The following questions have been collected from diverse resources by Kathryn L. He is a professor at Dartmouth College in the Biological Sciences program and the Ecology, Evolution, Ecosystems, and Society (EEES) Graduate Program.
Interviewing for an academic researcher role can feel daunting. You know your capabilities, but effectively conveying them to a search committee takes preparation. This article provides an in-depth look at 25 common interview questions asked of researchers and advice for crafting strong compelling responses.
Whether you’re fresh out of your PhD program or a seasoned researcher exploring new opportunities, thoughtful preparation is key. By anticipating the types of questions you’re likely to encounter, you can emphasize your skills, experience, and fit for the role. Let’s dive in!
Research Background and Interests
These questions aim to understand your research experiences, influences, approach, and future directions.
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What originally sparked your interest in this field? Share when your passion for the subject first took hold and what continues to motivate it Discuss specific experiences that cultivated your interest as well
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How would you summarize your research interests and specializations? Concisely explain your areas of expertise and how they align with the position. Avoid academic jargon and make connections to real-world applications.
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What is the main focus of your current/previous research? Walk us through the key themes, goals and methodologies. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your thought process and ability to communicate complex ideas. Focus on contributions and impact.
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What do you consider your most meaningful research accomplishment to date? Highlight a signature publication, pioneering technique, or area where your work has filled a critical gap. Explain its significance to the field.
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Who or what has most influenced you as a researcher? How so? Credit mentors, seminal publications, or conferences that shaped your approach and perspective as a scholar.
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What research ideas are you most excited to explore next? Why? Share new directions that leverage your background and align with emerging needs/advances in your discipline. This showcases your vision.
Achievements and Skills
These questions evaluate your track record of success and qualifications for the role.
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Which of your publications makes you most proud? Why? Reference a paper that was highly cited, opened new avenues of inquiry, or advanced theory. Discuss reactions from peers.
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How would you assess your ability to secure external research funding and resources? Provide examples. Quantify past grants secured and discuss strategies for compelling proposals and relationship building with funders.
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What statistical software, lab techniques or other technical skills are you proficient with? How have you applied them? Tailor your answer to skills listed in the job description. Demonstrate a strong grasp of key technologies in your field.
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How would you describe your ability to collaborate effectively? Provide an example. Share a successful team project and methods for clear communication, dividing responsibilities, and overcoming conflicts.
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What strategies do you use for project planning and time management? Share examples. Highlight systems for breaking down deliverables, prioritizing tasks, tracking progress, and meeting deadlines efficiently even under pressure.
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Describe a time you successfully recovered a project or publication that ran into major obstacles. What was your approach? Discuss setbacks like rejected manuscripts, technical problems, or loss of funding. Demonstrate resilience, problem solving, and adaptability.
Teaching and Mentoring Philosophy
These questions evaluate your instructional approach and experience guiding students.
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How would you describe your teaching style and philosophy? Share methods you find most effective for connecting with and motivating students, promoting active learning, and fostering subject mastery and passion.
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What teaching roles have you held, and what key lessons did you take away from them? Summarize instructional positions and highlight growth areas like classroom management, differentiated instruction, and learning assessment.
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How do you promote diversity, equity and inclusion in your instructional practices and mentorship? Emphasize culturally competent pedagogy, strategies for reaching underserved groups, and commitment to nurturing all students.
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What challenges do today’s students face in your academic field, and how can you support them? Demonstrate understanding of obstacles like imposter syndrome, lack of belonging, and pressure to constantly produce. Share ideas for mentorship.
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Have you handled any classroom conflicts or other teaching challenges? How so? Briefly summarize the situation and your diplomatic, student-focused approach to resolving it effectively.
Motivation and Fit
These questions evaluate your interest in the institution, department, and position specifically.
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Why are you interested in this role and what would you bring to our department? Show enthusiasm for the position and highlight qualifications that make you a strong fit such as relevant expertise, leadership skills, or ability to fill teaching needs.
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Which faculty members would you be excited to collaborate with and why? Reference specific professors and shared research or instructional interests that present partnership opportunities. Demonstrate awareness of their work.
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How does this position align with your career goals in the next 5-10 years? Explain how the role complements your professional growth objectives in areas like research, teaching, mentorship, funding, or leadership.
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What most excites you about conducting research and teaching in our academic community? Share specific aspects of the university and department culture that resonate with you such as cross-disciplinary collaboration, commitment to equity, or world-class facilities.
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Why are you considering leaving your current position? If transitioning from another role, diplomatically explain your reasons for seeking new opportunities while highlighting positive experiences as well.
Handling Challenges
These questions assess your judgement, ethics, and problem-solving abilities.
