General Interview Topics

[chrisblack]

Hello,

 

I have a skype interview in less than 24 hours and can use all the help I can get!  I am confident in my ability to speak well and present myself properly, but I could use some tips regarding what are typical interview questions/areas of conversation.  

 

What I am prepping for:

 

1. A general “about me” question

2. Questions about statement of purpose/writing sample/undergrad

3. What drew me to apply to the university that is interviewing me

4. What I would like to do with degree

5. Specific works in the field that interest me

 

Is there anything obvious that I am missing?  

[charmquarkz]

28 minutes ago, chrisblack said:

Hello,

 

I have a skype interview in less than 24 hours and can use all the help I can get!  I am confident in my ability to speak well and present myself properly, but I could use some tips regarding what are typical interview questions/areas of conversation.  

 

What I am prepping for:

 

1. A general “about me” question

2. Questions about statement of purpose/writing sample/undergrad

3. What drew me to apply to the university that is interviewing me

4. What I would like to do with degree

5. Specific works in the field that interest me

 

Is there anything obvious that I am missing?  

Hi! Are they official interviews with a member of the adcom or a particular faculty member you expressed interest in working with? I'm in a different field (biology) but maybe my experience will still be helpful.

Both of my Skype interviews were with prospective POIs I had reached out to and they were very conversational. It didn't seem like there was any real structure. They asked me about my past and current research, and they were very interested in why I wanted to do research with them specifically. In both instances, the majority of the discussion was centered on their active projects. The one question I was expecting and was asked yet still felt unprepared for was "do you have any questions for me?" so in addition to preparing for the questions you posed, I would think about that too! One of the interviewers also flat-out asked me what kind of project I would be interested in. Luckily I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, but I could see that question catching you off guard if you haven't given it any thought and are relying on your mentor to make that decisions for you. I didn't get any general "about me" questions, but if it were with an adcom member instead I could see that question coming up.

Hope that was helpful. I think the questions you listed are good to prepare for, but I would also plan around what you want to ask. I've been told by my previous mentors that you want your interviewer to end up talking at least as much as are!

[chrisblack]

Thank you very much charmquarkz!  That is very helpful.  The interviewer is a member of the adcom as well as a faculty member that I am interested in working with.  I imagine that the interview will consist of a mix of the more general interview topics as well as research topics.  I will have to come up with a plan for questions to ask / avenues of thought for the interviewer to expand upon.  

[CoffeeFueledAnxiety]

Any of your past working or research experience will (almost) surely be a topic of discussion. Another thing is that I think you should be aware that how you answers each questions would steer where your next question would go. In my last interview I tried to answer most question quite casually (but still covering the answers that they want) and the conversation ended to be very relaxed and laid back. We even had quite a bit of a laugh. 

I agree with charmquarkz that you need to prepare your own questions for them. Make sure that the answers to your questions are not something that could be found easily in the program's or your mentor's website so that you don't appear to be quite uninformed about them.

Good luck!

[TakeruK]

I think your list is good and the only major thing missing is what others already said (asking them a question). I just have two tips to add, and they're already a little similar to what was said above:

1. Be prepared to give a 30 second summary of anything you mention in your essays or on your CV. You are most likely to be asked about your research experience but be ready for everything. I think having a concise 30 second summary is key: you need to get your main message across and they can then choose to ask you further questions or move on to something else. You don't want to spend a whole minute just introducing the project and then have them get bored and ask you to move on, thus resulting in you missing an opportunity to share something cool about that project. Make sure you know the fine details of your previous projects too, you don't want to sound like you didn't really know what's going on. You shouldn't share these things in your summary but be ready to answer if they ask.

2. Prepare 1-2 good questions to ask. Suggested topics: ask them about how rotations work, how quals work, what the class requirements are, whether students have summer funding, etc. but as others said, make sure it's not something that is already on their webpage. You can also ask further questions based on things that come up in the interview. Finally, another set of interesting questions to ask is about the department itself. You could ask whether the department has plans to expand over the next 5 years, and if so, whether they will be interested in adding more people to areas they already excel at or to hire people to work on new directions.

Finally, one last bonus tip: some people view the interview as a test and that the goal is to get through all of the questions. That's often not the case at all. The interview is a conversation in which you want to showcase yourself. So it's not about just getting through it and answering questions, but instead, you want to be able to express all of your strengths!

[chrisblack]

Coffee and Take - thank you for the replies!  I read them about 45 minutes before the interview and took them into account.  The conversation actually started with "do you have any questions for me?" so it was important to prepare for it.  I believe the interview went very well, though there was one curveball which I was not prepared for: I was asked about other schools I applied to and, further, what I would do if I was accepted to all of them!  

I responded with a one step at a time type of answer (have to take packages into account and so forth) which the interviewer seemed happy enough with... but still, it caught me off guard!

[TakeruK]

2 hours ago, chrisblack said:

Coffee and Take - thank you for the replies!  I read them about 45 minutes before the interview and took them into account.  The conversation actually started with "do you have any questions for me?" so it was important to prepare for it.  I believe the interview went very well, though there was one curveball which I was not prepared for: I was asked about other schools I applied to and, further, what I would do if I was accepted to all of them!  

I responded with a one step at a time type of answer (have to take packages into account and so forth) which the interviewer seemed happy enough with... but still, it caught me off guard!

Yes, that's a fine response. I forgot to include that question in the list, sorry!! I had written a similar list elsewhere this week and I guess I must have confused myself and thought I already mentioned that. 

Giving a non-answer like you did is okay, because they don't usually expect you to know everything right now. I would categorize these questions as a "fishing expedition" type question. That is, the interviewer asks them in case you did have a choice made, but they won't be disappointed/unsatisfied if they come back with nothing. For example, if you were able to say "your school is my top choice and I would definitely attend here" or "to be honest, your school is a lower ranked one on my list" then they can get something useful out of it. But they should/would recognize that it's early on and few people would be able to have an answer like that. 

It's normal to answer with the names of other schools you applied for though. This doesn't usually affect your admission decision, but it helps them figure out who they need to compete with to get you. And, sometimes you will get good advice/feedback about these other places from your interviewer. At least in my field, things are mostly pretty friendly and it's a good chance that you will meet with people who went to these programs in the past, so they will give you well intentioned tips about the other places too. In the end, most people will want the best for you!

[DBear]

I was about to ask if it's okay to name names if you're asked if you've applied to other programs and then saw @TakeruK's response above and glad to know it's okay.

I was asked if I'd applied to other programs and where and basically I told the professor how many programs I'd applied to and my top choices were them and another school - I could see the cogs turning and TakeruK's response seems to explain why and that part of my interview basically went exactly as TakeruK's post. The professor told me the other program's strengths (lots of money) and their own strengths (you get lots of care and attention!) as well.

[predoc]

I have been accepted at one of my two second choice schools. I have an interview for the other school sometime soon. At this point, frankly, I have not thought through what I would do in case I get accepted at both the places. How do I respond to a "Have you been accepted elsewhere" ? I take it I would have to mention my admit, but I wouldn't want them to rescind the offer because I got accepted somewhere else.