Expectations for a Skype Interview?

[MadameD]

Hello!

 

I know there's a thread for seasoned interviewees, but that seems more geared towards interview weekends. I just got invited to interview with 3 different professors via Skype at my top choice school. What should I expect? I'm just so nervous!

 

Thanks in advance! and hopefully once I finish the interviews I can let others know what to expect as well!

[eeee1923]

Relax. Skype interviews are pretty similar to in person ones. Dress nicely, know your research and have an adult conversation. Be friendly but don't joke around and you'll do fine. Hopefully this helps and good luck. 

[MadameD]

Thank you! It ended up being really laid back!

 

For international students who have skype interviews before being invited to weekend interviews, stay calm!

 

My interview was mostly to see that I was actually interested in the school, and there were more personal/laid back questions asked. They did ask about my research, but that was a short part of the conversation.

 

Be prepared to ask questions and explain why you want to go for their PhD program. At this point, they know you're a good student, they just want to know more about you as a person. At least that was the case for me! Good luck to everyone!

[AD]

congrats!! i hope to get an interview...hmm or an rejection ....:-(

[uabiochem]

I'm glad yours went well!! For everyone else my advice is to not forget about time change! I felt like such an idiot forgetting about a two hour difference between my timezone and the school I was interviewing with. I recovered well and still landed an in-person interview; but make sure to double check the timezone of your interview!

[SL52]

I'm also an international student and found the Skype interviews (2 for the same school) really laid back too! In the second, the only question was 'tell me about yourself' and the rest a general discussion about PhD life etc. Pretty enjoyable, and all my prep of reading the prof's papers seemed pretty unnecessary in the end haha.

my only question would be, how do you know if you've done well? As no difficult or technical questions were asked really. 

cheers, and congrats on your interview(s) also! ?

[Bioeng123]

5 hours ago, SL52 said:

I'm also an international student and found the Skype interviews (2 for the same school) really laid back too! In the second, the only question was 'tell me about yourself' and the rest a general discussion about PhD life etc. Pretty enjoyable, and all my prep of reading the prof's papers seemed pretty unnecessary in the end haha.

my only question would be, how do you know if you've done well? As no difficult or technical questions were asked really. 

cheers, and congrats on your interview(s) also! ?

To be honest, I think it's really hard to gauge your performance in an interview. I had an online video interview that I thought I did poorly on but still got invited for the in-person interview lol

[Mrs A.K.]

Hey guys, thanks for the input.  I have a big Skype interview tomorrow for my dream grad school (Johns Hopkins), so it's nice to know that it should be somewhat more laid back.  That's encouraging!  

Any other advice also welcome   I've made sure to stay on top of my subject area so I think I'll be fine.

[Gram Neutral]

14 hours ago, Mrs A.K. said:

Hey guys, thanks for the input.  I have a big Skype interview tomorrow for my dream grad school (Johns Hopkins), so it's nice to know that it should be somewhat more laid back.  That's encouraging!  

Any other advice also welcome   I've made sure to stay on top of my subject area so I think I'll be fine.

They can't know you're not wearing pants if you never stand up. 

[cephnerd]

9 hours ago, Gram Neutral said:

They can't know you're not wearing pants if you never stand up. 

Skype interviews are the mullets of interviews.