Interview Tips!

[Louvre]

13 hours ago, psychologygeek said:

I have a question about potential PI's

My interview coming up is at UT Southwestern- there is research involved ofc but this is a VERY clinically oriented school. there are clinical rotations etc all before the interview. On the application, it asked me to list two professors who I might be interested in working with. However, the website doesn't say much about wether its a mentorship model or if you work with the whole department. Has anyone had interviews at a clinically-based program before? What should I expect? Thanks!

UTSW operates on less of a mentorship model than most programs. You are aware that it is not fully funded, at least in the first year? 

[sparrow123]

I have a fear that because I am a married woman in my late 20s, it may be assumed that I want children soon and that that will make me a less attractive candidate. I'm 100000% not saying that folks with kids or those who want them are less attractive/capable, but I've heard soooo many stories about women being discriminated against in the workforce because they plan to have children or are pregnant, etc. Anyone have any thoughts about this? Is this a stupid thing to worry about? Has anyone received any questions related to family planning/relationships during their interviews? I'm guessing they're wildly inappropriate if not outright illegal, right? 

(Relatedly, I actually don't want children and don't plan on having them ever. But I also believe that is no one's business except for mine and my husband's.)

Edited January 31, 2020 by sparrow123

[Modulus]

7 minutes ago, sparrow123 said:

I have a fear that because I am a married woman in my late 20s, it may be assumed that I want children soon and that that will make me a less attractive candidate. I'm 100000% not saying that folks with kids or those who want them are less attractive/capable, but I've heard soooo many stories about women being discriminated against in the workforce because they plan to have children or are pregnant, etc. Anyone have any thoughts about this? Is this a stupid thing to worry about? Has anyone received any questions related to family planning/relationships during their interviews? I'm guessing they're wildly inappropriate if not outright illegal, right? 

(Relatedly, I actually don't want children and don't plan on having them ever. But I also believe that is no one's business except for mine and my husband's.)

As a slightly older female applicant, I had some concerns about this.  I have been happily surprised at how many (if not all) of the programs I have visited are openly supportive of graduate students who have or start families! 

I do not believe I will be having children either but a program that supports this is very attractive to me as a place where it is understood that life still happens to grad students.

I think it is very hard to imagine anyone asking about your family status in a grad student interview. It is not allowed. I have been told that these questions are frequently asked when you're applying for faculty jobs, however...

Edited January 31, 2020 by Modulus
Clarification

[PsyDuck90]

10 minutes ago, sparrow123 said:

I have a fear that because I am a married woman in my late 20s, it may be assumed that I want children soon and that that will make me a less attractive candidate. I'm 100000% not saying that folks with kids or those who want them are less attractive/capable, but I've heard soooo many stories about women being discriminated against in the workforce because they plan to have children or are pregnant, etc. Anyone have any thoughts about this? Is this a stupid thing to worry about? Has anyone received any questions related to family planning/relationships during their interviews? I'm guessing they're wildly inappropriate if not outright illegal, right? 

(Relatedly, I actually don't want children and don't plan on having them ever. But I also believe that is no one's business except for mine and my husband's.)

They are not supposed to ask you questions about things like this. So, unless you disclose your marital status, they will have no idea that you're even married unless they happen to see the wedding ring. 

[psychologygeek]

3 hours ago, Louvre said:

UTSW operates on less of a mentorship model than most programs. You are aware that it is not fully funded, at least in the first year? 

Yes! I know that it's not fully funded. Thankfully I have some money set aside because I went to undergrad for free (thanks FAFSA lol.) I also applied for financial aid to see if I could get anything.

 

UTSW is my top school because of the breadth of neuropsychology training they perform, so that's worth its weight in gold to me. Thank you for the information on the mentorship model! I was a bit confused by their website.

If it's not a typical mentorship model, will the interview be different? I noticed on the agenda that they have two 30-minute interview sessions. Once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. it was less time than I expected!

