Share Interview Questions You've Been Asked

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Originally Posted by ModGirl

Sorry I'm posting a month later, but I had my first interview yesterday and my second tomorrow. I was definitely taken off guard by some of the questions I was asked and therefore didn't have those polished answers we all think of. As a result, my answers were really honest. I'm afraid they were maybe too honest.

Do you think faculty members want to hear those polished, perfect answers or do you think having honest answers that maybe reveal some of your flaws are better?

I had a similar experience at one of my recent interviews. I had the polished, rehearsed answers, and was not able to use any of them! I got some pretty out there questions...

"Tell me about your parents"

"What do your parents do for a living?"

"How do you handle stress?"

"Tell me a time where you showed initiative"

I want to do health research (generally speaking) and I interviewed with someone who researched HIV (also generally speaking). I was asked what I would do if someone showed up at the office door bleeding profusely.

...The campus is downtown in one of the biggest cities in the country so the question seemed ridiculous. I said I would call an ambulance and would be baffled that the person bleeding profusely would have made it to the eighth floor of a busy building without being spotted/helped before banging on my hypothetical office door.

In this interview I was also asked to, on the spot, choose between the interviewer and another faculty member I had interviewed with earlier that day.

"What is the first thing your mother would say about you if she were here"

(back in teh day)

Tell me about a time you had a disagreement or conflict with someone and how you handled it?

What would you do if one of your therapy patients told you they were romantically interested in you?

What's one thing you could tell me about yourself that you think would surprise me?

What is one area of psychology you don't think you'd be all that interested in?

I see you're changing careers/coming from a different discipline. Why clinical psychology?

Tell me about a recent movie you saw that made an impression on you? How do you think about that movie's themes from a psychological standpoint?

"Is there anything I haven't asked that you would want me to know?"
I had NO idea how to answer this one.... even though I figured I would get it at some point or another.

"What characteristics do you think a graduate student needs to be successful?"
I named three.
"Now, tell me how you have demonstrated these characteristics."

After I told a POI my interests (which are kinda broad) he asked me to show him an example of what I would like to study. I told him a general research study, to which he replied:
"OK, how would you design it?"

Most inappropriate goes to a student interviewer who tried asking me how being a person of color had affected my life. Really?

Sometimes it is hard to scroll through a long thread and keep everything in order. I tried bringing all of the resources together for everyone so they could practice answering questions. I took the questions very much out of their original context so i recommend you go back and actually read the thread. I really thank all of you for sharing, if this goes longer (which i really hope it does) ill condense it again in a few pages.

