3 Hour Workshop on about Interview Skills for jobs Inside and Outside Academia. 6th December 2012

1. Careers
Interview skills for
jobs
Inside and Outside
Academia
Dr Tracy Bussoli
Careers Consultant
for Researchers

2. Careers
Objectives
• To understand the purpose of an interview
and the motivations of the interviewer in
the selection process
• To understand the type of preparation and
research required for an effective
interview
• To help you provide evidence/articulate
behaviours which show that they have the
key experiences and competencies for a
particular position

3. Careers
Interviews
• Application-based
• Group
• Competency-based
• Technical or case study
• Presentation (research or
other)
• Panel
• Remote (telephone or video-
link)

4. Interviews

5. What are they looking
Careers
for?
• Can you do the job? — Ability
• Will you do the job? — Motivation
• Can I work with you? — Fit

6. Careers
Primacy & Recency Effect

7. Careers
Preparation, preparation,
preparation….
• Know yourself
• Know the role
• Know the Organisation/Research
Group/University
• Know the details of interview. Where, when
etc.

8. Careers
Know Yourself
Aptitudes/Skills
Personality
Interests
Needs and priorities

9. Know the role and
organisation
Small Groups (divide into i: those thinking about applying
for academic roles and ii) those thinking about jobs outside
academia)
Think about
1) a position in industry or
2) an academic position e.g. postdoc
Think about how you would research:
• The Organisation/Research Group/University
• The Role

10. Careers
Research the organisation
Industry Academia
• Check on-line information – • Check online information –
websites, linked-in, blogs etc. websites, academia.edu , blogs
etc.
• Understand the Company’s
objectives/mission statement etc. • How did they do in the REF? How
many publications have they
produced and in what type of
• Company position in market place journals?
• Know the research group’s work
• Why are they different from their – read research papers
competitors?
• Is their ‘type of research’ being
• People in your potential funded by the research councils
department. What – how much research funding do
do they do? How do your they have?
interests fit?
• Speak to postdocs/academics.
• Speak to current employees
• What is the PI like? Is the
research group happy/well
• Annual report? supported?
• Memorise few obscure facts!

11. Careers
Research the role
Industry Academia
• Scrutinise the personal • Scrutinise the personal
specification specification
• Look at the job
• Look at the job description
description
• Talk to people within the
research group and
• Talk to people doing
same job/other people others
working at organisation • List the research
techniques/methods that
• List the you have think about how
skills/qualities/techniques these fit with the role
and think about specific
examples that illustrate • How much teaching is
you have these involved? Can you fit in
your research?
• Look at other sites to find • Will you be supported in
out about similar roles developing your own
e.g. Prospects independent research?

12. Careers
Content
• Talk about yourself
• Describe specific incidents
• Show don’t tell
• Be positive — don’t undersell
yourself
• Do not waffle on!

13. Careers
Answering Competency
Questions
Tell me about a time when you
showed good team working
skills……….
• First have a think about the behaviours
which that competency involves (behind the
buzzwords sheet)
• Think about the different scenarios that one
have been in ….research and other
• Think about specific incidents

14. Careers
Types of activities
• Supervising a student • Participating on a
committee
• Teaching / tutoring a group of
students • Participating in graduate
school training
• Preparing and publishing a
paper • Managing part–time work
and research
• Preparing and presenting a
poster
• Outreach or public
• Undertaking an audit engagement
• Writing a funding proposal • Volunteering
• Processing a set of accounts or • Charity fundraising
managing a budget
• Careers courses and
• Managing a piece of laboratory workshops
equipment

15. Careers
Collecting a list of
interested people
Seeking opinion and listening
to others - is there a demand?
Team working - organising a
journal club
Enthuse and encourage students,
staff and academics to participate –
hand out flyers, spread the word etc.
Contact presenters
Be flexible - volunteer to present
on a regular basis at the first journal club

16. Answering Competency Questions:
Finding examples of your skills
Individually
Choose a specific situation from your
PhD/research/other
• Do a map of the behaviours associated with the task
• Do any of the behaviours fall into a particular skill?

