Hi all,

I need your advice. My university is hiring several teaching fellows and I am interested in submitting one job application. The job advertisement states that newly-hired teaching fellows are mainly responsible for teaching undergraduate courses. But I am not familiar with some of the courses because I never took any of them at all. I would plan to read through some of the courses that I am not so familiar with from the university website so that I have a general idea of what to cover in those courses. What else should I do to prepare well for my interview? Do you have any useful tip or experience to share with me? Thanks a lot.

If you are not interested in the courses or are not willing to learn them all, then you wouldn't do much justice to the position and might find it difficult in the interview. But if you are interested or willing to learn, then nothing like it. If the interview date is close by, you could do some broad framework readings on the course. If you have time, then you could read the best/popular books and research papers. You could go a step ahead, pick some concepts, and do an in-depth study(discussing it in the interview would be an added advantage). The interview panelists would definitely know you're a fresher, experience and firm grip over the subject is not what they'd be looking for. Rather they would be looking for your knowledge(limited), communication, and interest in the subject. So, if you can communicate your knowledge and express your interest, you should do well. All the best!

Hi! I would make a list of the undergraduate courses you are willing and would be interested in teaching. I would also be ready to discuss why you would be interested in teaching them and why you think you are qualified to do so. If you can find recent syllabi for those courses, you could also propose a few changes to the materials, topics or recommended reading lists. Nothing major, just to show that you are aware of the current modules and also have the confidence and creativity to adapt the courses to your abilities and preferences. When you discuss your motivations for teaching specific courses, you can take advantage of your own experience as a student to propose some (small) changes to the current contents (e.g. adding an extra homework on a specific topic you struggled to understand as a student). Depending on your department and the nature of the courses, you could also propose a new course you could design and teach. Best of luck!