Why do you want to be a part of this program?
If you could start your dissertation right now, what would it be?"
What do you do for fun?
What are your hobbies?
If you did poorly in one subject (or less than your average, got a W ect)- Why?
Have you ever feared you were going crazy?
What did you learn about human behavior through your volunteer experiences?
POI: (I use critical psychology as my standpoint to analyze information) Do you know what that is?
Answer: I'm vaguely familiar with the term.
POI: Oh? Define it.
What do you believe is the etiology of psychological disorders?
(I am interested in using ERP and fMRI) Why do you need to use ERP and fMRI to look at psychopathology? What do they tell you that behavioral measures can't?
Do you think there is a difference between child depression and adult depression?
What would it be like for you to be a therapist?
If you had all the grant money in the world, what would you want to research and what questions would you want to ask?
Asked what is your favorite study that you have worked on was and why?
Why do you want to be a [insert your future career goal]?
What kind of lab environment could you NOT work well in?"
What are your strengths and areas of growth as a researcher?
What are your strengths and areas of growth as a clinician?
What's your opinion on graduate students in psychology getting their own personal therapy?
I was asked to describe myself in one word.
What would your best friend say is your worst flaw?
What is a defense mechanism that you use in stressful situations?
What is a book that you have read that showed you something about human behavior?
Most people take off about 3 or 4 years before graduate school (I graduated only last year). Why do you think that you are ready?
Tell me about a study that you have worked on where you were involved in the methodology.....can you critique it?
If you were an expert witness as a trial where someone harmed another person, and the brain scan showed that the perpetrator had an enlarged amygdala (or some other brain structure), would you say that the person did this because of the way his brain was made? Did he have free will in this situation?
What was your favorite book as a child? How about as an adult?
Why are manhole covers round?
What job would you most hate to have? Why?
What would be your most/least favorite class to teach? Why?
How many quarters would you need to stack to match the height of the Empire State Building?
I was asked about a "life moment" that QUOTE "shaped my life
Then I was asked again to describe myself outside of work.
Who are the famous people at your graduate institution and why?
What did you want to be as a child and why are you not that now?
What type of leader are you?
Tell me about a clinical case?
Tell me about an issue in clinical supervision and how your responded?
Tell me about a moment in your life that set you on your current path?
What do you think about?
How would your professors describe you?
How would your best friend describe you?
How would your enemy describe you?
Why do you want to listen to people's complaints all day?
Why do you think you can do this?
What to do with a patient that refuses to work with you because of your status (EG gender, ethnicity, trainee, etc.).
If you like research so much, why aren't you applying to a bench science program?
You know structural equation modeling? I don't believe you, explain it to me.
What will you do if you don't get in this year?
If you wrote your dissertation now, what would the title be?
Any variant of "If you were an X what kind of X would you be?"
You're a member of APA? What have you done with that?
Why clinical psychology? I ask this if it isn't clear to me why they want clinical credentials.
Why a PhD? I ask this if the applicant seems very clinical, perhaps wanting a clinical job after. You are of course allowed to be a clinician, but I like to make sure that getting a Ph.D. makes sense given the applicant's goals.
Our program has students teach and do therapy their first semester, so I ask about how they feel about that.
I ask about the importance of collaboration? I try to sense how competitive they are as we are a very friendly program and uber-competitive people wouldn't fit as well.
I ask where the person would like to be down the road (i.e. career plans)
If you get multiple offers, how are you going to decide what school to go to?
What do you want from supervision?
How do you handle feedback?
How do you feel about the direction this profession is heading in?
What's a population you would have a difficult time working with?
Tell me about a case where you were faced with an ethical dilemma.
How do you feel about the clinical part of clinical psychology?
Since you're so interested in research, why aren't you pursuing a pure research degree?
What's the difference between a mediator and a moderator?
Do you have a history of mental illness?
Aside from things like a good research match, what characteristics are you looking for in a mentor? What types of people do you interact best with?
How do you respond to stressful situations?
Which theoretical orientations tend to guide your research and clinical pursuits?
You studied an unusual combination of subjects in undergrad. How did that happen?
So you're interested in ___. If you had unlimited resources, what studies would you conduct to investigate that?
Tell me about yourself.
Ask me a question that you feel somewhat uncomfortable asking.
There was the non-questioning interviewer who basically stared at you until you started talking.
And the question I've probably been asked the most: "Why?" Basically, be ready to back up everything you say.
What would it take to get you to come here?
Why haven't you published anything?
If you had all the money in the world and no practical limitations on sample or anything, how would you design a study and why?
What would it take to get you here?
If we give you an offer, how likely are you to come here?
Why would you want to come here when we have X theoretical clinical orientation, and your responses have sounded like your coming from Y perspective?
So tell me about yourself
Why this program?
Tell me about the path that brought you to clinical psychology, not your research, but how you came to the personal decision that this was what you wanted to do
I also had a POI just stare until I said something or asked a question, like someone else said. He answered all of my questions in less than one sentence and continued to stare.
Why this school?
Why this field?
What do you think needs reform in education? (I'm school psych).
What was one class that you loved?
What was once class you hated?
He wanted to know about my childhood and growing up and then kept asking me to delve deeper and deeper. Then I was asked to describe someone I knew well and keep going deeper and deeper into him.
What do you foresee would be the most difficult aspect of being a doctoral student in psychology?
How do you believe your bachelor's degree in (insert non-psychology major here) will help you be a better clinician?
Are there any questions I haven't asked you yet that you think I should ask?
What specific research projects would you like to undertake in this lab?
Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
What do you think it would be like for you to work with clients in distress?
What factors do you think account for change in psychotherapy?
Describe a situation where you were in conflict with a supervisor, and what you did to resolve the conflict?
How would someone who knows you well describe you?
So why did you rate me as only 25% interesting and give the other 75% to Dr. xxxxx?
Why do you think you can come in straight from bachelor's?
Why have you applied to such different programs...are you sure this is for you?
What would someone who dislikes you say that they specifically didn't like about you?
We have ratings of each semester on each student's personality strengths and weaknesses...would you be comfortable with that? what are some of your strengths and weaknesses?
It's great that you have a lot of experience working on other people's studies, but have you done any independent research?
What non-scientific articles or books have you read recently that relate to psychology?
What's the one thing you want me to remember about you? When I'm going over all the applicants later, I'll say, "Oh, Applicant. She's the one who ________."
Where else have you applied?
What is a challenge you expect to face as a clinician?
I'm going to start off asking you questions then you can ask me questions.
What makes a good grad student?
Why do you want a Clinical PhD?
If your child hits it's finger with a hammer and doesn't stop crying what do you do?
You find out a 40 year old woman has terminal cancer, how do you tell her?
Tell me about an instance when you were asked to do some ethically questionable. what was your response?"
Describe a situation where you had to persuade someone to accept an idea.
What would you say in response to a person who told you that CBT is just a band-aid?
Tell me about your parents.
What do your parents do for a living?
How do you handle stress?
Tell me a time where you showed initiative.
(I interviewed with someone who researched HIV) I was asked what I would do if someone showed up at the office door bleeding profusely.
I was also asked to, on the spot, choose between the interviewer and another faculty member.
What is the first thing your mother would say about you if she were here?
Tell me about a time you had a disagreement or conflict with someone and how you handled it?
What would you do if one of your therapy patients told you they were romantically interested in you?
What's one thing you could tell me about yourself that you think would surprise me?
What is one area of psychology you don't think you'd be all that interested in?
I see you're changing careers/coming from a different discipline. Why clinical psychology?
Tell me about a recent movie you saw that made an impression on you? How do you think about that movie's themes from a psychological standpoint?
Is there anything I haven't asked that you would want me to know?
What characteristics do you think a graduate student needs to be successful? Tell me how you have demonstrated these characteristics.
After I told a POI my interests (which are kinda broad) he asked me to show him an example of what I would like to study. I told him a general research study, to which he replied:
"OK, how would you design it?"
How has being a person of color had affected my life.

