Pre-application Skype Interview with POI

[shadowclaw]

Hi everyone. So I haven't actually applied to any PhD programs yet (working on the materials, but nothing actually submitted or even uploaded). However, I have been contacting POIs at different schools to see if they have openings in their labs (many of the programs I am applying to require a faculty member to commit to working with me before they will accept me).

I recently contacted someone at UNC who was advertising for 1-2 PhD students to join his lab and sent him the info be requested on his website. He liked what he saw and asked if we could chat via Skype or phone. So we've set up a date and time (about 2 weeks from now), and I'm wondering what exactly to expect and what I can do to be prepared. It's not exactly a formal interview, but it will certainly be a factor in this POI deciding if he is willing to work with me and giving me the ok to formally apply to UNC.

From reading over some older posts (and using some common sense), I've gathered that I should definitely make sure that I am familiar with his work, be able to articulate some project ideas and how they would fit into his lab's research, and indicate why I want to work in his lab. However, beyond that, I don't know why else to expect. I provided him with my CV, GPAs, and GRE scores, as well as brief descriptions of my relevant field work and research projects, and some brief project ideas. So I'm not sure what else he might ask about.

Does anyone have any experience with these informal interviews, and what kinds of questions were you asked? Was it really like an informal chat, or did you feel grilled? Does anyone have any tips? Should I treat it like a formal interview and dress really nicely, or should I be more casual?

Also, I provided him with my undergrad GPA from the college that I received my degree. In the process of getting my degree, I went to several schools, majored in a diverse array of majors, and had some personal issues. My GPAs at those other schools are less than stellar. Is this a good time to mention it, or should I just let him find out during the admissions process when the adcomm reviews my application? I did mention in my e-mail that I was a former computer science major and took several CS courses, since he was looking for someone with some programming background. So that might come up when we talk.

So yeah, any advice or thoughts would really be appreciated!

[Monochrome Spring]

When I had informal Skype interviews with POIs, we talked about everything you've mentioned. Even though it was redundant information, the Skype meeting was a good way to gauge how we interacted "in real life". There was a lot of small talk, and we discussed how the interview process at the university would work if I was invited. I was a lot more stressed out and prepped much more than I needed to. It was very friendly and less formal than I expected.

[Dedi]

When I had informal Skype interviews with POIs, we talked about everything you've mentioned. Even though it was redundant information, the Skype meeting was a good way to gauge how we interacted "in real life". There was a lot of small talk, and we discussed how the interview process at the university would work if I was invited. I was a lot more stressed out and prepped much more than I needed to. It was very friendly and less formal than I expected.

That was my experience as well. We talked about the projects going on at the lab, how my ideas would fit, and some other random odds and ends. I do recall the POI asking me why I wanted to go into graduate school. It was very informal and I felt like I was allowed to calm down (which is a very good sign that I will get along with him). At the end, he mentioned how he would like to keep interacting with me in the future.

This was back in January, and I still communicate with him (In fact, I had another skype conversation with him last Friday). I don't think I would stand a chance as an "international" applicant without him trying to advocate for me. It does make a difference.

[shadowclaw]

Well I had my interview yesterday morning, and it seemed to go well. I was super nervous and I was a little all over the place when he asked me to tell him a bit about myself and where I come from scientifically. It started out nice and slow about my undergrad experience, but then I sort of jumped into my grad research rather abruptly and talked much too fast. But I guess he didn't mind, because he started asking questions about the details of my thesis and if I found any surprising results so far. He also asked if I planned to publish a paper from it, and seemed quite happy when I said I planned on publishing two.

He also asked about what kind of research I'd like to get into (which was a bit redundant since I answered they question in e-mail), but I suppose I did go into more detail, and did ask where I got the inspiration for some of my ideas. He also asked about my background in stats, programming, and GIS. I floundered a bit on the GIS question, because my mind went blank when I tried to recall the techniques I learned in the course I took. I think I answered the stats well, because I indicated that while I had only taken some fairly introductory stats classes, I taught myself several analyses for different projects.

After I answered all his questions, he told me about the different projects going on in the lab, and then gave me the opportunity to ask some questions. I honestly found this part difficult, because there was lots of info on his website and he sort of went over things I had questions about. I did manage to ask a few, though.

Overall, it was a lot less nerve-wracking than I expected, and he told me to apply at the end of the interview, plus gave me some details on the timeline of things. So it went well!

[Monochrome Spring]

That sounds like it went really well!! Congrats!

 

I'm especially glad that you seemed to get along with his personality (so far) and you were able to impress him. : )

[xolo]

Thanks for the report shadowclaw.  That is about what my experience was also, except in languages there wasn't much lab work discussed, more of a cultural discussion.  We did discuss fieldwork and data collection in the context of linguistics.  The professor I spoke with was really nice and gave me tons of great ideas.  I really think there is a tendency to overthink the interview, at least in my experience, anyway.

[shadowclaw]

I think he would really be a good advisor to work with. He totally wasn't intimidating, nor did he seem to have one of those personalities that I just don't click with (although honestly, I have only ever had personality issues with other women. I don't know why). He also has weekly lab meetings, which would be so nice. My current advisor isn't really into meeting on regular basis, and I often have a hard time finding him. So it would really be great to have someone a little more involved.

Hopefully the admissions committee likes me too! I also found out during the interview that UNC has an interview weekend in February or March (I forget now). That's really great, because I'd really like to see the place and not all of the schools that I am applying to offer them. Hope I get an invite!