How should I prepare for an interview?

The goal of an interview is to determine whether hiring the candidate for the position is mutually beneficial to the candidate and the organization. This is an opportunity for the candidate to confirm their interest in the position, identify opportunities for growth, and determine whether the organization is a good fit for them. It’s also an opportunity for the organization to assess the competence of the candidate, and whether they are a good fit for the organization. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can prepare for an interview so you feel ready to answer the interviewer’s questions, and ask questions about what is important to you.

Research the organization's priorities

The interviewer will have a limited amount of time to learn about how well you align with the role you’ve applied for, so they will focus on high-priority topics. Topics that are of high priority to a potential employer include how competent a candidate is, how likely the candidate is to accept an offer and remain in that position or organization for a prolonged period of time (employee turnover is resource-intensive for organizations!), and how well the potential employee fits within the culture of the organization or team. You will likely be asked questions about how your previous experience demonstrates the key qualifications listed in the job ad, why you’re interested in the position, and how your goals and values align with those of the organization. Review the job posting, organization’s website and social media, and (if possible) reach out to people within your network with knowledge of the organization to get information to answer these questions:

• What are the key qualifications sought in the job ad?
• What are the goals, mission, and values of the organization? How do these align with your own goals and values?
• What are the organization’s current projects?
• How do your interests, values, skills, and experiences align with the needs of the organization?

You may not be asked these questions directly during an interview, but solidifying your thoughts around these topics will assist you in answering questions about related high-priority topics.

Analyze the job ad to predict interview topics

Review the job ad, particularly the sections listing the responsibilities of the position and the key qualifications or skills desired in an applicant. Organize these elements into three categories of skills and qualifications: subject expertise, technical skills, and non-technical skills. Most job ads contain at least some elements within each of these categories, though some positions may have far more of one and less of another. For example, a Research Scientist position may mention areas of subject expertise like molecular and cell biology, cellular biochemistry, and assay development; technical skills like flow cytometry, Western blot, and cell culture; and non-technical skills like communication, teamwork, interpersonal skills, and adaptability. Elements that are mentioned multiple times may be of particular interest to the hiring authority. Next, you can use these topics and skill/qualification categories to predict interview questions you may be asked.

Anticipate interview questions

Three types of interview questions that you may be asked are open questions, specific questions, and behavioral questions.

Open questions are broad, open-ended questions that are often used as a conversation starter to learn more about you and your motivations for applying for the role. Many interviews begin with one of these questions, such as “Tell me about yourself” or “Give us a brief introduction of yourself.” You may also be asked “Why are you interested in this role?” When answering questions about your background, emphasize your key qualifications (revisit your list of areas of subject expertise gleaned from the job ad) and not your circumstances. For example, if the Research Scientist position requires knowledge of molecular and cell biology and assay development, these areas of subject expertise should be emphasized in a response to “Tell me about yourself”: “I’m a molecular biologist that specializes in developing cell-based assays. For the last 5 years, I’ve been studying…” Avoid answering this question with a chronological list of your professional appointments (“I did my undergraduate degree at X, my graduate degree at Y…”), since this doesn’t provide a lot of information about your skills or subject expertise.

Specific questions are meant to elicit factual information about you or your experience. You may be asked these questions to verify your level of competence with or knowledge of a particular technique, or to confirm or expand upon information that you included on your application documents. Questions like “How have you used [X technique] in your current role?” or “What were your responsibilities in your previous position?” are examples of specific questions you could be asked during an interview. Technical skills listed in the job ad could be the subject of specific questions, so be prepared to discuss your relevant experience with respect to these topics.

Behavioral interview questions are meant to learn more about your past behavior as a way to predict your future behavior. These questions often start with the phrases “Tell us about a time when…” or “Describe a situation where you…” or “How would you approach [X situation]?” Behavioral questions are commonly used to assess an applicant’s non-technical skills, like communication, interpersonal skills, ability to work on a team, or problem solving. You could be asked questions like “Tell us about a time where you had to troubleshoot during a scientific project. What was the issue, and how did you approach it?” or “Describe your best experience working with a team. What made that a positive experience?” There are many resources that list examples of behavioral interview questions that may be useful when preparing for an interview: list 1, list 2, list 3, list 4. Behavioral interview questions solicit stories describing your past experiences, and we recommend using the STAR technique (described in the next section) to structure your response.

Practice answering interview questions with the STAR technique

A STAR interview response consists of 4 parts:

1. Situation: Describe relevant details and context for your example
2. Task: Describe the challenge and the expectations. What was your task in this situation?
3. Action: What specific action(s) did you take to complete the task?
4. Result: What was the outcome of your actions?

Structuring your response in this way helps you to focus on the relevant details from your story, and provides the interviewer with a clear, outcomes-focused example of how you’ve acted in the context in question. Focusing on the result or outcome of your action is the key to demonstrating effectiveness and evidence of your skills. Here’s an example of a response to the question “Describe a time when you had to teach someone something. How did you go about it?”

“I was supervising a rotation student who was in the lab for 3 months. I had to help them learn about the project and train them on several different lab techniques. Before they started, I prepared a short presentation that outlined the history and goals of the project and made an overview document that linked to key pieces of information. I provided big-picture and technical information in person and asynchronous access to other important information. The student made progress on the project quickly because they understood our goals and how we planned to get there. By the end of the 3 months, they gave an impressive presentation on their findings to our lab group, and they were offered a long-term position in the lab.”

This example response presents enough detail for the interviewer to understand the situation and the interviewee’s impact, but not so much detail as to distract from the main message: the interviewee had a clear idea of their goals, a plan for achieving it, and was successful! We recommend practicing STAR responses with a friend (or the OPD) to get additional perspectives on what is an informative, and not overwhelming, amount of detail to include.

When thinking about behavioral interview questions and STAR responses, brainstorm a handful of experiences that you could use to answer multiple questions about different skills. Identifying multi-purpose examples is useful because you don’t have to remember as many stories during an interview. The previously mentioned example of training a rotation student could be used to answer behavioral interview questions about communication, leadership, and teamwork, in addition to the question about teaching someone something. A story about a large research project could be used to answer questions about project management, adaptability, teamwork, or managing up. Be creative, and consider which transferable skills you’ve developed during your PhD and/or postdoc!

Identify questions for your interviewer

Many interviews close with the question “Do you have any questions for us?” and you should take advantage of this opportunity to gather information that’s important to you. You could ask questions about opportunities for developing specific skills in the role, questions to help you learn about the culture of the organization, questions about expectations for the role, questions about the next steps in the interview process, and more! Ahead of the interview, consider what information you need to gather to confirm that you’re interested in the position and that the organization is one in which you’d be comfortable working. Draft questions that elicit those pieces of information, and feel free to write them down and bring them to your interview (virtually or in person). It’s not necessary to memorize your questions - visibly referencing your pre-prepared questions is acceptable, as is taking notes on your interviewer’s responses.

Summary

Interview preparation is all about information gathering and synthesizing: determine what information your interviewer is likely to want to know, and prepare responses that clearly present that information. Likewise, determine what you need to learn from your interviewer, and prepare your own questions to solicit that information. The Office of Professional Development is happy to assist you in preparing for interviews - reach out ([email protected]) or schedule an appointment to conduct a practice interview!