Interview Questions

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Those are not the questions to fear.

The questions to fear are the ones from cagey professors who will ask you stuff you know less about than they do.

Example, today we had a person interviewing for a faculty position, and she was asked which parts of her model she thought was causing the effect? She replied that all were involved. He then followed up with, well what empirical research supports your position... She was in over her head here, she didn't have any that she could cite and he was actually an expert in the area he decided to delve into and worse yet there was no empirical research to be cited to support her position. She was over her head and he walked her right into it.

It's this kind of questioning that can get you in trouble.
 
:laugh:

I use to do that with people I interviewed in the tech world. They'd have an alphabet soup of certifications after their name, and list 1,001 programs that they are fluent in, and I'd ask a few questions in a particular area.....and BAM! They either answered me right away or pulled the, "Uh...uhm....well, I'd have to look into that, etc" My questions weren't hard (i'm not a tech person), so if you are going to claim competency....you better know what you're talking about.

-t
 
Two questions that stand out in my mind are:

What would it take to get you to come here?

-and-

What questions do you have for me?
 
I have often thought of questions to ask THEM.

such as:

How would you characterize the academic climate/culture here?

Research funding is important to me (as I hope to publish as much as possible.) Will that be a concern during my graduate experience here?

Are graduate students successful at obtaining external research funding here?
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Everyone NEEDS to have questions to ask on their interview, if you do not, you will be at a disadvantage. So start thinking!

-t
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Agreed. You look insane if you don't have any questions. Absolutely, 100% ask about funding. Ask multiple questions about funding. Those questions lead into other interesting ones (how often do students get SSHRC/NIMH/whatever grants? What courses could I teach as an instructor? When would I be the instructor of record if I get TA funding? Are there additional fellowships at the university level I can apply to or be considered for? How do students find the funding for the cost of living in the area?)

Some question to be ready for:

-What do you look for in a lab setting, in terms of your peers?
-What do you want in a mentor?
-Did you apply to your undergrad school?
-You said you used x advanced procedure in your thesis. Let me ask you this obscure question about it.
-Are you in a relationship right now? What will happen with that when you move for grad school?
 
Why did you get a C+ in this course
 
"What are the sexiest results that you've seen come out of the project that you are working on?" I'm not kidding.
 
psychey said:
"What are the sexiest results that you've seen come out of the project that you are working on?" I'm not kidding.
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I haven't been on any interviews, but I would consider that an inappropriate question. How are you supposed to respond to that?
 
bookworm06 said:
I haven't been on any interviews, but I would consider that an inappropriate question. How are you supposed to respond to that?
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I would breathe and tell the interviewer about the most interesting results I've encountered in a research project. Then, I would think seriously about the vibe I got from the department and the professor(s) I was going to be working with. If it's an isolated incident, I'm not going to be working closely with the interviewer, and the current graduate students say that the department is a great and supportive place, I would probably overlook it.

Clinical psychology doesn't seem to be as bad, but comments like this (and worse!) are not uncommon in the hard science fields and, for example, cognitive psychology (anything strongly male-dominated). I've actually heard the "sexy" results comment before; it's a bit of a common colloquialism at some schools and divisions, mostly used by male professors and male graduate students.
 
I've heard that before too. I think it depends entirely on the person saying it whether its creepy or not. One said it after a lengthy conversation describing himself as a stats nerd, I think just about everyone found it hilarious.

Probably inappropriate during an interview in the sense that everyone should be "polite", but just like you shouldn't curse during an interview, a professor saying "****" in class when the projector shuts off wouldn't cause me to think twice. Would people really be offended by a comment about "sexy" stats? Why?
 
"Sexy" is a commonly used word to describe results. It's obviously not at all meant to mean that you find the data sexually appealing or anything like that. I don't think there's anything offensive about it, or that you should worry about a professor using it in an interview (and I'm a lady, if that helps). I've heard it used in conference presentations and stuff. It just means interesting, head-turning, exciting, etc.
 
