The Professor Is In

Guidance for all things PhD: Graduate School, Job Market and Careers

Intervention Testimonials

“Oh my gosh! Guess what? They asked me the EXACT same questions that you asked me. Anddd.. I was prepared for all of them! … It worked! My [interview Intervention Meltdown] made me pull on those big girl pants and rock that shit. Anyway, you are amazing. That’s pretty much it. THANK YOU for taking the time to work through some of those issues!” 2013 Ph.D, Communications

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“I recently worked with Kellee to prepare for a conference interview (my first one; I’d had campus interviews before, but never a conference interview.) She was wonderful. Her feedback was frank and honest without making me feel incompetent, a tough line to walk, and her advice around confidence and self-assurance will continue to be helpful in lots of different aspects of my life, not just academia. I had no idea how much I had been doing wrong before, and more importantly, no idea how to fix it even if I had known. Until Kellee.

And of course, the result: for this very subfield-focused R1 position that I know for a fact is extremely competitive within my subfield, my conference interview has turned into a campus invite.

I wish everyone had a Kellee.”  2009 Ph.D., English

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“I rocked the phone interview…Thank you so, so much for everything!” 2014 Ph.D. Biochemistry

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“JOB OFFER! Thanks for your help, Kellee.” 2011 Ph.D Business

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“I got the offer today. Couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you.” Ph.D Music

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“I passed the skype interview a few days ago! Now they’ve invited me to the on-campus interview! Kellee knows how desperate I was during the mock with her. Thank you once again!!!” 2013 Ph.D Comparative Literature

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Petra and Karen, Just wanted to let you guys know that I landed a tenure track assistant professor position at a Research 1 in March.  Yeah! I had an interview intervention in February with Petra.  It was horrible (on my end), but it helped me get me stuff together. Thanks again for your website, words of wisdom, and help preparing me for a grueling three day on campus interview.  I love your blog!!!!!

Thanks for everything!!!! 2013 MFA, Visual Arts

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“Kellee, I got the job!  I got the offer last week. I am so thrilled.  What really helped (I think) was the interview…  I know I had good answers, it was all about streamlining the answers, staying on message and clearly communicating these answers.  Its like when we as teachers make students rework the structures of their papers.  It doesn’t matter who good their ideas are, if they aren’t clear b/c of the structure, its irrelevant… Thank you for all of your help.” 2009 Ph.D, Communications

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Kellee, Just wanted to thank you both again for all of your phenomenal help this year! I just got a job offer from [R-1]!” 2012 Ph.D Communications

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“I just wanted to thank you for the interview prep. I learned so much, and that knowledge makes me feel much more confident that I will put my best foot forward. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again!” 2014 Ph.D Political Science

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“The interview Intervention was really great, and I loved talking to Kellee.  I got myself quite anxious in anticipation, more so than before any real interview, because I didn’t feel prepared enough.  After going through all the steps with Kellee, I think I know what to do and how to keep my answers tight, focused, and concise.  And, I think I also got the anxiety out of my system.  I will be reporting to both of you about the two interviews later this week.” 2013 Ph.D., Languages and Literatures.

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I want to report in on my interview yesterday at [Ivy League]. Thanks for all of your help preparing! As I walked on to campus a strange calm came over me and I thought: there’s nothing more I can do at this point, so why not just relax. I made it through the day just fine and whenever I found my voice straining or myself sitting forward eagerly, I told myself to take a deep breath and be powerful, which worked! … Again, thanks for your help preparing. I think I was able to get all of my nervous energy out by my interview intervention with you” 2014 Ph.D. Public Policy

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“I am writing to tell you both how well-prepared I felt going into my postdoc interview at XX U yesterday.  Even before I got there, all of my work with both of you felt very empowering – like I had worked out the kinks and really had mastered the right way to position myself and my research.  The most gratifying part of the day was walking out at the end of the interview and feeling like there was nothing that I would have done differently in terms of the preparation or the interview answers.  It was liberating and self-affirming.
My talk led directly into more specific interview/text questions – what texts would I add to their XX seminar (exactly as you said it would happen, Kellee!) – and I had the answers at the ready.  The tone was increasingly positive as the time progressed… I also felt like there was a shift in tone by the end of the meetings – that they were wanting me and trying to sell me their program, instead of other way around.  Of course we will see how things shake out, but the vibe was very positive.  I feel like I am standing on a precipice where I have never been before, and after the adjunct/rejection shuffle of the last few years, that alone is very exhilarating.” 2013 History Ph.D.
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“Thanks to the Interview Intervention, I felt prepared, more relaxed, and more confident than I would have without it!” 2010 Ph.D Lingustics

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“Just wanted to thank you again for the much needed interview intervention. I got the job!” 2004 Ph.D Philosophy

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“Petra, I wanted to say thank you again for your amazing work.  I found TPII and signed up for an interview intervention at the last minute – on a Friday, and was on-campus that Monday. I spent the plane ride working on the things we discussed, and just got a phone call from the Dept Head – offering me a t-t position. So – thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so thrilled, and feel like the interview intervention made a huge difference in my confidence and my “spin” on my scant publication record.”  2014 Ph.D., Medical Humanities

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“I am very excited to share that I received an offer!  I had an incredible experience on the market this year.  It was definitely a thrill ride that was only enjoyable because I survived.  The biggest things I learned were:

  1. The job market requires marketing!  I had to sell myself and I went all-or-nothing.  For me it paid off
  2. It really, *really* comes down to fit.  I do not fit the typical mold, and schools either looked right past my application or short-listed me.  The short lists ranged from SLAC to R1, but what they all had in common is that the departments share my same values when it comes to research and teaching.” 2011 Ph.D Anthropology

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“Had a great session with Kellee and wanted to thank her! No more used-car-salesman or cheap soap opera acting! I am upping my game.” 2012 Ph.D Education

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“Great news! I’ve made it to the campus interview for [R-1]. I’m so happy! Thanks for your pep talk and help a month ago leading up to my conference interview.” 2014 Ph.D Religious Studies

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“ Just wanted to let you know that [R-1] has invited me for a campus visit. Booyah 🙂  Thanks for all your help. I will sign up for help on the campus visits soon.” 2010 Ph.D History

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“The interview intervention was really helpful — they asked exactly what you said they would and just rehearsing my answers to a living person beforehand made it much smoother.” 2013 Ph.D Near Eastern Studies

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“Just accepted a generous counteroffer from an R1 after two years as VAP. When I stop jumping up and down with excitement and look back, I can’t believe how far I have come thanks to Karen’s guidance and the Interview Intervention with Kellee.

The Interview Intervention with Kellee was eye-opening.  I thought that after doing the Interview Intervention Webinar, the Skype would be a piece of cake, but Kellee noted my responses were coming across as long-winded and unclear and she helped me hone my responses so they came out clear and focused.   I walked into my interviews confident having prepped for questions; I was surprised that the vast majority of the questions I received were covered by Karen and Kellee.  In the end, I ended up getting two offers and used Karen’s negotiation assistance to negotiate a $4K higher salary than I was initially offered.”

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“Today’s Interview Intervention Session with Kellee was fun! I bet you don’t hear that often, but Kellee is a national treasure. While I had memorized answers to the questions and could anticipate answers to the standards, she was able to pick out what my problem is: It is my delivery of the answers NOT that I don’t know what my answers are or that I’m clueless about teaching and research. But it is in HOW one presents their whole persona.”  2013 Ph.D. History