Spiritbender, that's a great compilation list! Fortunately for me I don't have to worry about grad program interviews anymore, but this is a great resource for all of our board members that are still in the application and interview process!

I just got "Do you know what "degrees of freedom" is?

by the time I remembered df=n-1 it was basically too late. (overall, I don't think it killed me, though.)

Do you tend to work better alone or in groups?

Tell me about a difficult client you have worked with.

What part of graduate school are you most anxious about?: dissertation, coursework, practicum, etc.?

How do you get along with and work with faculty?

After 3 interviews, I have had nothing shocking or personal asked. Instead it went like this:

1. Tell me about yourself. Strengths? Weaknesses?

2. Tell me why you picked this program. What will be the biggest challenge?

3. Tell me about your research interests.

4. Tell me about your future goals (10 years from now, what you want this PhD for, what you want to be when you grow up, etc).

5. Tell me what you like to do for fun.

And that's it folks.

Originally Posted by starsinnight

After 3 interviews, I have had nothing shocking or personal asked. Instead it went like this:

1. Tell me about yourself. Strengths? Weaknesses?

2. Tell me why you picked this program. What will be the biggest challenge?

3. Tell me about your research interests.

4. Tell me about your future goals (10 years from now, what you want this PhD for, what you want to be when you grow up, etc).

