): I have never heard of that.

Hair cutter: EVERYONE knows that.

Me: Even so, can I just get a trim?


I am doing everything backwards. In my youth, I had cm-long hair for a time (80's, London) when I should have had long hair, and now that I am 'old', I should have short hair.

My loathing of hair cuts is real, but I think part of my motivation for having long hair relates to my wish to change how people perceive scientists and science professors. Life certainly would be easier if I fit the science stereotype more -- or at least as much as a female-type person can -- but I also feel a stubborn wish/need to NOT look like I am supposed to and therefore to surprise people.

Obviously I am not being too extreme about this -- I am not that interested in piercing my eyebrows or getting a large visible tattoo, just as examples. I also don't walk around campus in my lab coat (unlike med school students, even though wearing such attire outside makes me wonder what they are learning about hygiene).

My somewhat delusional hope is that maybe in some small way the daily/weekly experiences that other women scientists and I have of changing people's minds about what a scientist 'looks like' will have a positive effect. Some women I know do this stereotype-busting even more effectively than I do, as I am by no means stylish or particularly socially skilled. Clearly the best way to accomplish the goal of having it be natural for women to be scientists and engineers and mathematicians and presidents is for there to be more of us in these professions, but a little stereotype twisting might help in the meantime.

Professorial Attire, continued again..

I am team-teaching a class this term, and today was my colleague's turn to teach. As I was sitting and (mostly) listening to my colleague teach today, I realized that he was wearing a shirt that he has had for a very long time. I don't know for how long, but we have been team-teaching this course together for most years of the last decade, and it was not a new shirt way back when. Then I started thinking about all the 'old' clothes that I still wear. And that reminded me of when I was in college and grad school and several of my professors wore clothes that they clearly had been wearing since they were grad students (or undergrads), and we students thought this was entertaining (and kind of sad, it must be said).

OK, so maybe wearing clothes from the 60's and 70's stood out more in the 80's and 90's than circa 1990 clothes do today? (she asks, hopefully). More likely, we have turned into our professors and lost all sartorial sense, if we even had any to begin with.


Random note: There was an optional spelling bee at my daughter's school today, and the kids got to decide for themselves if they participated. Not a single boy participated. Spelling is for grrls?

What To Wear (Again)

The issue of how our appearance affects people's perceptions of our abilities and authority has once again been raised (NY Times essay 11/21) and once again the focus is mostly on women (young doctors in this case). There are 6 photos accompanying the essay, each showing an attractive young woman showing 'too much' skin.

Studies show that people prefer doctors who look like stereotypical doctors. I am sure this is also true of people's preference for airline pilots, professors, and President of the United States, but isn't it obvious that we need to change the perception, not the preference?

I can't comment on many of the points in the article. Maybe women doctors shouldn't have long hair -- the article says this is not hygienic (are beards hygienic, by the way?) -- and maybe there are some ways of dressing that are unprofessional (for both men and women). Nevertheless, I think that such issues should be discussed more thoughtfully, rather than just as emphatic statements about how women should and should not dress. For example: women professionals shouldn't wear short skirts because it is too distracting to others. It may well be, but how do we decide when the doctor (or professor or politician) is dressing inappropriately and when the patient (or student or citizen) needs to change their perceptions?

There are probably obvious end members where most people would agree about what is professional vs. unprofessional appearance/attire. I have a feeling, though, that there is a rather large gray area, and that a lot of women are in this gray area, not because they don't dress appropriately, but because people's perceptions of what is appropriate for women is more variable than it is for men.

What To Wear, 2

More random thoughts on Un/Professional Attire

I used to think that my husband could wear whatever he wanted to conferences year after year, but that I couldn't. I was envious that he would just throw some nice-ish shirts into his suitcase (the same shirts he wears for teaching), and not think anything more about it. A few years ago, however, a Rather Famous Person in his field said to him at a conference "Is that your meeting shirt?". I laughed so much, and am still too entertained by this to this day. Now, although I can't say that he gives a huge amount of thought to what he wears at conferences, he does at least pause and wonder, "Did I wear this last time?".

Another challenge for the Modern Young Male in academia today: I have several students who wear baseball caps ALL THE TIME, even at meetings. I think I wrote about this a few months ago. My female students may well come across as more serious just because they dress more professionally at conferences. When a prospective graduate student approaches me at a meeting to discuss their application or potential application to work with me, I don't mind if they are wearing a baseball cap or are otherwise informally dressed, but I greatly dislike talking to people (students, anyone) when they are chewing gum. Memo to prospective students: lose the chewing gum before talking to potential advisors.

I have a male colleague who makes crude and lascivious comments when he sees women (young or old) dressed in an alluring way. His behavior disgusts me, but there is some satisfaction in the fact that most women think he is a troll. He once said to me "You should see me in the summer when I'm not wearing a shirt and I'm tan and in shape from hiking in the mountains." I just laughed, in what I hope was a not very nice way, and said "I could do without seeing that". I prefer to think that there is no one on this planet who would respond in a positive way to his invitation, but the fact that he is married implies that there is at least one person who at some point found him attractive.