It's possible I just know a few bad apples, but in my experience the kind of people who use this phrase the most tend also to be a bit misogynistic-- they're most likely to make comments about the mode of dress, attractiveness, and weight of women in the department, or make disparaging remarks about people's marital status, etc. Again, it's completely possible that this is just a "my department" thing, and not generalizable at all, but hearing that phrase in an interview would definitely concern me. I wouldn't be offended so much as on guard.
 
Huh.
Definitely don't get that impression from any of the folks I've heard it from in the slightest. Most are more the friendly, goofy types, and its the very rigid, formal ones who tend to make comments.

As for "not meant to mean you find the data sexually appealing" - have you ever met a statistician😉
 
thewesternsky said:
It's possible I just know a few bad apples, but in my experience the kind of people who use this phrase the most tend also to be a bit misogynistic-- they're most likely to make comments about the mode of dress, attractiveness, and weight of women in the department, or make disparaging remarks about people's marital status, etc. Again, it's completely possible that this is just a "my department" thing, and not generalizable at all, but hearing that phrase in an interview would definitely concern me. I wouldn't be offended so much as on guard.
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I think you're blowing this out of proportion. The "sexy" comment is, as mentioned above, not to be taken literally. On the contrary could be a signal that the interviewers feel a bit more comfortable with you to use such slang, and it is slang synonomous with "cool", "exciting" and "inspiring". Misogyny? I don't know about that. That's waaay harsh in my opinion.
 
Nah. I use the term occasionally, and I'm such a feminist that I once wrote a letter to a newspaper protesting the use of the term "co-ed." I am strongly offended by the objectification of women, but I have no problem with the objectification of scientific data.
 
Well, I think she meant that its a marker for misogyny in her department, not that it is itself misogyny.

As a TOTAL side note, but I'm curious, what sort of disparaging remarks about marital status can be made? In most professions I'd assume its "Why aren't they married yet" crap, but academia is one of those areas where marriage/family is still seen as a negative in some circles because people believe it means you'll spend less time working (though it seems like this belief is kind of on its way out).

Just curious, since I think its good to keep tabs on these things.

Edit: And also out of curiosity, what is offensive about co-ed? Definitely never heard that before. Or was it just the context in which it was used?
 
Ollie123 said:
Edit: And also out of curiosity, what is offensive about co-ed? Definitely never heard that before. Or was it just the context in which it was used?
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Oh, that's just one of my pet peeves-- not sure if anyone else shares my view. Probably not. I just think it's so 1950's, and that it evokes images of giggly sorority girls coming to college to meet a husband. I don't understand why respectable news sources like CNN use it regularly. It harkens back to a time when women were typically excluded from higher education, so that they needed a special term for those who did attend college. Women now outnumber men in college, so why refer to them as counterparts to men? I find it diminutive and patronizing. But maybe I'm being too sensitive.
 
Ollie123 said:
Well, I think she meant that its a marker for misogyny in her department, not that it is itself misogyny.
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*nods*. Exactly. Thanks, Ollie.

Ollie123 said:
As a TOTAL side note, but I'm curious, what sort of disparaging remarks about marital status can be made? In most professions I'd assume its "Why aren't they married yet" crap, but academia is one of those areas where marriage/family is still seen as a negative in some circles because people believe it means you'll spend less time working (though it seems like this belief is kind of on its way out).
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The comment I was thinking of was actually in reference to a divorcée-- "she couldn't keep the last guy happy," I believe, were his exact words. (*rolls eyes*).

Also, it's good to know that the phrase isn't a marker for that kind of behaviour in other departments. 🙂 I actually think it's sort of a cute phrase; I've just had bad experiences with a few individuals who use it frequently, I guess.
 
Maybe its just because I'm used to hearing it in sports since we ran some coed leagues for the local rec department back before I had grown-up-jobs, rather than in an education setting.

I just think coed is easier to say than "Team consisting of both males and females", and can't think of an alternative.

Sounds like your problem is more with it being used as a noun than as an adjective😉 I agree that its use as a noun always sounded strange to me.

