Join dedicated employees who creatively collaborate and focus on students to prepare them for success in professional environments. The College of Law builds national and international connections in the heart of Atlanta. Whether you are in the early stages of building your career or want to be part of a globally engaged community, you will join leading legal educators who have an impact in the classroom, courtroom and public discussion on a national stage.
As part of Georgia State — one of the most diverse universities in the nation — our college celebrates the diversity of thought and practice. We encourage applications from minorities, women and others who would enrich diversity. We support employee creativity and promote engagement. Training, personal and online instruction, mentoring and tuition assistance support faculty members in their professional development.
Faculty Opportunities
Faculty Interview Process
The job talk gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to teach and promote your scholarly interests. We do not expect junior faculty candidates to be polished presenters, but we assess whether you have communicated your thesis in a clear, logical way others can easily follow. We’ll also look for your promise as a scholar. In particular, we will consider how effectively you develop your legal position, answer questions on your feet and make connections to broader legal issues.
About the Talk
The job talk will last about one hour. Candidates are expected to speak for 20-30 minutes on the topic of their choice and to leave another 30 minutes for questions from the faculty. Although we allow candidates to have at least 10 uninterrupted minutes at the beginning of the talk, the audience may immediately ask questions. You should prepare for both scenarios.
Choosing a Topic
Choose an issue related to your research or work history, a topic you’ve written about, or one you plan to explore in the future. Give careful thought to whether you can develop your thesis clearly within a 20- to 30-minute time frame. Most of your audience members won’t be experts in your field, so you’ll need to educate them on the basic legal premises underlying your position.
If you choose a topic that is highly technical or esoteric, you may want to be particularly sensitive to the challenges associated with developing a clear thesis and engaging the faculty in your discussion. You may submit a short description of your thesis before the presentation.
You may use PowerPoint or other technology during your presentation. Slides can add to or detract from discussions, so determine whether yours add meaning or clarity to the discussion.
Best Practices
The best presentations identify a problem in the law, briefly explain how the underlying problem developed and propose a solution in a way that acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of the position. Our faculty prefers presentations that are balanced and fair to advocacy discussions.
Time is limited. Candidates who clearly convey one or two central ideas during their presentations generally do much better than candidates who try to convey too much information or assume too much pre-existing knowledge.
Q&A
You can expect a wide range of questions during the interactive portion of your presentation, relating to your topic specifically and its connection to law and policy.
These questions reflect faculty interest in your premise. It is almost always best to answer questions directly, even if an answer seemingly undermines your thesis. We don’t expect you to have a definitive answer to every question posed. Ideally, you will have identified the key strengths and weaknesses of your thesis in advance and respond thoughtfully.
Overall, we hope you’ll find your job talk to be an energizing opportunity to discuss your ideas with us. If you have any questions relating to this process, contact a member of the recruiting committee.
Graduate Assistant (GA) Opportunities
Georgia State University, part of the University System of Georgia, is an equal opportunity educational institution and an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. For more information on employment and recruiting, visit Human Resources.
Thank you for your interest in working at Georgia State Law.