5. Tell me what you like to do for fun.

And that's it folks.

Was this for a clinical PsyD program or PHd?

Really useful btw, thanks for posting!

Do you believe daily shows are harmful?
Tell me about your engagement during classes?
What would you say to parents from the Islamic world who come to an US hospital with a deformed child who needs alternation in order to outgrow deformities...
Tell me about in what ways you got impacted by your culture and how you relate to people how are different from you.
What do you think about Obama's responses to Egypt's crisis? (I am serious...I REALLY got that question!!)
Why spend $$ on a Psy.D. when you can practice as a LCPC??
What other profession if not psychology would you have chosen?
How do your relatives know when you are stressed and how do you deal with stress?
Any questions nobody asked that you expected to be asked?? (this was interview number six...)?

Good luck to all

Originally Posted by Phipps

Do you believe daily shows are harmful?
Tell me about your engagement during classes?
What would you say to parents from the Islamic world who come to an US hospital with a deformed child who needs alternation in order to outgrow deformities...
Tell me about in what ways you got impacted by your culture and how you relate to people how are different from you.
What do you think about Obama's responses to Egypt's crisis? (I am serious...I REALLY got that question!!)
Why spend $$ on a Psy.D. when you can practice as a LCPC??
What other profession if not psychology would you have chosen?
How do your relatives know when you are stressed and how do you deal with stress?
Any questions nobody asked that you expected to be asked?? (this was interview number six...)?

Good luck to all

Uh, whaaaaaat?

Originally Posted by ModGirl

Uh, whaaaaaat?

yep...I did okay though... got wait-listed...well...even hope to get in...

Originally Posted by Phipps

Do you believe daily shows are harmful?
Tell me about your engagement during classes?
What would you say to parents from the Islamic world who come to an US hospital with a deformed child who needs alternation in order to outgrow deformities...
Tell me about in what ways you got impacted by your culture and how you relate to people how are different from you.
What do you think about Obama's responses to Egypt's crisis? (I am serious...I REALLY got that question!!)
Why spend $$ on a Psy.D. when you can practice as a LCPC??
What other profession if not psychology would you have chosen?
How do your relatives know when you are stressed and how do you deal with stress?
Any questions nobody asked that you expected to be asked?? (this was interview number six...)?

Good luck to all

Did you really get all these questions??
These would be so much fun to answer.
As for Obama's response... how on earth did you answer that?

The stress question is brilliant.

Originally Posted by JuniperTree

Did you really get all these questions??
These would be so much fun to answer.
As for Obama's response... how on earth did you answer that?

The stress question is brilliant.

Yes!! All at the same side...

Originally Posted by Phipps

Yes!! All at the same side...

Wow what a nightmare. Can you share what program this was?

I'm pretty hard to shake as far as questions go. This one got me though:

Interviewer/Super famous researcher: Why do you think people get Crohn's disease?
Me: Well, honestly, doctors don't even know why Crohn's disease occurs.
Interviewer: So why do YOU think it occurs?

What was that - a med school interview? I was definitely a bit flustered after that one...

Originally Posted by BuckeyeAlum

I'm pretty hard to shake as far as questions go. This one got me though:

Interviewer/Super famous researcher: Why do you think people get Crohn's disease?
Me: Well, honestly, doctors don't even know why Crohn's disease occurs.
Interviewer: So why do YOU think it occurs?

What was that - a med school interview? I was definitely a bit flustered after that one...

Was one of your stated areas of interest health psych and/or eating disorders? The interviewer may have been attempting to gauge your general level of knowledge about relatively common conditions in those areas (while we aren't physicians, psychologists should still have a decent amount of knowledge of various medical conditions, their contributing factors, and the side-effects of common treatments). Or he/she may have been trying to determine your level of familiarity with the contribution of psychosomatic factors in patient health.

