PHD interview advice from Dr. Emily Cross

For further advice on how you can achieve the 'winning interview', we have spoken to people who have actually been in the position of interviewing candidates for a PHD. For this blog post we spoke with Dr. Emily Cross - a senior lecturer and co-director of the Social Brain in Action Laboratory. Her research is primarily within the area of social and cognitive neuroscience.

What do you look for in a PHD candidate?
- "Students who show they've done their homework and are extremely keen about either the advertised project or the general work going on in my lab."
- "Students who can speak easily about their MSc or undergrad dissertation, and be very clear about what parts of the research project they had ownership over is also super."
- "A set of skills that serve you very well during a PHD, such as coding or advanced data analyses/statistics is a huge bonus."
- "Letters of reference or discussions with your prior supervisors can also be a really big deciding factor - I particularly heavily weight them when I know (at least on a professional basis) your MSc or BSc dissertation supervisor."

Common pitfalls in a PHD interview?
- "You'd be surprised how many interviewees come into an interview and have just not done their homework!"
- "Make sure you've read some of the key publications from the laboratory."
- "Come with a few questions about their work."
- "Be enthusiastic (or at least interested!) in the research process - I'm always really puzzled by interviewees who seem bored (or perhaps just too nervous) to engage with the interviewers and really talk about the research topic."

Key advice...
"Do your homework!"
"Try to do a practice interview with either peers or other faculty members before you do the real deal."
"Dress professionally."
"Be on time."
"Come prepared with questions of your own."

Two Workshops in December

Bangor Employability are holding two workshops of note in December.

Top of the Pile! Make your Applications Count is in Main Arts Lecture Room 3 from 1 to 2pm on Thursday 4 December.  This session will be giving advice on how to fill out forms and write personal statements.  I have found that getting an application out of HR and onto the short list is the hardest step.  If I were to attend just one workshop, it would be this one.

Tell Me About Yourself - Tips for Interviews is in Rathbone Teaching Room 1 from 1 to 2pm on Tuesday 9 December.  Need help on how to prepare for an interview?  This workshop is for you. 

Both workshops are first come first served.  Booking is not required. 

Upcoming workshops at Bangor

Careers and Employability at Bangor are holding workshops this week. 

Interview Skills for International Students will take place 26 November  at 13.00 to 14.00 in Main Arts Lecture Room 3.

Sharpen up your CV will be held 27 November  13.00 to 14.00 in Rathbone  Teaching Room 1.


Booking in advance is not required.  Just turn up.

Tailor Your Preparation

It is important to make sure that, when attending an interview, you show an awareness of the context the job or research placement is in.

This applies in a research setting as much as in an employment setting; one can make oneself a more impressive candidate by showing background knowledge of the employer or research establishment.

So, here are some things to consider:

• What goals does the organisation have? Can you contribute in a manner which would further these goals?

• Is the employer competing with another organisation?  Why would you rather work for this employer than their rivals?

•  Do they have a business plan? Would you be able to give your views on it, or bring new ideas to the table?

• Has the organisation recently had some big news? A big contract/funding/coverage in a current affairs topic, for example. If so, would you be able to discuss it with your interviewer?

• In a research setting, what publications has the research group, your potential supervisor etc. recently released? Could you talk about their findings and potential implications of them, particularly if they relate to your own potential position?

There may be more specific things to think about in relation to the post you're applying for, and the list above is not intended to be exhaustive, but hopefully you will have a greater insight in to the kinds of things one might want to have made preparations for.

Finding your dream job

You won't get an interview if you don't apply for a position. You can't apply if you don't know about available jobs.  Here are some tips about finding open posts.


Word of Mouth
Ask.  Someone you know may know about opportunities that aren't advertised or you haven't seen elsewhere.  More importantly they may be able to put in a good word for you when you apply. 


Attend job searching workshops.
The next one at Bangor is Tuesday  18th November in the 2nd floor graduate hub in Thoday.    Email careers@bangor.ac.uk to book a place.


Search on the internet
PhD studentships  are usually not listed on  websites like  Monster and fish4.  Instead, try searching these:

http://www.findaphd.com
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/phd

Findaphd and jobs.ac.uk  focus on the UK.

PhD funding works differently in America. If you are looking for  PhD in the United States, try searching the university websites and read up on the program you are interested in.

http://www.psyccareers.com/  run by the American Psychological Association, has listings for post-PhD jobs in the United States.


Try a directed search
If there is an institution, research group or researcher your are especially interested in look for listings on the institution's web site.

Here are a few.  If the one you want isn't on this list try googling the name of the institution and jobs.  For example googling "liverpool john moores jobs" returns a list of vacancies at LJMU as the first result.

https://jobs.bangor.ac.uk
http://www.ox.ac.uk/about/jobs/
http://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs/

Disclaimer

The information and views presented here do not necessarily represent the views of Bangor University.