Interview Expectations

[spamhaus]

Due to my academic/career journey thus far I have a feeling I do not fit the typical mold for CS/ML PhD applicants. Given this non-traditional background I would not be surprised if I am the sort of applicant that gets an interview before acceptance/rejection.

Thus, I would love to know what interviews tend to cover from those who have been asked to interview. From searching on the forums I do not have a clear picture. It seems interviews cover informal aspects like research fit. Though, since I come from industry, I have a very different notion of what topics may be covered in a interview. I'm wondering what aspects do these admissions interviews share with job interviews and how do they deviate from them?

[spamhaus]

In case anyone is wondering, I found out what CS interviews are like on the gradadmissions subreddit. A CS professor posted regarding their selection process, timelines for being contacted, and expectations for the interview. It definitely helps clear some things up and makes me feel a bit more confident. Now I just have to patiently wait for the month of January to slowly wind down as I wait for grad schools to hopefully contact me. Much easier said than done.

[Eigen]

With the caveat that that is one professors take on one schools process. It's a great window into what things look like from the other side, I just want to caution you that there's a huge school to school and PI to PI variance. 

[spamhaus]

@Eigen, thanks for the word of caution!