Originally Posted by AcronymAllergy

Was one of your stated areas of interest health psych and/or eating disorders? The interviewer may have been attempting to gauge your general level of knowledge about relatively common conditions in those areas (while we aren't physicians, psychologists should still have a decent amount of knowledge of various medical conditions, their contributing factors, and the side-effects of common treatments). Or he/she may have been trying to determine your level of familiarity with the contribution of psychosomatic factors in patient health.

Yes, that's what I thought...psychosomatic thinking. I don't think the interviewer was asking for a clear or brilliant response showing any medical knowledge...sometimes, they want to see how you approach complexity or response when you don't really know how to...at least, that's what I thought with some of mine...

Originally Posted by Phipps

Yes, that's what I thought...psychosomatic thinking. I don't think the interviewer was asking for a clear or brilliant response showing any medical knowledge...sometimes, they want to see how you approach complexity or response when you don't really know how to...at least, that's what I thought with some of mine...

Yep, sometimes they just want to see how you handle a "squirm" question.

Has a faculty member ever criticized you? For what? How did you deal with it?
Have you ever been criticized personally? For what? How did you deal with it?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years in terms of your career?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years in terms of your personal life?
Describe a stressful situation you were in where you did/did not handle it well.
Most teachers aren't able to teach to cater everyone's learning needs. How do you make sure you understand information that is given to you?

Something I would suggest while you are preparing/answering questions - especially the really abstract ones - is reflect about WHY they may be asking that particular question. This has personally helped me a lot during practice interviews.

Originally Posted by AgapeBlue

I know stress levels run high during interviews and we often try to say the right thing, and/or worry we're going to do something wrong...but here are a few things to keep in mind while interviewing:

1. Your application impressed them and they want to get to know you. If you try to answer like someone else would..or you try to be anyone other than yourself (i.e., taking control or trying to be domineering if this isn't your normal mode of operation), you run the risk of seeming pushy/unprofessional/silly/immature/scatter-brained/uber stressed. Be yourself and trust in who you are. It's what got you this far. You deserve to be there or you wouldn't have gotten the invitation.

2. The people that are interviewing you are experts in their field. Show them the respect they deserve...they've also done this dozens of times so they know what they are looking for in a grad student. They are not the enemy nor are they a TV journalist trying to catch you in a slip-up. Do your homework (know their research, your research..etc) and you'll do fine. You are sitting in that interview for a reason...you obviously have what it takes to do this.

3. If they are trying to stress you out, then they probably know exactly what to do/say to get a reaction from you. It's OK to not be perfect. They want to know how you are going to react under stress so just act natural. If there is a question you do not know how to respond to, tell them that their question is one you haven't considered and would like a moment to think about it. This isn't a game show...there is no clock ticking down the time remaining before you lose the $64 million question. If you want to control the situation, then retain control of yourself.

You can do this and you will rock it. That's why they wanted to meet you!

AB

This is so helpful, encouraging, and true! Thanks for the motivational words. I think as we get stressed out, it gets really easy to forget that!

Has anyone had any new or unusual interview questions this app/interview season?

give me your view of diversity

and for school psych- tell me about a time when you were working with a child and stuck with something hard instead of taking the easy way out.

Originally Posted by adler3

"Since you're so interested in research, why aren't you pursuing a pure research degree?"

"Aside from things like a good research match, what characteristics are you looking for in a mentor? What types of people do you interact best with?"

"So you're interested in ___. If you had unlimited resources, what studies would you conduct to investigate that?"

I got these several times, and the first from every single faculty member I met with.

Also, from a neuropsych grad student: "What do you think of psychotherapy?"

