Graduate School Interviews

Congratulations you have been invited to participate in interviews for graduate school.  What should you do next?  Prepare appropriately which means doing more research!  This shouldn’t come as a surprise as it is RE-Search which means you repeat searches!  If you are going to graduate school you need to want to do that repeatedly otherwise you will not enjoy your experience.

Before the Interview

Respond to the administrators who are responsible for your interview in a polite and timely manner!  While interviews are likely to be virtual in 2020, once they become in person transportation and accommodation need to be arranged.  Be ready to give them your preferred airport and the information required to book flights (the name on your identification and date of birth).  Once they give you potential flights answer quickly otherwise your choice may be unavailable.  You should also make a calendar with potential school interview dates on.  You may be offered two on the same day.  Potentially not a problem with virtual interviews if they are at different times but probably impossible if they are in person.  You can ask one school if it is possible to reschedule although this may not be practical.  A full interview day takes a large amount of coordination therefore if you can simply be moved into another pre-planned day that is one thing, but trying to provide the experience on a special one off is challenging.  If you are not a top candidate they may be unwilling to go to these lengths to secure your interview, so ensure you are rescheduling an interview for a school that you are less interested in. 

Revisit the school and programs website and make note of key facts.  This will help you answer obvious questions you will be asked but also for you to formulate questions to ask them. Remember, the interview goes both ways!  Obvious questions to prepare for are in the next blog post.

Be prepared to talk about yourself and practice some responses.  If you have something already thought about or practiced it will come out smoother.  Be ready to talk about your previous research experience. A Top Tip is to have some images of previous experimental results available to show and discuss.  If your research is on a different topic than you are interviewing for have a diagram to overview the area.  Don’t assume your interviewer knows the field you are talking about as their research may be on an unrelated area (which you should already know if you have researched them as mentioned below).  You may wish to have a mock interview with a mentor, friend, or career counsellor/coach to practice your responses and to ensure that your enthusiasm for the school/program are coming across.

Hopefully you will have received an agenda for your interview with the names of the people you will be meeting with.  You need to look them up (on the university website, LinkedIn and other social media sites) and unless you have a photographic memory begin a “cheat sheet”.  The basics should include which department(s) they are in and their roles (assistant, associate or full professor, are they a Dean etc.), their research area, what methods they utilize a lot and recent publications or awarded grants.  If you want to go deeper look at the schools they attended, where they have performed research and what on, and what their lab is like (how many people, how well funded etc.).  You are looking for areas of common interest to enable a variety of topics of conversation.  Also, if you can glean what their personality is like from their social media accounts it might make you more comfortable for your interview.  Just don’t get too comfortable or overconfident, you are not buddies and should still act professionally (an interviewee once asked me for a hug and it just got weird!).

If the people you are interested in working with aren’t on your agenda ask the administrator if they can arrange a meeting for you. It is key that you get a feel for your potential mentor before you consider where to go if you receive multiple offers. What if you don’t like them once you have met?

Have questions prepared for the different types of people you will meet – professors, students and administrators.  Check out the next blog article with a list of potential questions for each group.

The Interview

Dress appropriately for the interviews.  If you don’t have a suit wear a nice pair of trousers (or skirt) with a conservative shirt.  This is not the time to bring out your bold prints (unless you want to roll the dice and risk putting off your interviewers by being too loud) and if you borrow clothing ensure it fits you well.  Try wearing it ahead of time so that you appear comfortable in clothing you undoubtedly do not wear regularly.  If you choose to wear heels you may want to consider taking a flat pair of shows with you as well for tours of the campus.  You don’t want to end the day limping and in pain.  You still need to dress appropriately for virtual interviews, it will help get you in the correct mind set but it will also show the interviewer that you are serious about your application.

Put your preparation and research to good use.  Answer all the questions you are given, demonstrate your enthusiasm for the program, and be ready for the unexpected curve balls.  You can’t prepare for these but keep calm and put that big brain to good use.  They want to see how you respond to things you don’t expect while also checking out your problem-solving ability.  By working through the question in a systematic manner you are showing them your skills in real time.  Remember, there is likely not a correct answer.  Just ensure that you explain how you came up with yours.  Examples of these questions are “If you were a fruit, what would you be and why?”, or “who would you like to meet throughout history?”

Ensure you do not leave an interview without asking a pertinent question.  It displays a lack of unpreparedness and interest in the program.  Even if you have already asked someone else the same question, repeat it.  Leaving without asking something will invariably damage your application.  After all the hard work you have invested up to this point don’t blow it by saying you don’t have any.

After the Interview

Write a thankyou email and send it promptly to all your interviewers and the administrators who arranged your day.  This is an opportunity to respond to any questions you feel you could have answered better, or if you want to clarify something.  You can also send thankyou notes, this does not happen frequently therefore you will certainly stand out!  Just ensure you have sent the emails as they may have discussed your application before your mail arrives, or write them before you leave the campus for in person interviews.

For information regarding schools interviews and offers look at https://www.thegradcafe.com/ .  While it was the bane of my life when I worked in admissions, it allows individuals to provide updates on being invited for interviews, the interview process and if they received offers.  This may stress you out if you haven’t received an offer yet and others have.  Please bear in mind that schools often give a small number of offers quickly after the interview in an attempt to secure their top candidates.  They will have a list of ranked applicants and will provide offers to other candidates either as they finish all the interviews and offer all their slots, or once they are rejected by candidates and slots open up.  You may be on that shortlist if you have not been rejected.  Reach out to the administrator and reiterate your interest in the school and program.

Good luck with your interviews.  Let me know if you have any other advice for interviews below.