[PsychLu]

16 hours ago, joanneprada said:

GOOD LUCK to those interviewing this weekend.

Please update us on how they go. You guys will do great!!  

Just had my first interview. I think it went well. 

 

Things I didn't expect:

-How little time was interviewing. 2 1-on-1 interviews (30 minutes each) and the rest was talking to grad students, dinner social, round table discussions, a presentation, and campus tours. 

-The awkwardness of talking to the clinical director and other administrative staff. It was really hard to come up with questions for them (and this was after a presentation about the program that already answered any question I had). 

-How much I was grilled in one of my interviews. The prof was actually asking me about specific details from my POI's journal articles. 

-How casual and comfortable the interview with my POI was! 

-How honest and upfront the grad students were with me about funding, stipend, and my POI's positives and negatives.

-How interesting it was to talk to the other applicants. Also, how much time I spent around/socializing with the other applicants. 

 

Suggestions:

-Bring blister band aids, even if you think you won't need them.

-Bring floss (you'll be eating and you don't want things stuck in your teeth after breakfast/lunch).

-Plan out your bathroom visits. I'm serious. Look at your schedule and decide when would be good times to go.

-If you have a break, plan to maybe call a loved one during that time. It will be a relief to talk to someone without having to worry about your image and the loved one can give you positive affirmation and words of support. So after your call, you can head back to the interview refreshed and in a better mood. 

-Have a prepared list of questions to ask your POI, written down, that you can pull out and take notes on as your POI responds. 

-Even if you've read them before, go over your POI's recent journal articles on your flight there so everything is fresh in your mind.

-Bring Tylenol pm, so if you're too nervous to sleep before interview day, you can knock yourself out. 

-Have some prepared statements about hobbies. They shouldn't be rehearsed, but have a bullet list in your mind, because you will be surprised how often they become a talking point.

[SocialPsych2018]

Hi all! I had an interview last weekend, and my biggest piece of advice is: be ready to talk! 

I expected interviews to be fairly structured but they were not at all. I had 5 in total, each 20 mins, and 2-3 of the profs had no questions for me. It was just kind of "So, what do you want to talk about?" or "What questions do you have for me?" Even my POI didn't have any questions! (We had skyped last month and she seemed to feel like she already knew what she needed to know!)

So have questions, or study ideas, or topics of conversation ready. 

And for the profs that did ask questions, it was almost always "what research do you want to do?" so be prepared with a short speech about that, and be prepared for follow up questions and just generally to talk about your research ideas and interests.

[psychologygeek]

2 hours ago, SocialPsych2018 said:

Hi all! I had an interview last weekend, and my biggest piece of advice is: be ready to talk! 

I expected interviews to be fairly structured but they were not at all. I had 5 in total, each 20 mins, and 2-3 of the profs had no questions for me. It was just kind of "So, what do you want to talk about?" or "What questions do you have for me?" Even my POI didn't have any questions! (We had skyped last month and she seemed to feel like she already knew what she needed to know!)

So have questions, or study ideas, or topics of conversation ready. 

And for the profs that did ask questions, it was almost always "what research do you want to do?" so be prepared with a short speech about that, and be prepared for follow up questions and just generally to talk about your research ideas and interests.

I am applying to a program that has less of a research focus.

 

However, if there are a few things i'd like to talk about that aren't on my CV that are still applicable (i.e. personal experiences and how that ties into my pursuing psychology, etc), should I find a way to weave those in? The school I'm interviewing at seems to be really all about interpersonal connectivity and personality, so I am trying to find ways for them to see my personality outside of questions about clinical work, research, etc.

[Louvre]

23 hours ago, psychologygeek said:

UTSW is my top school because of the breadth of neuropsychology training they perform

If it's not a typical mentorship model, will the interview be different? I noticed on the agenda that they have two 30-minute interview sessions. Once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. it was less time than I expected!

