Choosing PIs for Interviews

[Jelly Bones]

I looked through some older posts and there are mixed opinions on the area of specialty that you should choose for PIs that you want to interview. My understanding was that you should pick faculty whose research is in fields you are interested in for your PhD even though you are not 100% familiar with that field. However, it seems some people suggest choosing PIs in the field that you have already done research in so you can show how much you know.

For those interviewing now or current students, what would you suggest and what has worked well? Also, what kind of questions should we expect about our research or our research interests? Should we be reading papers to make sure we can answer questions about our knowledge or is it more just a test of understanding our own projects? Some examples of typical questions beyond "tell me about your project" would be much appreciated!

Thanks and apologies if this has been discussed before but the threads I found were relatively old...

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[fiesta]

Generally I pick PIs whose papers I've seen at least once before or whose name I've heard thrown around in the past. If you are thinking about switching fields for your PhD, I'll echo what you said--I think it's good to have a mix of people who are very familiar with your field and people who you are interested in working with in the future. It can also be nice to have interviewers who know your PI well.

I tend to take a look at their research program, skim their publication titles and (maybe) abstracts, and read the papers only if I am genuinely interested (i.e. would read the paper outside the context of an interview). I did this more towards the beginning of the interview season, but am doing this much less now. Interviews vary dramatically in how much you talk about yourself and how much they talk about themselves. When they talk about themselves, they generally will start from the basics (unless you indicate you know a lot about the field) and then you can derive questions from what they say.

As for questions: mostly it's been "tell me about project X or project Y" and as you talk, they'll interject with clarifying questions. Some others I've gotten:

• How did you get interested in project X?
• How can you see project X being extended clinically?
• What would you do with the results of project X if you had unlimited resources?
• What do you think about XYZ (some paper from another lab that is related to your work)?
• I'm working on project Y...do you have any ideas for how I might go about it?

The best use of your time is to know your research extremely well--even projects you did 5 years ago! As for their research: as long as you know the general area they work in, and are conversant and interested in their work, you'll be fine.

Hope this helps!

 

[Jelly Bones]

Thanks @fiesta that really does help. As you recommended, I am aiming for a mix of PIs as my field at the moment overlaps with what I want to do except I want to focus it more on molecular rather than cellular/in vivo techniques. I hope they don't ask me too much about my undergrad projects though lol it's been >5 years, but I can definitely talk at ease about my MSc project!

 

[Datypicalpremed]

If you're gonna be reading papers from PIs who you are interested in meeting with, I would recommend thinking about GOOD questions to ask about THEIR research as well. There are a few reasons for this:

- It suggests you are interested in their research. An interviewer will tend to rate an interviewee who is a good fit for the program well. This is especially the case for for an interviewee who is a good fit AND seems likely to join their lab as well (many PIs want md/PhDs in their lab for various reasons).

- It shows your ability and potential as a scientist. It takes skills to really understand your own research. It takes even more skills to understand someone else's research.

- It gives you something else to talk about. Do you really want to be grilled about your research during the entire interview?

Having said that, don't go overboard. Asking a really bad question can definitely backfire. If you can't think of a good question, then so be it. But if you do come up with an interesting question while reading a paper, don't let the opportunity pass!

 

[Neuronix]

what would you suggest and what has worked well?

I suggest you pick people with whom you'd be interested in working. If that's your current field, fine, if it's something else, that's fine too. These interviews are generally people who don't interview MD/PhD students regularly. It's not to say that these interviews don't count, but rather that this is a time for them to try to sell you on their lab and for you to evaluate whether you like them and their research for future lab rotations. Typically it's just the PI talking during these interviews, and you say little.

The interviews that really matter are the ones you don't pick--with people like the PD, assistant PDs, or others that will become obvious on interview day.

Also, what kind of questions should we expect about our research or our research interests? Should we be reading papers to make sure we can answer questions about our knowledge or is it more just a test of understanding our own projects? Some examples of typical questions beyond "tell me about your project" would be much appreciated!

Why MD/PhD and tell me about your research are the two standard questions. Beyond that, you just wing it.

Thanks and apologies if this has been discussed before but the threads I found were relatively old...

It doesn't change much.