RA job offer but still interviewing- what to say?

[PsychNerd]

---

Members do not see this ad.

For this round of clinical applications, I only applied to 4 clinical PhD programs, because I had a developing job offer for a highly regarded research position at UCSD (with someone who would eventually want to mentor me in the PhD program there). If I took the research position, it would make me a much more competitive applicant the next time I apply.

I am interviewing in a couple weeks for on of the programs to which I applied, and I know that some schools ask what other schools you've applied to when they interview.

My question is this: should I mention that I'm considering the job option when I list the other schools I applied to? My mentor for the job is a big name in my research area and might sound impressive. However, I don't want my interviewers to think that I'm already committed to the job (and thus would not accept an offer from them).

 

[dumbledoresgirl]

I personally wouldn't mention it (for the reason you mentioned), but that's just my opinion. I don't think it would necessarily hurt your chances of getting an offer from them, but I don't really see it helping you in any way either.

 

[deuce22]

You might mention that accepting the job is your plan D (even if it's not), but that you are very interested in their program, etc. and that you feel more than ready to begin working towards your degree. I was definitely in the same boat last year. I accepted a job offer (with a flexible contract period) without having heard back from all of the schools that I interviewed at and ended up getting no offers and spent the last year bumping up my credentials to be more competitive. Looking back it was totally worth it, but I can understand wanting to wait to play better odds next year.

If it comes down to a timetable between accepting an offer at one of your safety schools or taking the job, that's a different story and you'll definitely want to discuss that with your letter writers or POIs. It shouldn't affect the quality of your offers if you play it right.

 

[PsychNerd]

Thanks for the advice! I also asked my undergrad faculty mentor about it. She said that she is less likely to offer a spot in the program if she thinks the student might be more likely to just take a job offer instead.

Since I'm still seriously considering the schools I'm interviewing with, I think I'll keep quiet about the job possibility.