Anyhow, tangent over. Interview questions! Definitely have them. Asking about success in getting external funding is a definite plus. Many students won't even know the difference between an F31, an R21, and an R01, so if you can speak intelligently about it, and mention that you're interested in applying for grants, that's a big plus.
 
Ollie123 said:
Maybe its just because I'm used to hearing it in sports since we ran some coed leagues for the local rec department back before I had grown-up-jobs, rather than in an education setting.

I just think coed is easier to say than "Team consisting of both males and females", and can't think of an alternative.

Sounds like your problem is more with it being used as a noun than as an adjective😉 I agree that its use as a noun always sounded strange to me.

Anyhow, tangent over. Interview questions! Definitely have them. Asking about success in getting external funding is a definite plus. Many students won't even know the difference between an F31, an R21, and an R01, so if you can speak intelligently about it, and mention that you're interested in applying for grants, that's a big plus.
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Yes, sorry, should have clarified-- my problem is only with using it as a noun, as in:

"Coed's body found naked, bound"

Murder Suspect's Dad Slams American Coed

MIT Coed in Alleged Bomb Hoax Known as Free Spirit

Underclad Coed or Overreacting Airline?

Not as in:

Coed Basketball Team Seeks Members

Yuck!

OK, /rant
 
This thread got way off topic with the "sexy" comment. More potential interview questions please! 🙂
 
This is a question for those of you who have been on interviews before. I noticed that a lot of programs have day long interviews that involve an orientation to the program (which lasts most of the day) and time slots for actual interviews with POIs and graduate students. I was just wondering if this is the only time one would interact with the POI on an individual basis? Meaning, will this be the most nerve racking part of the entire interview? Is this when all the questions about the applicant will be asked? It doesn't seem as though there will be a chance throughout the day to be interviewed one-on-one. Does anyone know more about this?
 
I went on an interview several years ago at UMass Amherst. It started out with a welcome by the director of the grad program, myself and two other applicants. That was followed by two half hour interviews/chats with grad students who worked with my POI. They were both pretty informal. I forget what they asked but it didn't feel pressured at all. Then there was lunch with several current grad students and a couple of other applicants. There may have been 5-6 of us. After lunch I had an interview with a prof who worked with my POI. This interview was disastrous from my POV because the prof basically said something like, Tell me about yourself and then just stared at me. She didn't give me any cues at all. Just sat there staring.

After that I had a little break and about an hour later had the interview with my POI, towards the end of the day. It was pretty low stress, but in retrospect I think he learned a lot about me. Following that there were two more short interviews with two other grad students. Aside from the stress interview with the starer, it was actually a fun day. I only had about 30-45 minutes with my POI but I feel like I really got to know him because I interviewed with almost all the students he worked with.

Unfortunately, I wasn't selected. So here I am. Hoping for a better performance this time.
 
empathiosis said:
I went on an interview several years ago at UMass Amherst. It started out with a welcome by the director of the grad program, myself and two other applicants. That was followed by two half hour interviews/chats with grad students who worked with my POI. They were both pretty informal. I forget what they asked but it didn't feel pressured at all. Then there was lunch with several current grad students and a couple of other applicants. There may have been 5-6 of us. After lunch I had an interview with a prof who worked with my POI. This interview was disastrous from my POV because the prof basically said something like, Tell me about yourself and then just stared at me. She didn't give me any cues at all. Just sat there staring.

After that I had a little break and about an hour later had the interview with my POI, towards the end of the day. It was pretty low stress, but in retrospect I think he learned a lot about me. Following that there were two more short interviews with two other grad students. Aside from the stress interview with the starer, it was actually a fun day. I only had about 30-45 minutes with my POI but I feel like I really got to know him because I interviewed with almost all the students he worked with.

Unfortunately, I wasn't selected. So here I am. Hoping for a better performance this time.
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Thank you for your reply. The reason I ask is because I am trying to learn about a program I am invited to interview for, but I don't know when all this information will come handy. It seems that the actual interview is only about half an hour and everything else is pretty stress-free. I guess my real question is; so all this other time that I am not under the microscope, I will pretty much be evaluated in terms of how I interact with others? I'm confused.....
 