Men and women in my field tend to dress rather the same (not counting the baseball cap fashion, which seems to be a male phenomenon) in the U.S., even at meetings, but this was not the case during my recent year in Europe. This became clear to me the first time I was invited to attend a science/business/social event, and asked a colleague what level of formality of dress was typical. He said "Oh just wear what you wear to work in the department, that's what I do." So I did. And he did as well, and he fit in perfectly with what all the men were wearing. The women, however, were extremely elegantly dressed. One woman was wearing a slinky, low-cut red silk dress with high heeled shoes. Another woman was wearing a see-through filmy top over black lingerie. I wore a black sweater and black jeans, similar to what several of the men were wearing, so I was dressed appropriately, but apparently it was only appropriate for the gender I am not. At least I wasn't wearing a baseball cap..

Shopping/Alienation and Wedding Ring/Lack Thereof

My daughter and I went back-to-school shopping today. We are both very fond of acquiring school supplies, and less fond of shopping for clothes, but it was a fun day anyway. It is always a bit weird to venture out into the real world on a weekday. I felt like I was visiting an unfamiliar culture, with rituals and customs I don't really understand. Mostly that is because I lack a Shopping Gene, and feel acutely alienated from the rest of humanity when I am in a Mall, which is exactly where we went today.

We were very entertained by some of the bizarre fashions, including what I will call "mature" styles for pre-teens. Fortunately my daughter isn't interested in wearing something that looks like adult women's lingerie to school.

I was also entertained by the saleswomen who glanced in an obvious way at my ringless ring finger (I am married but don't wear a wedding ring) and then called me "Miss", as in "Can I help you, miss?". The beringed woman near me got a "Can I help you, ma'am?". Perhaps that's part of the sales job, to identify people by their situation and customize the greetings? I don't care what they call me, but it briefly interested me to be categorized like that. I know it is odd to be married and ringless, but I've never worn jewelry (I seldom even wear a watch), and the ring symbolism doesn't mean anything to me or my husband, so neither of us wears a wedding ring. My ringlessness has resulted in some strange encounters over the years, and some people are quite disapproving of my lack of a wedding ring, as if I'm less committed to my husband, trying to look single and available, or somehow violating a law of nature. I keep thinking that eventually some of my relatives might change their mind about the significance of a wedding ring, as my husband and I remain happily married and my ring-wearing siblings/cousins and others divorce, but it hasn't happened yet. I have never met another married woman who doesn't wear a wedding ring, but I think there must be others out there somewhere. (?)

What to wear?

I saw an amazing -- as in amazingly inane, off-base, bizarre -- thing on the web recently. A woman wrote to a fashion adviser, asking for advice not for herself, but for the female colleague of her husband. The female colleague of the husband did not ask for or need advice, but the woman writing to the fashion adviser was concerned because her husband's colleague wasn't dressing well enough to succeed in her career.

This caught my attention because the apparently poorly dressed woman is in a job similar to mine - science professor. The ignorant fashion advisor confirmed that yes, in fact, the female science professor could be harming her career as a researcher by not dressing appropriately. She might not be productive enough at publishing and getting grants because she is not wearing the right clothes. There were links to sites where one could buy the *appropriate* attire for a female professor, but the recommended garments were hideous.

Does one's appearance matter in academia -- specifically in the corner of academic with which I am familiar: the physical sciences? There is no one answer to this because there are different phases and aspects of one's career to consider:

1 - grad students. It doesn't matter what you wear in grad school (unless you happen to have an advisor with a dress code), but it might matter what you wear to conferences or a job interview. In my field, only people with connections to industry, government, or administration wear anything resembling a business suit. When I was a student, I was advised to wear make-up and do something with my hair and dress up more or I would never get a job, but I ignored that advice, and here I am!

2 - professors

a - teaching. Some of my colleagues (male and female) have done "experiments" to test whether what they wear has any effect on their teaching evaluations. It turns out that when these colleagues have dressed well for every class in a semester, their teaching evaluations are higher than their usual average. It isn't a huge effect -- a lousy teacher isn't going to get great evaluations because of their wardrobe -- but my colleagues believe the effect is statistically significant. I tried dressing up early in my career just because I looked so young and had trouble convincing people (students, staff, other faculty) that I was a real professor. It didn't work very well. Students would come to my office and look around and say "Wow, it's so great that they give you an office even though you're not a professor." I would say "Why don't you think I'm a professor?" and they were startled and had no answer. Other times, I'd be sitting at my desk working in my very own office and someone who didn't know me would come in and (rudely) order me to tell Professor X (me!) something or give her something. They thought I was a secretary. I learned two things from this: (1) many people don't treat secretaries very politely, and (2) even today, people see a young woman and think "secretary" before they think "professor", even if there are visual clues to the contrary. Anyway, nowadays I don't dress up in any particular way to teach, but I don't wear T-shirts either, and I don't think my students or my career are harmed by my appearance.

b - research. How you dress has absolutely no effect on research, on grant success, on publication record. Some of the most talented women in my field dress abysmally; others always look fabulous and stylish. IT DOESN'T MATTER.