Interview questions weren’t unusual, and there’s some time built in to the day for touring and socializing, or at least that was the way it was a couple years ago. It probably goes without saying you want to be friendly and pleasant to the other candidates. You obviously won’t be expected to be conversant with every professor’s work, so if your interest is neuropsych, focus your interview prep in that direction.

BTW, the faculty are very accessible and collegial (worked as RA there before applying but wound up accepting an offer from another program). Housing near UTSW is relatively reasonable; if you decide to go and are unfamiliar with Dallas, PM me for suggestions on areas to look at/avoid.

[mmmmcoffee]

hey - just wanted to say thank you to the people posting about their interviews as they have them! they definitely help ease some of the stress

[psychologygeek]

5 hours ago, Louvre said:

Interview questions weren’t unusual, and there’s some time built in to the day for touring and socializing, or at least that was the way it was a couple years ago. It probably goes without saying you want to be friendly and pleasant to the other candidates. You obviously won’t be expected to be conversant with every professor’s work, so if your interest is neuropsych, focus your interview prep in that direction.

BTW, the faculty are very accessible and collegial (worked as RA there before applying but wound up accepting an offer from another program). Housing near UTSW is relatively reasonable; if you decide to go and are unfamiliar with Dallas, PM me for suggestions on areas to look at/avoid.

Thank you for this! I will definitely PM you- I have family in Dallas but they'll be far more well off than I so I'll need to figure out where to live, lol. 

The website and my application currently seems to be very focused on the environment being supportive and interpersonal. On my application, they even asked if I have been through or experienced anything that might benefit me as a student and clinician, which I greatly appreciated. Do you recall if they ask any questions aimed in that direction? (i.e. non-academic background, personal suitability for clinical psych, etc.)

I have obviously prepared the standard questions about research interests, research experience, etc, but I want to find a way to weave my personality into the interviews as well. I do think that it gives me a bit of an edge, and I have gone through some experiences that make me stand out a bit more. If you or anyone has tips on that, it would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much for the info! This is my top choice, so I'd really love to succeed. 

[psychologygeek]

Going off of my above comment, if anyone has any tips or tricks on how to weave personality into the interview answers, please lmk! This is my biggest fear going into the interview. 

I have been told that time and time again that the interview is a "personality check." I am worried about my personality or my experiences getting swallowed up or diminished by some of the questions that are, well, not very personality-esque. It is so so important to me to be able to let my personality shine through during the interview! things like hobbies, personal experiences, etc. I don't want to leave the interview knowing that I sounded like a robot, haha

Help!

[andhowdoesthatmakeyoufeel]

1 hour ago, psychologygeek said:

Going off of my above comment, if anyone has any tips or tricks on how to weave personality into the interview answers, please lmk! This is my biggest fear going into the interview. 

I have been told that time and time again that the interview is a "personality check." I am worried about my personality or my experiences getting swallowed up or diminished by some of the questions that are, well, not very personality-esque. It is so so important to me to be able to let my personality shine through during the interview! things like hobbies, personal experiences, etc. I don't want to leave the interview knowing that I sounded like a robot, haha

Help!

I think the best thing you can do is just be honest in your answers. Be who you are, don’t over stress your answers, try to just have a nice conversation. 

[QuinnH]

I have a question about taking notes during interviews.  I really like to write down the key points of what professors are saying, especially when they're talking about their projects, or directions they're planning on taking in their research.  How appropriate is it to take notes during your interview, especially when the professor is answering questions you've asked?  I had a video interview last week and asked if I could take notes, and she didn't have a problem with it, and I didn't write a ton, just key points.  I'm wondering what other people have done, and what the general thoughts are about this. 

[diaphanous]

13 hours ago, psychologygeek said:

Going off of my above comment, if anyone has any tips or tricks on how to weave personality into the interview answers, please lmk! This is my biggest fear going into the interview. 

