Interview prep time

[toothpastetube]

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I'm deciding between two interview dates. The school does rolling admissions (though the administrator says that later interviewees are not disadvantaged). I'd like to take the earlier interview date, but I also wanted more time to prepare (first interview). How much does interviewing earlier help? What kind of preparation did you do? Any advice would be really appreciated.

 

[MNIkid87]

I might be a bad example, but my prep was limited to having a 1 h practice interview with my PI back then (she was an MD PhD) 2 days before I left for my interview. That helped me think about questions I did not anticipate before (some you can figure might come). While some might think this is being underprepared, I think you can also be overprepared so that all your answers just sound rehearsed / fake

 

[echosensei]

You should not need more than 30 minutes to "prep" for an interview. Part of the job as a scientist is to be able to communicate your research concisely to a peer and to answer their questions. Make sure you know everything about your role in any project in which you've participated as well as understanding the project in its entirety. If you have difficulty interviewing, take a practice interview with either your research mentor or with a recent MD/Phd in your lab. Then GO. Take each interview as early as possible. Toward the end of the interview season there are institutions that may have their last interview date on the same day. You don't want to be stuck having to choose one institution over another to interview, so don't pass up any opportunity you get.

 

[achamess]

Just know your research inside and out, and if you feel like you want to know a little more about the faculty you'll interview with, take a look at their bios. I found that did help spark some conversation if I knew something about the people I'd be meeting with. Other than that, just go be enthusiastic and genuine. People sense 'scripts'.