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Just finished preparing for the RA interviews tomorrow. So, for those of you that asked: a thread… #PhDChat #ECRchat
The formal interview panel consists of the lab head (me!) and an experienced lab manager who works closely with us. As when we assessed the written applications, we will be focusing on the job description and person specification. 2/19
I should say that this is a pre-doctoral position, so we will not be asking candidates to do a formal presentation. Presentation skills are not a key aspect of this job – although the successful candidate will have ample opportunity to develop them, if they would like! 3/19
However, if you are applying for a post-doc position, you will almost certainly be asked to do a five-minute presentation of your last project. In this case, my advice is the same as for all presentations: practice, practice, practice! 4/19
But back to this RA position…. we will begin by asking the candidates about their previous projects and technical experience. I will ask about experience with animals and, where the candidate has this, use this as a springboard to discuss husbandry and 3Rs issues. 5/19
Partly this is because these are important! But it’s also because I have found that people who think and care about husbandry and 3Rs do tend to produce better, more reproducible science. 6/19
Then we will ask for examples of cell isolation and cell culture protocols the candidates have worked with. This is also a chance to probe candidates’ problem-solving, eg. “What kind of problems did you run into in developing this protocol? How did you approach them?” 7/19
We will also ask the candidates how they would make up a particular (simple!) buffer, if given various stocks. They will be provided with pencil, paper and calculator if they need it, but I promise it is the kind of thing most people would do in their heads. 8/19
I have previously included this question and had a candidate who otherwise seemed excellent fail to answer it. I was glad to know that this was a problem for the candidate before they started in the lab! So now I always include a question like this. 9/19
Then we will focus a bit more on lab management, health and safety and teamwork. My lab manager colleague will take the lead on this part of the interview. 10/19
Even candidates with no experience in lab management can do well here by pointing to another time they have managed something. Eg. organising a leavers party, or being in charge of stock rotation in a shop would tell us you’re likely to have the skills for the job. 11/19
Finally, we will ask the candidates what attracted them to the job, and how it fits in with their career plan. This could be an opportunity for candidates who would like to go on to a PhD to impress us with any reading and thinking about the role they have done. 12/19
(I have sent a detailed description of the project and relevant papers to any candidate who asked for them.) 13/19
But I would be equally happy with a candidate who saw themselves more on a technical and lab management track – in fact there are some advantages to that, since that kind of person tends to stick around for longer. 14/19
Then the candidate has the opportunity to ask us questions. This is just their opportunity to clarify anything they haven’t yet understood about the lab and the role. I do not assess the quality of the candidate’s question! 15/19
(However, I know that some interviewers do, so as general advice it’s worth having a sensible question in mind.) 16/19
After the formal part of the interview, the candidates will have the opportunity to meet the current members of the lab informally, and have a look around the lab. Hopefully this is useful for the candidate, to see if they would be happy working with us. 17/19
But will I ask the members of the team what they thought of the candidate? Of course I will! So it’s important to remember that this “informal” part of the process is still part of the assessment. I will also ask Bella, who is showing people in and out, her thoughts. 18/19