I have been told that time and time again that the interview is a "personality check." I am worried about my personality or my experiences getting swallowed up or diminished by some of the questions that are, well, not very personality-esque. It is so so important to me to be able to let my personality shine through during the interview! things like hobbies, personal experiences, etc. I don't want to leave the interview knowing that I sounded like a robot, haha

Help!

I've only had one interview weekend so far, but my best advice is to try to match and feed off of your interviewer's energy. I agree that the "personality check" is definitely a big component of the interview, but I think your general vibe is more important than working in any particular content about your hobbies or personal experiences, unless that comes up naturally. My advice is to be as open and positive as possible. If you're nervous, make sure to correct for that as much as possible in your posture and face. Good eye contact, smiles, confidence, and calm, non-rushed answers can go a really long way I think. The interviewer is trying to assess whether you are competent enough to succeed and whether you're a good fit socially. If you can come in and speak confidently and appear at ease, they'll be convinced of those things.

Also, one of my biggest tips is to look up anyone you're interviewing with on Twitter and see if they've (re)tweeted any interview tips. Several of my profs have done so and it can be really advantageous to read to get a better sense of what they're looking for and what questions they're likely to ask. Be prepared!

[Coffee_and_Psychology96]

My interview is this Friday. How many of my POI's articles do you guys suggest I read, or how many did you read for your interviews? I know I'm definitely gonna start with selected pubs on each professors' faculty page and look at recent pubs on PsycInfo. What key points should I look for in these articles (e.g., the methods they use, common themes, etc.)? And how many articles (or just abstracts) should I read for the other 2 professors I'm interviewing with? I've had this question answered by a couple people in my lab, but wanted to see what you all think. Also, figured the answers might be informative for others prepping for their interviews. ?

[psychologygeek]

9 hours ago, QuinnH said:

I have a question about taking notes during interviews.  I really like to write down the key points of what professors are saying, especially when they're talking about their projects, or directions they're planning on taking in their research.  How appropriate is it to take notes during your interview, especially when the professor is answering questions you've asked?  I had a video interview last week and asked if I could take notes, and she didn't have a problem with it, and I didn't write a ton, just key points.  I'm wondering what other people have done, and what the general thoughts are about this. 

I have asked before interviews if its ok if i jot notes dow and normally they're pretty impressed! As long as it doesn't completely consume you, I think jotting down notes is fine!

[psychologygeek]

3 hours ago, MadiB said:

My interview is this Friday. How many of my POI's articles do you guys suggest I read, or how many did you read for your interviews? I know I'm definitely gonna start with selected pubs on each professors' faculty page and look at recent pubs on PsycInfo. What key points should I look for in these articles (e.g., the methods they use, common themes, etc.)? And how many articles (or just abstracts) should I read for the other 2 professors I'm interviewing with? I've had this question answered by a couple people in my lab, but wanted to see what you all think. Also, figured the answers might be informative for others prepping for their interviews. ?

Following this bc I'm wondering the same thing!

[psychologygeek]

8 hours ago, diaphanous said:

I've only had one interview weekend so far, but my best advice is to try to match and feed off of your interviewer's energy. I agree that the "personality check" is definitely a big component of the interview, but I think your general vibe is more important than working in any particular content about your hobbies or personal experiences, unless that comes up naturally. My advice is to be as open and positive as possible. If you're nervous, make sure to correct for that as much as possible in your posture and face. Good eye contact, smiles, confidence, and calm, non-rushed answers can go a really long way I think. The interviewer is trying to assess whether you are competent enough to succeed and whether you're a good fit socially. If you can come in and speak confidently and appear at ease, they'll be convinced of those things.

Also, one of my biggest tips is to look up anyone you're interviewing with on Twitter and see if they've (re)tweeted any interview tips. Several of my profs have done so and it can be really advantageous to read to get a better sense of what they're looking for and what questions they're likely to ask. Be prepared!

