Phone interview with PI

[thiruch]

Hi guys! First time poster here. This question is directed towards those who have had phone/skype interviews with their POI before being invited to an in person interview. 

What do these phone calls usually involve? Any common questions which have come up?

 

Thanks in advance!

[SAH]

I've had two phone conversations with potential PI's.  These conversations were completed before applications were submitted and both POIs have invited me to interview at their campus.  

Prof1 conducted this phone call as a fairly hard-core interview.  He obviously had a list of questions prepared and expected fairly detailed answers (i.e. he asked follow-up questions if I was brief or didn't go into detail).  Most of his questions centered around my previous research; the methods, theories, and rational thereof (I applied to experimental PhD programs in Cognitive Psychology, not sure if a clinical psych prof would care about other things).  He also had the usual questions: why do I want to work in Prof1's lab in particular? What are my career goals? He also asked if there were any other profs at his institution that I was also interested in working with.  At the end of the interview, Prof1 asked if I had any questions for him.  The whole thing lasted about 1.5 hours. 

Side note: he was unendingly polite and kind, even if I didn't quite answer the question the way that he was expecting.  This really made me what to work under/with him!  I got the impression that he's a fantastic advisor by how he asked questions and guided my responses, as well as by how he answered my questions.

Prof2 started the conversation by asking what I wanted to talk about.  Luckily I had a list of questions prepared!  He periodically asked me questions, similar to those of Prof1, but integrated them as follow-ups to his answers to my questions.  Whole thing lasted about half an hour. 

Side note: I thought this was a great way to put the interviewee at ease.  He gave the impression of having done this a thousand times. 

Side, side note: I ask for phone instead of Skype interviews if given the choice.  My main reason for this is that my internet is spotty and Skype doesn't work super well, but it has the benefit of allowing me to have notes in front of me without giving the impression that I'm not engaged in the conversation. 

Hope this helps! 

 

[Applicant 1746]

Congrats on the phone interview!

As SAH said, there tends to be variation by program and PI. The general questions you can expect to answer are: Why this school/program? Why this PI's lab in particular? Why this research area; why are you interested in this topic? Can you tell me about your most recent research experience? Your research experience most closely related to this area? The research you've enjoyed the most or found most interesting? Which research questions are you interested in exploring in the future? What are your career goals? Do you plan to go into research/teaching/counseling after grad school?

They'll likely ask you if you have any questions for them, so make sure you have some questions prepared! 

Clinical/counseling programs may also ask about any relevant clinical experience you have. Counseling programs focus more on that than clinical programs, and may also ask what draws you to being a practitioner vs. what you expect will be challenging as you get counseling training, etc.

 

[thiruch]

Thanks so much, both of you! The POI did say that he wanted to see if I'd be a good fit for the school -- which would certainly align with much of what you both have suggested! 

[TKYU]

Such a useful thread! Thanks everyone for posting!