17. Structuring the
Careers
answer
• Situation
• Task
• Action (70%) use lots of
verbs
• Result

18. Careers
Teamwork
SITUATION – During my PhD,
I felt that there was a need to
get together more frequently to
share ideas about different
research areas
TASK – So I decided to
establish an interdisciplinary/
faculty wide journal club

19. Careers
ACTIONS – I canvassed opinions amongst
academics and students to see if this was a
good idea, carrying out a small survey. I
then tried to enthuse a few of my
colleagues about the idea and asked them
if they would be happy to present at the
first journal club. I let them know about
the audience and the format of the journal
club. Some of them needed reassuring and
convincing that this would be a good idea,
as it would help with their presentation
skills. Once I secured the first two
speakers, I booked an appropriate room,
sent an email/flyer to relevant people
about the speakers, date, and venue.

20. Careers
RESULT – there is now a well
attended journal club each
month, which I organise and
coordinate

21. Tell me about a time when you
showed excellent….
• Team-working skills
• Communication skills
• Time Management skills
• Project Management skills
In pairs.
Take one skill each and try to answer the question using STAR.
Feedback to your partner.

22. Careers
Impact
• Appropriate appearance
• Positive attitude, energy,
enthusiasm
• Be pleasant to everyone you meet
• Listen carefully and show it
• Eye contact and smiling
• Relaxed but attentive body
language
• Varied delivery — pitch, volume,
speed.

23. Careers
Tactics
• Give yourself thinking time
– Repeat, comment, “Can I have a minute?”
• Think of the “punchline” before you
talk
• Seek clarification
– “Are you looking for an example of...?”
• Ask for feedback
– “Is this example useful?”
• When in a hole, stop digging
– “Sorry, I’ve got a bit lost. May I start
again?”

24. Some Practice
Interviewer
1 2

25. Careers
Your Questions
The job: find out more detail on duties, how long
has it been vacant, where did the previous
incumbent go?
The organisation: what are the strategic goals,
challenges they are facing, most significant
recent developments in the organisation?
The working conditions: what about support for
training, career development, appraisals?
The process: what happens next, how many
people are being interviewed, when are you
likely to hear whether or not you’re being offered
the job?

26. Careers
AFTERWARDS
EMPLOYER
What have you learnt? Your impressions of the employer.
The interview is your opportunity to decide if you want to work
for them.
REFLECTION
Reflect on the interview. Make a note of the questions they
asked. Were
you satisfied with your answers, or could you do better next
time?
CONTACT
If they do not contact you when they said they would or if it has
been a
long time since the interview (more than two weeks), try ringing
or
emailing to check the situation.
FEEDBACK
If you are rejected, try ringing to ask for some feedback so that
you can
gain an idea of where improvements need to be made.

27. Careers
Practicalities
• Rehearse journey
• Turn off your mobile
• Relax. They are human too.

28. Careers
Interview Resources
• Careers Group Interview Tips
http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk/files/pdf/CEP_Interviews.pdf
• Science Careers. Tools and Tips Section
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/tools_tips/how_to_series/h
ow_to_prepare_for_an_interview
• Academic Interviews
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/careerprep/jobsear
ch/interview_proce.pdf
• Monty Python Silly Interview
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP0sqRMzkwo
Book: Great Answers to tough interview questions. Martin John Yate

29. Careers
Case Study Practice
• http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Apply/I
nterview_tips/Practice_case_studies
• http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-
bain/interview-preparation/default.asp
• http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interactive_
case/default.aspx

30. Careers
Support for PhD Students
• One to one appointments: Monday and
Tuesday mornings and Wednesday
afternoon. Book by calling 020 7882 8533.
• Workshops, Careers Seminars and
Employer Events:
http://www.esdcourses.org.uk/userlistcourse.php
• Researchers’ Career Blog:
http://qmresearcher.wordpress.com/