Originally Posted by jexa

She said that SHE took control of the interviews, so she was almost never asked the stress questions. She said she did not prepare ANY canned answers to ANY interview questions. Instead, she read a few of each POI's most recent publications. She planned questions and thought critically about their work. She went in to interviews with these questions in mind and avoided the stress questions completely. She said that only one, socially awkward, POI insisted on asking his questions. She said that's not the kind of person she would want to work with, someone who would insist on asking awkward and unnecessary questions.

She advised me that you look smarter and more prepared if YOU lead the interview by asking pertinent questions about each person's work. And then the interview is less stressful and more like a conversation.

This! At my first interview I learned that my research background was relatively different from the other applicants' to my POI and started to wonder why she even invited me. I went into our meeting feeling kinda insecure, but I had some genuine questions about a few of her studies. This led to a stimulating conversation and even some new research ideas. About a week later, she extended an offer!

Tell me about a time you failed/received criticism or negative feedback, and how you handled that.

I hate behavioral questions.

Originally Posted by CatsFan

Tell me about a time you failed/received criticism or negative feedback, and how you handled that.

I hate behavioral questions.

Yup, I got that one as well. Some others I had:

What was your least favorite course in your masters program? Why? How would you teach it differently.

What was feedback you received from your clinical supervisor, and how have you continued to address that area as a professional?

Q: What do you do when you get writers block?

A: I grab my 1911 and go to the range... after sending a few rounds of .45 ACP downrange I'm usually in the mood to write again.

(Yes, true story, and yes, got into the program.)

Has anyone interviewed for Virginia Commonwealth University's clinical PhD Program? Specifically the child/adolescent track. Any advice on what I can expect at their interview?

Originally Posted by willialr

Has anyone interviewed for Virginia Commonwealth University's clinical PhD Program? Specifically the child/adolescent track. Any advice on what I can expect at their interview?

It's a pretty typical interview day. There are some presentations in the morning and then individual afternoons later on. I interviewed with both faculty and students, if I recall, maybe 2 faculty and 2-3 students? It may have changed since then, but there was nothing too remarkable. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.

.

Originally Posted by buzzworm

4. Where else have you applied? (This wouldn't be difficult for everyone, but personally I had applied to work with people doing fairly different research from each other; so I needed to make sure that the schools I listed didn't seem totally out of left field in the context of what I was telling this POI I wanted to study.)

How did you respond to that one? I'm preparing for interviews and am facing the exact same problem.

The only question I was really asked was to describe my research experience.

I had some really interesting and diversity concentrated questions from UND (Counseling psych.):

1. What is diversity to you? How is that different from multiculturalism?
2. How has diversity developed over your lifespan, what have you learned about it?
3. How have you encountered multiculturalism?
4. Why did you choose Counseling Psychology instead of Clinical, experimental or education based programs?

It felt like I was repeating a lot of my answers so we will see how I did in comparison to the other candidates.

I did feel confident with the questions I asked them -
What brought you to this faculty position? What type of research do you tend to do (qualitative vs. quantitative)? What type of measures do you use? Since I have seen that you work in XXX, how did you come to that and how do you approach that type of research? How active is this program in publications? What were the last two conferences you attended, when and what was the most interesting session, paper, talk, etc? If you were my adviser how could I get in contact with you and realistically how long would it take to respond? Is that reflective of other faculty as well? How often do you collaborate with other faculty? I know that there is large population of XXXXX (e.g. minorities, Korean, Native American, etc) in the area of the program, does the faculty or students utilize this population in research? How and where do people recruit from for their studies?

My favorite part of the interview was interviewing them! -can't you tell?-

.

Besides the regular ones about your research experience/interests/tell me about yourself/faculty you want to work with, I was also asked:

How would you define the scientist-practitioner model?

What would be the biggest hurdle/challenge you would have to overcome once in grad school?

(I'm interested in health psych)
Why clinical health psych and not a masters in public health or a degree in epidemiology?

Originally Posted by katiekoala

In the same interview: If you could have a dinner party and invite any three people you wanted, who would they be and why?

Answer: "You, you, and you - because I really want this placement, and I'm not above pandering."