Preparing for Interviews

By Timothy Lash, MPH, D.Sc.

The spring season often brings a calendar with interviews for Applied Practice Experiences, summer internships, post-graduation jobs, and graduate school admissions. These are an important part of the path towards achieving your career goals, yet are also unfamiliar territory for students early in their careers. Like most things, preparation and practice are the key to success. Here are a few tips to get ready.

Questions to Prepare For

First, most interviews will start with some variation of the question “Tell me about yourself.” Because you can count on getting this type of question early in the interview, it’s an opportunity to be prepared and practiced. This week’s suggested reading (Entrepreneur, 2019) gives concrete advice about the importance of this question and being prepared for it. Avoid simply restating the chronology on your resume or CV – the interviewer has already seen that. You will want to give a brief biography, but focus on your career interests and how they fit with the position. Talk about anything in your work or education history that is particularly relevant to this position. Conclude with a clear statement about your interest in the position and how well suited you would be to it. Most important, prepare for this question, even if you write out the answer. You do not want to read it during the interview, but you should be prepared for this question and ready to answer it effortlessly when it comes.

Second, there will almost always be a question about why you are interested in this particular position. Again, because you know this question will be asked, you can be prepared to answer. Research the position and what will be required so that you can tie particular aspects of your knowledge, skills, and experiences to what you think will be required to succeed in the position. A subtle but important point is to frame your answer (and the whole interview) in terms of what you can do for the position, not what the position will do for you. This is a subtle reframing that becomes important as you advance in your career. Early in our trajectory (college and graduate school interviews), it’s only natural to think about why you would like to join a particular educational institution. However, once you have a graduate degree, interviewers want to know that you will add value to their organization. They are less interested in what the organization can do for you. So frame your answer in terms of how you will help the organization to achieve its goals, and less so on how happy you will be to have the position.

Third, there might be a question about how you would define your ideal workplace. Here it’s important to be authentic about the type of work style where you are most productive. Unless specifically asked, avoid answering in terms of the physical workspace (office, cubicle, open office, remote work). It is better to answer in terms of the work style. Do you prefer to have several projects at once, or one project at a time? Do you prefer to work regularly with a team, or do you prefer to work alone and then combine your work with others. Do you prefer to travel often for work, or to spend most time working near to home? These are all elements of an answer that you can give that demonstrate that you are self-aware of your work style that is productive. Wherever possible, it’s best to answer these questions as a  balance, not one or the other. For example, instead of saying “I work best when I have only one project at a time,” you could say “I work best when I have one project that is my focus, and I usually expect there would be several other smaller projects ongoing at the same time.” The second answer demonstrates that you are not rigid about this work style, and still conveys your authentic preference.

Fourth, there will almost always be a question at the end such as, “Is there anything else you would like to discuss.” Many times candidates pass on this question and answer “No, I think we have talked about everything I had in mind.” This is then a missed opportunity to seize the moment. Again, with some preparation and practice, you can take advantage of this opportunity to leave a terrific final impression. Instead of answering with some version of “No,” answer with “I would just like to reiterate that I am enthusiastic about this opportunity, think it’s a great fit for my skills and experience, and that I would really do a terrific job working with all of you.” With this answer, you leave the impression of your enthusiasm for the job, confidence that you can do it, and understanding that you will be joining a team that aims to succeed. Avoid using this opportunity to ask about salary, start date, or when you will hear back from them. Skilled interviewers will tell you as the interview wraps up about the process moving forward. If they don’t, you can always ask before saying goodbye. I advise against asking about salary or start date, or any of the other offer terms, at a first interview. If you are asked, it is fine to say what you expect.

Getting Ready for Zoom Interviews

Given that these interviews now occur by video (and that may continue for first interviews indefinitely), there are a few tricks to keep in mind. First, be sure that you are professionally dressed and that your background is clean and orderly (or use a background). Second, be sure that there is no window or bright light behind you. You want the light in front of you (even if you use a background). Third, raise the height of your camera so that it’s level with your forehead. It gives a better impression to be looking up at the camera than to be looking down at it. Fifth, and this one is difficult, try to look at the camera and not at the screen. Looking at the camera gives the feel of eye contact, whereas looking at the screen does not. It’s difficult because looking at the person on the screen feels like you are making eye contact, but it does not look like that on the other side. Try it out with some friends and you will see a big difference. Finally, it’s possible to write some bulleted notes and tape them to a wall behind the screen. You can glance at them during the interview to be sure you covered the points you prepared to answer. No one will know it’s there (so long as you do not use it to read!). Do not put the notes on a paper on the desk or table in front of you – then it will be easy to see that you are reading.

Finally, the most important part of the interview is to be your authentic self. People are very good at seeing when others are not being authentic. You are prepared for the job and the interview, try to enjoy it and that will allow you to be the best version of yourself. 

Dr. Lash is the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology, co-author of Modern Epidemiology, 4th edition and Applying Quantitative Bias Analysis to Epidemiologic Data, and the Editor-in-Chief of Epidemiology. 

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