• Which subfields are expanding or contracting in my field?

• How do people in the field find out about, get nominated for and win grants, awards, and prizes?

• What are the leading journals in the field?  Have any colleagues published there?  How should co-authorship be handled?  Who can bring a submission to the attention of the editors?

• What organizations are the most important to join, what conferences are the ones to attend?  How does one get on the program?

• What is the best way of getting feedback on a paper?

• How are student assistantships assigned?  How do I apply for a research/teaching assistant?

• What aspects of a contract are negotiable?

• What are the appropriate and accepted ways to raise different kinds of concerns, issues and problems (e.g., verbally or by memo) and with whom?

• What are the department’s formal and informal criteria for promotion and tenure?  Who can clarify these criteria?  How does one build a tenure-file?  Who sits on the relevant committees?  Who can effectively support a nomination?

.

• What departmental and institutional decisions are pending that might affect positions in the department?  Who can influence these decisions?  

• How does one establish an appropriate balance between teaching, research, and committee work? How does one say "no”?  When is it okay to say “no”?

• What funds are available from the department / University? Start-up funds, graduate scholarships, travel / conference, small equipment funds, etc.

• How is the department organized? How are decisions made? What infrastructure is available to the new faculty member?

• What should the professional profile be after 3 years?

• What criteria are used for teaching excellence, how is teaching   evaluated, and what is a teaching dossier?

• What are the grading guidelines for courses?

• How does one obtain feedback concerning teaching?

• What resources are available for teaching enhancement?

• How does one become a member of the graduate faculty?

• What should graduate students expect from their major professor?

• What should be included in the annual activity report?

.

• Will there be feedback about performance from the Chair?  If so, how often?

• What are the policies concerning maternity, family or personal leaves?  How genuinely supportive is the department regarding work-life balance issues?

• Which professors or administrators have contacts at places with appropriate openings for spouses/partners?