Phone interview=disaster

[Pretty_Penny]

Just venting.

 

I can't help but feel my phone interview this afternoon was a disaster. I applied to work with two different POIs at this school, with one interested in self-esteem and the other in pubertal development and adjustment. My main interests are self-esteem and adjustment in adolescents.

 

The POI I interviewed with (the one who studies pubertal development and adjustment) asked a lot about my research proposal, which was related to self-esteem, what gaps I found while writing my proposal, what other factors could relate to self-esteem, etc. I thought I was doing pretty well until she said "well I don't study self-esteem." Obviously I know that, but I was just answering her questions based on my past work... So I had to backtrack and explain that. I assured her that I am not married to self-esteem, and wanted to study self-esteem based on the idea that low self-esteem contributes to maladaptive adjustment and looking at adjustment is my overall goal.

 

While this is true, I'm not sure I made my intentions clear. And this is compounded by the fact that I talked a lot about self-esteem in my statement of purpose because that is the research interest of the other POI.

 

Ahhh. This just feels like such a mess. I feel like she didn't think I knew much about her research either even though I pointed out several similarities between my interests and her own...

[PsychGirl1]

Here's my take: don't overthink it. Interviews are about fit, which is bidirectional. While it may feel like the interview is purely about judging you, it's also about seeing how well you two communicate, and mesh, and have overlapping interests. Would you want to have that same type of interaction every week if she was your mentor/advisor? Things will work out for the best, whichever way it goes.

 

And, of course, it's always possible she was trying to stay neutral- interviewing candidates are awkward for both the candidate and the interviewee. And interviewing over the phone, instead of face-to-face, just amplifies that :-).

[lypiphera]

I had a similar experience and ended the phone interview thinking that it went poorly and he didn't think that I was interested in his line of work.  However, he emailed me a few days later inviting me to the official interview weekend.  He actually mentioned that he was a bit distracted during our interview thinking about a grant due soon, so I think that may have been why I was getting a negative vibe.

 

Obviously that's just one case - it is possible that the professor just wasn't seeing the fit.  However, I wouldn't assume that what seems like a bad interview will ruin your chances.  They may just need to get to know you better, or they may have been having a bad time on their end, making them sound less interested.

 

On another note, at one school where I applied to 2 different POIs, I had a phone interview with each of them the same night.  The first went very well and lasted about an hour and a half.  The second POI started the conversation by asking which of the two professors I mentioned, her or the other, I was more interested in.  I didn't want to have to answer it, since then I knew that would severely limit my chances of getting in with the second professor if they first didn't work out, but there was no way to not answer it (since their areas are fairly different).  I told her the the truth, that I was very interested in both but considered the other professor to be closer matched to my primary interest.  That conversation lasted only about 15 minutes.  She was very nice and talked to me a bit about the school, but it was clear that if I was going to get in, it would only be through the other professor.  Which is good, since I'm more interested in him, but lowers my chances if he picks someone else.  

 

In your case, you might find that this POI has decided you're not a good match, but you still have just as much chance with the other POI.  Maybe even more so, if when they are sitting around discussing applicants, she mentions that you seemed a good match for the other professor.

[Pretty_Penny]

In that case, would saying I am not married to studying self-esteem hurt my chances with the other POI? I explained I originally looked at self-esteem because low self-esteem affects other aspects of adjustment and that looking at adjustment was my overall goal. I feel then that could interpreted poorly in terms of the other POI. That POI hasn't shown any interest so I am not sure. Overall I just feel like I really messed this one up.

[PsychGirl1]

There's no harm in saying that your interest is the overlap between self-esteem and adjustment. Saying that, as long as you know how/why/whatever they overlap, shouldn't hurt your chances with anyone who studied self-esteem or adjustment. Just be confident about it and don't worry too much :-).