Interview About Research With Professor. How To Prepare?

[Confused 20]

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I have another interview with a professor regarding a research position I am pursuing. How should I prepare? He studies microalgae and I have already sent him my resume. What should I do to prepare? Any input will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[armybound]

I really doubt he's going to grill you on your knowledge of his research. You might just be prepared to tell him why it is you're interested in researching this particular topic, what your educational and research background is, and what your available hours are. You might also be asked what you hope to get out of the process and what your future educational goals are.

 

[PBandJ]

It's probably a good idea to have somewhat of an idea of what he does (you can probably find this information from his lab website and from a few of his published abstracts). IMO, however, the most important thing is to have some good questions for him about his research, even if you just have a vague idea and want to get more specifics. Doing that sort of preparation shows that you're being proactive and trying to learn as much as you can from your (potential) research experience with that prof.

 

[littlealex]

To be honest, interviews are pretty relaxed for research positions. You should know the basics about the research, but they know it is over your head; its okay.

Most professors hire undergraduates KNOWING that they're incompetent and have to be trained. They're ALL incompetent when they start.
The important things you need to get across in the interview:

1) You're proactive and independent. In a lab we need people that will actively find research papers to read in order to solve their own research problems.

2) You like working on difficult problems, and with your hands. If he asks if you like cooking, you do. If he asks if you like puzzels, you do. Common sense stuff.

To sum it up, my PI once told me, "given a difficult puzzle and 3 job applicants, I would not hire the guy that solved it in 5 minutes, I'd think he's seen the puzzle before and is cheating. I wouldn't hire the guy that gives up after 10 minutes either, because he's easily discouraged."

You want to be the guy that will diligently work on the puzzle for two hours, solve it, and go looking for another puzzle to solve. That is the essense of research.

 

[enigma85]

Be prepared to respond to "Why do you want to work in my lab?"
He/she may want to know about your future goals, so have some idea about that. Show some enthusiasm--have a few basic questions like "What will be my role?", "What courses will be helpful in understanding your research", and ask him/her for a good recent review article on his/her research topic.