IO1986 said:
Thank you for your reply. The reason I ask is because I am trying to learn about a program I am invited to interview for, but I don't know when all this information will come handy. It seems that the actual interview is only about half an hour and everything else is pretty stress-free. I guess my real question is; so all this other time that I am not under the microscope, I will pretty much be evaluated in terms of how I interact with others? I'm confused.....
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What I have heard is that you are ALWAYS being evaluated. Even when the occasion appears to be casual, as in dinners or lunches with grad students, you're always being evaluated. So be polite and friendly to everyone you meet.
 
IO1986 said:
Thank you for your reply. The reason I ask is because I am trying to learn about a program I am invited to interview for, but I don't know when all this information will come handy. It seems that the actual interview is only about half an hour and everything else is pretty stress-free. I guess my real question is; so all this other time that I am not under the microscope, I will pretty much be evaluated in terms of how I interact with others? I'm confused.....
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The whole thing is an interview. As far as formal interviews... I had one happen at the after party.

Mark
 
I'm in the process of preparing for my interview, and I'm thinking about the kinds of questions that will be asked. I wondered how people responded to the following questions, and whether or not they were asked them in their interviews:

1) Why are you interested in psychology in general?

2) When did you become interested in psychology--I'd especially be interested in hearing from non-trads how they answered this question.

3) Have you ever had therapy yourself? What did you learn from it?

What are other hard interview questions people have been asked?
 
I just got back from an interview, I got mostly "why do you want to work with Dr. XXX?". Another girl in the group had someone ask why her GRE scores were so low. I had one professor whip out a text book and start quizzing me but I actually knew everything she asked (phew!). It really wasn't stressful at all and I didn't feel like I was a deer caught in headlights as I was expecting!
 
EquestriAnn said:
I just got back from an interview, I got mostly "why do you want to work with Dr. XXX?". Another girl in the group had someone ask why her GRE scores were so low. I had one professor whip out a text book and start quizzing me but I actually knew everything she asked (phew!). It really wasn't stressful at all and I didn't feel like I was a deer caught in headlights as I was expecting!
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They started quizing you?! About what?! I would have freaked out... Nice work 🙂
 
ClinicalGal said:
They started quizing you?! About what?! I would have freaked out... Nice work 🙂
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Well I'm behavioral neuroscience and I have done a lot of work with feeding/obesity/eating disorders, so she started asking me about Leptin and Ghrelin! I couldn't tell if she was playing dumb, but she claimed not to know if I was right until she looked it up in the text book she had out 😛
 
3) Have you ever had therapy yourself? What did you learn from it?quote]


Anyone ever been asked this? I think this question could be kind of inappropriate...plus, a good way to sink yourself when applying to clinical programs is to say that you're interested in clinical psych because you have/had a disorder. I was talking to my advisor and he was saying they throw out at least 20 applications a year because something like this is in the personal statement. I assume the same goes for interviews.
 
I think it is a valid question, as some schools still require their students to be in therapy, at least for part of grad school. I think it is a shame that most programs don't require this of their graduate students.

As for the question....definitely think about how you want to answer it, as it can open you up to more questioning.
 
razzled said:
...plus, a good way to sink yourself when applying to clinical programs is to say that you're interested in clinical psych because you have/had a disorder. I was talking to my advisor and he was saying they throw out at least 20 applications a year because something like this is in the personal statement. I assume the same goes for interviews.
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Doesn't this border on discrimination? It seems with such a quick hook they're bailing on a bunch of people who will actually care about clients instead of looking at them for "scientific inquiry." While obviously having a disorder yourself isn't a qualification for practice, it shouldn't be a scarlet letter either.
 
