Example Academic Interview Questions

What government agencies would you target for funding your research?
What companies would use your research? Any small companies?
In what conferences/journals would you publish your work? How do these conferences/journals differ in the type of papers they publish?
Who are your "competitors" at other schools?
Is it possible for academic researchers to make significant contributions to your field, or are industrial technology and resources necessary?

Given that existing technologies and tools will be obsolete in a few years, what should we teach our students?
How would you approach developing a curriculum from scratch?
What is your teaching philosophy?
What do you think about having undergraduates serve as TAs?
If an undergraduate wanted to work with you, what type of project would you give them?

What start-up funds/facilities would you need to establish your research?
How would you organize/manage your research group?
How many graduate students would you like to have in your group?
Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
What would be possible titles for the first three PhD thesis projects in your research group?
What new courses would you create on your research area?

How did you decide what school to attend for your PhD?
How did you choose your thesis topic?
What would you consider as your biggest weakness in starting a faculty position?
If you start having difficulty juggling the combination of research, teaching, advising, and proposal-writing, what would you do to fix the problem?
Do you have entrepreneurial aspirations?
Who would you most like to emulate?
What are your non-technical interests?
What factors will determine which academic/research position is most attractive to you?