Thanks for this! I never thought to look them up on twitter. I am thankfully a good interviewer, but is is of course the time leading up to the interview that is wrought with anxiety and sleepless nights, lol. 

Also, thanks for the info about the general vibe. I think I can speak for alot of us, but especially myself, when I say that it has been soooo easy to get pulled into the details of questions and forget that, at the end of the day, they're truly just trying to get a feel for how we would be to work/learn/socialize with, lol

[springxsummer]

I have an interview coming up, and this is the description from my invite:

"This interview will be conducted by the Admission Committee in a group format with other select candidates applying to the program (also being interviewed remotely). The interview will take approximately one hour. Please be prepared to discuss your goals and interests as they relate to graduate studies in Counselling Psychology."

Does anyone have experience with similar interview formats? I'm not sure what to expect with the group format!

 

Edited February 3, 2020 by springxsummer

[SandpaperTongue]

20 hours ago, QuinnH said:

I have a question about taking notes during interviews.  I really like to write down the key points of what professors are saying, especially when they're talking about their projects, or directions they're planning on taking in their research.  How appropriate is it to take notes during your interview, especially when the professor is answering questions you've asked?  I had a video interview last week and asked if I could take notes, and she didn't have a problem with it, and I didn't write a ton, just key points.  I'm wondering what other people have done, and what the general thoughts are about this. 

I would highly recommend taking as many notes as you can, especially about information that will be helpful in making a decision if you're accepted. You will be talking to a lot of people about a lot of things, and you can't simply remember all of the information you'll learn. A couple of weekends ago, I had my first interview. I brought a notebook that contained my questions and I had left a few blank pages for notes that didn't necessarily pertain to my questions, but was very useful information about the program. I'm glad I did this because I know I wouldn't have remembered all of this information. Just make sure you're actively engaged with the person(s) you're interviewing with and using short-hand to get the main points down.

[diaphanous]

7 minutes ago, SandpaperTongue said:

I would highly recommend taking as many notes as you can, especially about information that will be helpful in making a decision if you're accepted. You will be talking to a lot of people about a lot of things, and you can't simply remember all of the information you'll learn. A couple of weekends ago, I had my first interview. I brought a notebook that contained my questions and I had left a few blank pages for notes that didn't necessarily pertain to my questions, but was very useful information about the program. I'm glad I did this because I know I wouldn't have remembered all of this information. Just make sure you're actively engaged with the person(s) you're interviewing with and using short-hand to get the main points down.

I'd stress that it's important to still remain actively engaged if you're taking notes. Personally, I think it's better to just hold a real conversation without any barriers, and to write notes down to yourself at the end of the interview. It's a personal preference thing, but there's a certain risk in having a notebook with you if you're inclined to look down a lot/ write too much; just don't let it be a crutch or detract from your personal skills!

[justacigar]

Like a few other people, I just had my first interview weekend. I left thank you notes for the lab members, and sent a follow-up email to my POI. Is it expected that you will also send out thank you emails to any other people you came into contact with? That would mean folks from other labs, an additional faculty member, the graduate coordinator, etc. Seems like that might be overkill but wasn't sure what other applicants have been doing. 

[hopefulgrad2019]

48 minutes ago, justacigar said:

Like a few other people, I just had my first interview weekend. I left thank you notes for the lab members, and sent a follow-up email to my POI. Is it expected that you will also send out thank you emails to any other people you came into contact with? That would mean folks from other labs, an additional faculty member, the graduate coordinator, etc. Seems like that might be overkill but wasn't sure what other applicants have been doing. 

I emailed all faculty I interviewed with to thank them but not all the grad students. 

[mmmmcoffee]

Hi guys! I have two interviews/visit days coming up on the same weekend and both of these programs are my top choices. I'm so stressed about having to make a decision between them bc I know both of the POIs pretty well already!

For those of you that interviewed already, what are your favorite questions that you asked? What questions do you think produced the most insightful answers that will help you make a decision when deciding where to attend?