Preparing for Interviews

[E-P]

In my professional life, I've been both on the giving and receiving end of many, many interviews.  But I also imagine that an academic-admission interview does not start out with, "Tell me about a time when you..."

 

So what's it like?  For those of you who have already had your interviews, what kinds of questions did they ask, how did you prepare, and how should you have prepared?

[galosh]

@GreenEyedTrombonist  is a good person to ask. She helped me with the same question but not sure if I should paste an inbox message.

Edited January 20, 2018 by galosh
tagging

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

@galosh If you want to paste that message, feel free.  

[galosh]

The part before this was specific to Skype interviews. This is the general part. 

From @GreenEyedTrombonist: 

"I'll also keep pertinent materials near. For a job interview, that includes the job notice, my resume, and the cover letter I submitted. For a school interview, I like to read some material from the interviewing professor beforehand and have a list of potential questions on hand so I have a reference. You can also review your previous research to make sure you can talk specifics of your contributions. Then I'd make some notes about what I talked about in my SoP regarding my intended research, how it relates to the prof interviewing me, and any interesting facilities in the department that I'd like to learn more about. 

For my previous phone interviews (prior to submitting my apps), I also asked about the local area and, since I'm from a place that doesn't really experience seasons, I asked about the weather (specifically in winter). Since I have no intention of getting a car, I also asked about public transit and then spoke with some of the profs about local entertainment. Most of my phone calls were 30-45 minutes with the longest lasting just over an hour (we talked about everything from the program to how long it can take to drive to Chicago depending on the day to how the music scene has changed over the years and why).

Typically, I'd expect them to ask about your research interests, particulars about some of your past research or preparation for your future research, something about your career goals, and they'll probably be looking for some info about how you'd fit with their program. On your part, you want to ask about their current research, any questions you may have about department culture, and see if you can turn it into more of a conversation than a question and answer session." 

[DBear]

Also, it's okay to ask about admissions processes/ next steps for you as an applicant. It's a roundabout way of asking when this anxiety-ridden roller coaster ride is gonna be over. The faculty I spoke with were all really friendly and open in my case and they answered the question like it was no big deal. (This is based on my experience from last year). You can ask ques about teaching requirements, job placement for grads, too

[DBear]

Also, this thread might be useful:

https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/84912-how-common-are-phone-interviews-for-comm/

[DBear]

One question I got that kinda wasn't expecting was "why a phd". I think this was more of a way to gauge commitment because it's not an easy process to go through.