Advice on Phone Interviews

[Epiqueen]

Has anyone been interviewed via telephone for a doctoral program? If so, how did you prepare and what types of questions were asked?

I have an interview with Colorado School of Public Health in 2 weeks and have no idea what to expect.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

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[MPHandPsych]

If you can, find out how many people will be on the call. I was surprised when I did mine as there were 10+ people on the call (and probably more in the room) at the time. If you know who you're talking to, do your research on them. Be prepared with questions to ask about the program, school, etc. Other than that, the usual questions were asked when I completed mine- why this program, why this degree, what are my research interests, previous research & work experience, short & long term goals, how will this degree from this school help me accomplish my goals, etc. I prepared for mine as if it were like any other interview- reviewed the program highlights, what I liked about the program & school, who I wanted to work with and why, and general review of my application that I submitted to that particular program. Try to give specific examples when answering the questions & not give vague responses. Don't say um, uh, like...speak clearly and not too fast. Make sure you're in a quiet space since it will most likely be a conference call on their end and therefore you would be on speaker.

I find phone interviews to be inevitably awkward since there are those odd placed pauses...expect this since whomever is interviewing you is most likely going to take notes. Other than that just be yourself!

Good luck!

 

[Epiqueen]

Thanks so much MPHandPsych for the advise.

The department administrator stated that there will be four people on the call. I was not sure if it would be okay for me to ask who these four are or not so I did not ask. I guess I will go ahead and ask the admin person so I have names prior to the call.

Did you get accepted to the program you interviewed for?

 

[MPHandPsych]

No problem! I haven't heard yet, but I did get invited to the campus for an interview with other applicants after I had completed the phone interview. I actually wasn't even expecting that because I thought the phone interview didn't go so well since it definitely showed that I was caught off guard with the large number of people that were on the call. But I suppose I did alright since I heard back from them haha...

I personally don't see anything wrong with asking the names of those who will be on the call...I mean if they tell you, then it makes it less intimidating since you'll know exactly who you will be speaking with. But they might tell you that it hasn't been finalized so you never know!

 

[Epiqueen]

Did you apply to Colorado School of Public Health as well? I am just trying to figure out if we both are talking about the same school/program.

 

[MPHandPsych]

Nope! But I'm from Denver so I'm familiar with the school somewhat, but not so much the public health programs. I think there was someone else on here that applied there.

 

[Epi19]

Sorry if any of this is redundant from what MPHandPscyh said but from 4 epi PhD interviews (2 in person, 1 formal phone, 1 very quick informal phone), there are 2 main things that people seemed to be looking for:

1) Why do you want to go to their program over others? They want to know that you're applying to them because you think they're a good fit and not just applying to apply. You should know why you applied to their program over others: what you like about their curriculum, and specific faculty members' research attracted you to the school. My one informal phone "interview" was solely to assess whether or not I was serious about their program.

2) Why do you want to get a PhD, and where do you see your career going after a PhD? Some people, who are unsure of what the next step is, apply for PhD because its a higher degree, which they think means higher pay and more prestige. But a PHD, is not just the next step after an MPH. An MPH is actually a terminal degree, unless you want to go into research- in which case you will need a PhD. I think there are some applicants who don't realize that the PhD is all about publish research papers. (This is why I think a lot of schools tell students to get a masters first, so they really know what they're getting into). I think you should demonstrate that you've thought about where you see yourself career-wise in 10 years and why you need a PhD to get there. Have a good idea if you want to go into academia, vs. government research. Also, know what your research interests are. You don't have to know what your dissertation topic is now, but I would know what areas you are interested in doing research in (i,e, infectious disease, cancer, environmental epi, etc...) and be able to name a few very specific populations/questions/methods that you want to conduct research in within those fields.

And as a general rule for interviews, be able to explain any gaps or red flags on your resume. You don't need to be perfect, you just need to seem like everything you did was for a good reason.

Good luck!