Lunch with postdoc interviewee

[amethyst23]

My PI is inviting a post-doc to give a presentation next week and wants the grad students and technician to take the interviewee out to lunch. Since I've never done this, I was wondering if anyone has done this and if there are any tips/advice that they wouldn't mind sharing.  Thanks.

[rising_star]

I'll just stick with bullet points.

• Make sure you find out if the post-doc has any dietary restrictions before you decide where to go for lunch.
• Don't get drunk at lunch.
• Don't order the most expensive thing on the menu just because your PI is paying.
• Read one (max. two) papers written by the post-doc in advance so you can ask questions.
• Be prepared to ask insightful questions about the presentation and/or the paper you've read.
• Don't monopolize the conversation.
• Don't be the annoying grad student in the bunch.

[kimmibeans]

We've done this a few times. Keep the conversation flowing and have fun. This is an opportunity for the lab to see how they get along with the candidate, so discuss science but remember to try to have an interesting convesation. The seminar is before hand, so during seminar take down notes on interesting points you can ask about over lunch. Ask them about themselves, not just about their PhD and their work but also general questions like "Is it your first time in [city]? How do you like it?". Remember, you are assessing whether they are a good fit both in research interest AND personality.

[TakeruK]

In my department, we generally keep the bulk of the conversation at lunch and dinner away from the visitor's research. This is because we often also have 30 minute time slots for one-on-one or small group meetings, which are generally all about research. And, usually the visitor has back to back meetings scheduled during the entire day where all they will talk about is their research.

I'm not saying that we can never talk about research at a lunch/dinner, but generally the meal time is supposed to be a break time for the visitor and also a chance for grad students to learn some other insight. So, we would often ask about things like "How did you decide that you want to be a postdoc?", "Do you have any tips for the job market in field X?", "What is it like to live in [their city/their university/etc]". Or maybe get advice on fellowships for grad students, etc. I'd say that the meals, in my department, are more for us to know the visitor as a person rather than as a researcher.

Additional tip: I find that one of the easiest ways to open a conversation is to ask about their travel to your city and like kimmibeans suggested, ask them "is it your first time in [city]?" etc. Usually once the conversation starts to flow, it will naturally find interesting topics

[St Andrews Lynx]

Don't think of it as a test for you ("how many insightful comments can I make about the papers they've written?!"). It's a way to figure out what the postdoc is like as a person and if they'd be a good personality fit for the group.

I'd do some background reading on the person's CV (or LinkedIn profile, or website, whatever is available). Find out where they did their undergrad/PhD, and if there is anything interesting in their professional background you could ask them about ("I saw you did an internship at [pharma company] for 6 months after you graduated - what was that like?" "I saw you presented at X conference a few years back - I was thinking about attending that conference next summer, would you recommend it?").

Ask them about their hobbies. Did they see any good movies lately. What sports do they follow. Show interest in their responses. Ask follow-up questions.

Topics to avoid include anything political or religious. Do not assume anything about the candidates' marital/family status/sexual orientation - unless they bring up children or a spouse in the conversation I wouldn't ask them about that. 

Hopefully the postdoc should have questions about general life in the area as well as questions about how the group operates. 

 

[Lisa_McCoy]

A lunch or dinner should not be turned into question and answer session about the post doc's research and presentation. While it is okay to mention it in the passing, avoid annoying the guest by asking to many subject related questions. Use the time to know about the likes and dislikes of the person, and engage in discussions on lighter topics like books, art etc. 

[Eigen]

18 hours ago, Lisa_McCoy said:

A lunch or dinner should not be turned into question and answer session about the post doc's research and presentation. While it is okay to mention it in the passing, avoid annoying the guest by asking to many subject related questions. Use the time to know about the likes and dislikes of the person, and engage in discussions on lighter topics like books, art etc. 

Be careful with this. Like any other hiring decision, it's really important to stay professional during all phases of the hiring process. Questions that seem innocuous can make someone else uncomfortable. 

You don't have to grill them constantly about their presentation, but keeping the discussion professional is usually a good idea. Give the post-doc chances to bring things up, and let them volunteer information about personal things (hobbies, art, etc.) rather than asking directly. 

[TakeruK]

Indeed, you don't want to accidentally ask an illegal interview question! Or, due to different cultural norms, you wouldn't want to offend someone or make someone uncomfortable.

Staying professional doesn't mean you only speak about research. A safe way to ask people about hobbies and such is to just discuss your own hobbies (remember that you're still in a professional setting so if your hobbies are things that aren't appropriate workplace discussion topics then pick something else!). Usually, without prompting, this is a typical cue for the other person to tell you about their hobbies too. 

And, if it's a postdoc candidate and a bunch of grad students, I'd say you can let the postdoc candidate take the lead on the conversation. If they really do want to discuss their research then go with the flow. If they start asking about things like "what do you do for fun?" or "what is your favourite restaurant in the area?" then you know what topics are good for discussion. 

[bhr]

I want to add that you should ask things that you want to know. Ask about their writing process. Ask why they want this postdoc. Ask about what conferences they like/dislike. These should be social, not interviews, and give both sides a sense of each other.

[Eigen]

14 hours ago, TakeruK said:

And, if it's a postdoc candidate and a bunch of grad students, I'd say you can let the postdoc candidate take the lead on the conversation. If they really do want to discuss their research then go with the flow. If they start asking about things like "what do you do for fun?" or "what is your favourite restaurant in the area?" then you know what topics are good for discussion. 

This is important. Keep in mind that a large part of the lunch portion of the interview is to help the post-doc decide if this is a lab they would fit in with, as much as you're deciding if you think they will fit in well with you. 

[AP]

This is a fair question. 

When we had job searches in the department during my first year I had no idea why we had to have lunch with interviewees. After the whole thing, we went to the chair and asked her what was expected from us. If you feel comfortable, I would also ask this to your PI. I was surprised how we grad students had different ideas of what the lunch was for. 

In any case, in my third year I was better at this. I remember asking questions about teaching (how do you imagine teaching X? and the sort). Imagine yourself in that situation, what would you want people to ask you? Now, remember that it is lunch, so I would disagree with some people here and encourage you to balance how much the postdoc and the rest of you speak because he/she needs to eat. If he/she speaks all the time, when does he/she chew? We were very careful about this with the third interviewee hahaha. 

Finally, a huge DON'T. DO NOT under ANY circumstance blow off about you and how much you know and how cool your research is. There is a number of ways to do this and there is a VERY FINE line between explaining what you do and getting carried away. Don't be one of those. 

All the best!