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I am grateful to have received a lot of positive feedback from prospective predocs this recruitment cycle. Thought I'd share my standard interview, in case anyone is new and wants a template. 1/n
I DO review the candidates application beforehand, even if I only have 5 mins. This will give me some useful ice breakers, and always gets me excited to talk to the student.
I open the interview by congratulating the student on their accomplishments. It is easy to muster genuine excitement after seeing a predoc CV. I tell the student that they should be really proud! They accomplished a major goal - killing it in college!
Then I say: Here's how this will work. I am going to ask you two questions, and I'm going to take notes while you talk so I might not be looking at you sometimes. Then I'll talk a little, and then you'll have a chance to ask your questions. Sound good?
Question 1 (5-10 mins)
Tell me about your research. Pick one project and tell me what was your question, what experiments you personally conducted, and what you discovered.
Tell me about your research. Pick one project and tell me what was your question, what experiments you personally conducted, and what you discovered.
Question 2 (5 mins)
Tell me about a time when things went belly up in lab. What happened and how did you manage?
Tell me about a time when things went belly up in lab. What happened and how did you manage?
I ask this question to illustrate the student's dedication and their persistence - their desire to keep at it is unique! Not all learners like to learn by trial and error, but scientists do!
I then tell about my lab and UPenn - here I am recruiting and selling Penn.
To wrap up, I say: We have about 10 mins left. I'd like you to tell me what you hope to get out of a PhD program, especially at Penn, and to answer your questions. So use the next 10 mins as you like for those two things.
I close by telling students to email me any questions that I could not answer in our time, or that came up after we were finished. Also to let me know any questions that come up when comparing our program to others.
I hope this little script is helpful to some new recruiters. We are so lucky as scientists to work with brilliant students.
Epilogue: If you want some of my 'icebreaker' jokes lmk.
