Potential interview questions
Many thanks to Suzannah Williams for this list
Questions to ask prior to interview
• Who will be in the presentation audience?
• Who will be on the interview panel exactly? – Research them
• Will you be interviewing other candidates at the same time?
• Request time to talk to members of the department you would like to collaborate with.
• Request a tour.
• Request to speak to new junior faculty members who have established a successful research programme to find out how supportive the department really is to new faculty members (if you are female, then you may want to request that this person is female).
Questions asked at interview – Research
• Why do you want to come to this University? Why did you apply for this position?
• What would you do on your first day? What would you do in your first 6 months?
• How does your work in mice/drosophila/cells relate to humans?
• Why the fly/mouse? Why not cell culture?
• Are people really interested in SUBJECT?
• When you have completed your current research plan, what next?
• What do you see are the next emerging themes within your field?
• Your field is very competitive, do you feel you have carved out a niche for yourself?
• What about the other labs already working on SUBJECT?
• What kind of support would you need or expect for the first 3 years?
• Do you have any collaborations set up? Who do you see yourself collaborating with?
• How do you see you fit into the wider school?
• How do you explain the relevance your work to other fields?
• How do you see you fit in with all of the other research? What does your research bring to Dr XXX who is working on behaviour of ducks for example?
• How big do you want your lab to be? Who would you employ first?
• Where do you see yourself and your research in 10 years time? Or 5 years.
• Describe a scientist whom you like and respect? What do you like about this person?
• Would you rather work on several projects at a time or on one project?
• How do you prioritize your work?
• What kinds of projects do you want to do and why?
• Tell me about your significant accomplishments?
• Tell me about the part you played in conducting a specific project or implementing a new approach or technology in our lab?
• How do you stay current in your field?
• Tell me about a project or situation that required you to take initiative?
• What motivates you at work?
• How do you prioritize your work?
• What happens when you have two priorities competing for your time?
• What is your biggest challenge in your current job? How are you dealing with it?
• Tell me about a time when you made a decision that resulted in unintended/unexpected consequences (either good or bad)?
• Describe your research. What are you currently working on? What is your five year plan?
• What are your plans for publishing?
• How will you seek funding to support your research?
• In what journals do you plan to submit your research?
• How do you plan to support your research?
• If we gave you a million pounds, what experiments would you do?/What questions would you address?
• Your field is very competitive, do you feel you have carved out a niche for yourself?
• What do you see are the next emerging themes within your field?
Questions asked at interview – Teaching
• What subjects/courses would you like to teach? What subjects can you teach?
• Describe how you'd teach an introductory survey course in your discipline (or an advanced seminar)?
• What is your teaching philosophy?
• What course, not currently in our catalogue, would you like to develop?
• If you had to do a talk on a subject that has nothing to do with your own subject, could you?
• How does your research inform your teaching?
• What are your plans for integrating students into your research?
• What are the different benefits in teaching a lecture to 200 students or small groups teaching?
• How would you engage 200 students in a very dull subject you had to lecture on?
• With respect to the teaching/lecturing position, what do you think you would struggle with? / what would be your downfall/weak points? How would you fix this?
• Some students are not interested in biology, they want a 2:1 to go into accounting. They say “what do I need for a 2:1?” What is your opinion on this?
• What textbook would you use in a particular course?
• What classes have you taught?
• How do you structure your courses?
Questions to ask at interview
• Is there a startup package? How much and what does it include?
• How much teaching am I expected to do? Is it ramped up after the first year?
• Is there any technical support available?
• Are there any other internal funds I can apply for?
• If I invent something brilliant, does this University know how to handle this?
• What is this University’s success rate for grant funding?
• Is there a mentor scheme?
• Where is my lab space? If it is not ready, when will it be?
• When will I hear the outcome and when would you like the successful candidate to start?