Boston2k said:
Doesn't this border on discrimination? It seems with such a quick hook they're bailing on a bunch of people who will actually care about clients instead of looking at them for "scientific inquiry." While obviously having a disorder yourself isn't a qualification for practice, it shouldn't be a scarlet letter either.
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I think that it's considered a problem when you talk about it like it's your primary reason for wanting to be a clinical psychologist. If you're entering into a Ph.D. program, you're going to become very busy and will be spending a LOT of time doing research. If you just want to be a therapist so you can help people with (for example) eating disorders like your therapist helped you... I mean, that's great, but that's not going to get you through two years of statistics classes and a dissertation. You need to care about 'scientific inquiry' in order to SURVIVE these programs. That's why citing personal experience with a disorder as your main motivation for pursuing training is a scarlet letter.

In another thread, a director of clinical training at a research focused university put it this way:
"I have seen personal disclosure in a personal statement work very well once, and fail miserably many dozens of times. The one time that it worked was a beautifully written essay in which the person was able to use their experience to develop informed hypotheses, critique the literature from a scientific perspective and generate novel observations. The disclosure offered a nice foray into the statement, but did not dominate the essay.

With this once exception, it usually comes off terribly, and immediately raises questions about the motivations for pursuing grad school work.

That is not to say that someone with a past history of symptoms cannot become an excellent researcher and clinician. In fact, many of the field's greatest contributors are known to be conducting "Me-search" on their own ailments.

I would suggest thinking carefully about your true motivations for grad school and your career. If your past experiences served as a motivator to explore psychology, and you have since discovered a field and scientific discipline that you now enjoy for a variety of other reasons, then this may be the right path for you, and perhaps you can emphasize these other reasons in an essay.

If you feel that the interests in science and methods are somewhat of a smokescreen for your true passion, then think about what would be the best program for you. Perhaps something more clinically focused or advocacy focused with help you feel like you were pursuing your passion without having to distort it for admission."

You can ask the DCT in the other thread if you'd like, but I'd imagine that admitting in an interview that you once attended therapy, that you are recovered now, and emphasizing what you learned in therapy wouldn't count against you.
 
Any other difficult questions that people have faced?
 
karma898 said:
Any other difficult questions that people have faced?
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Prof, not my POI: "Are you a member of any professional organizations?"
Me: "Yup; APA, APS, CPA."
Prof: "What have you done with those organizations?"
Me: "..."

I'm the freaking APA President. What kind of a question is that?

The rest of that interview day went poorly too; I hated that school. 😛
 
You should have explained you were working with a small underground group to stage a coup of APA and become the supreme overlord of all things psychology.

It probably wouldn't have gotten you in, but it definitely would have given you plenty to talk about for the rest of the interview😉
 
Ollie123 said:
You should have explained you were working with a small underground group to stage a coup of APA and become the supreme overlord of all things psychology.
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Ollie, I really don't think JN wanted you sharing that information with the entire message board!! APA *watches* us here, you know! :meanie:
 
JockNerd said:
Prof, not my POI: "Are you a member of any professional organizations?"
Me: "Yup; APA, APS, CPA."
Prof: "What have you done with those organizations?"
Me: "..."

I'm the freaking APA President. What kind of a question is that?

The rest of that interview day went poorly too; I hated that school. 😛
Click to expand...


I think that is actually a valid question. Lots of people join organizations because they hear it's important but have no clue what is going on with them. Going to conferences held by the organization, participating in listserves and things like that are kind of the point. It shows that you are interested and committed to the field. Why else would you want to pay $$$ to join?
 
Ollie's right, free journals.

I think that is actually a valid question. Lots of people join organizations because they hear it's important but have no clue what is going on with them. Going to conferences held by the organization, participating in listserves and things like that are kind of the point. It shows that you are interested and committed to the field. Why else would you want to pay $$$ to join?
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As an undergrad student affiliate? For all of one year? Before conference season? It's a lame question.
 
JockNerd said:
Ollie's right, free journals.



As an undergrad student affiliate? For all of one year? Before conference season? It's a lame question.
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If you go to conferences then you get all the free journals you can carry (literally). Plus you kinda get to network, get updated on the latest in the field, and other smaller details like that.😉
 
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