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Have you faced any issues around research ethics, such as conflicts of interest or questions about data integrity? How were they resolved? Demonstrate understanding of ethical principles and commitment to honesty, objectivity, and accountability.
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Have you ever had difficulty getting your research published? What was your response? Scholarly rejection is common. Discuss moving forward professionally by seeking mentor feedback, identifying alternative journals, and refining your approach.
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How do you respond to constructive criticism of your work? Affirm that scholarly critique facilitates growth and evolution. Share examples of integrating reviewer feedback or diverse perspectives to strengthen your research and teaching.
With thoughtful preparation and practice, you can tackle these challenging questions with confidence. So take time to reflect on your skills, values, and experiences as a scholar. Identify compelling examples that showcase your capabilities. And continue reading faculty job descriptions to pinpoint priorities and trends at your target institutions. You’ve got this!
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The following questions have been collected from diverse resources by Kathryn L. He is a professor at Dartmouth College in the Biological Sciences program and the Ecology, Evolution, Ecosystems, and Society (EEES) Graduate Program.
- What is the long term plan for this school/institution?
- How does this department fit into the long-term plan?
- How does the outside world see this department? Is it seen as strong, united, or interactive?
- Undergraduates: who applies, who gets in, who stays, and where do they go after graduation? Graduates: who applies, who gets in, who stays, and where do they go after graduation?
- What sorts of programs are available for new faculty members?
- Formal mentoring?
- Orientation?
- Written faculty handbook?
- What resources are available to initiate student research?
- Is there support for summer research by undergraduates?
- Are competitive, within-institution seed grants available?
- What are the indirect costs of grants?
- What should I do this summer? Should I stay on campus, or is field work okay?
- What are typical teaching opportunities, across the college?
- How much variation is there across departments?
- Are teaching training opportunities available? What kinds? How often?
- Can one buy out of teaching obligations?
- What is the schedule and mechanism of faculty review?
- How many people in the department already have tenure? Is there a limit?
- Who decides tenure and how?
- Are sabbaticals available?
- If so, how do they work?
- Do benefits continue?
- What salary range?
- How paid?
- Can grants be used to supplement summer salary?
- How do raises work?
- What are the benefits?
- What retirement plan(s) would be available?
- What type of health plans are available?
- Any benefits for tuition for family members?
- Will they pay moving expenses?
- Are there resources available to assist spouses in locating jobs?
- Who insures equipment?
- Who would I be negotiating with?
- What is the time frame for making a decision?
- What are your goals for the school or department? Where do you see it in five or ten years?
- When was the last time you planned something? Could you send me a copy?
- How does this position fit in to that vision?
- Is the department growing or shrinking? Which subfields? Are there problems between the subfields? What are the plans for hiring new people in the near future?
- What kinds of programs are there for new faculty members? Is there formal mentoring? Is there a written faculty handbook?
- How big is the department?
- Is it unified, or split along disciplinary lines?
- How often does the department meet to discuss departmental business?
- How are decisions made?
- How is chairmanship determined? How long is the term?
- What kind of graduate students do you attract?
- Where do they go once they finish their degrees?
- Who pays for graduate students? Are there any training grants?
- Do students have a say in search decisions?
- Do students have a say in department administration?
- What partnerships are already in place between different fields? For example, are there any training grants?
- How many undergraduate majors come through the program each year?
- What is available as “set up” money?
- Is there department research support available? Of what kinds?
- Are there vehicles available for field trips/research use?
- What kind of secretarial help is there for working on courses, grants, and papers?
- What is the teaching expectation through time? How many courses?
- Which courses?
- What would this person teach over the next 3 years?
- How much flexibility in what an individual teaches?
- How much freedom is there in choosing when classes happen (within a week, within a year)?
- How big are the classes, and do the loads of the teachers depend on how many students are in each class?
- Is there time to prepare the first course?
- Can I teach a seminar the first semester/quarter?
- Are TAs available? For what courses?
- How much funding is there for courses, particularly new ones?
- How do ideas for new courses get processed?
- What are the teaching labs like?
- Are there computer teaching labs? Software? Support personnel?
- What non-teaching expectations are there?
- What are the “standing” department committees?
- How does undergraduate advising work?
- How does graduate advising work?
- Are there annual reviews before tenure?
- Who decides on tenure?
- On what criteria are decisions made?
- Are the criteria written down and given to new teachers?
- What are the unwritten criteria?
- What percent succeed?
- Is there a “tenuring up” policy?
- Schedule -when do people come up for tenure?
- What are the criteria for promotion to full professor?
- Can I see the space for this person?
- How much office space, lab space, offices for graduate students?
- How long to remodel? Who pays?
- Ethernet? Networks? Email? Who pays?
- Reprints? Page charges?
- Important for your mental health: When will a decision be made? When might you let me know?
- What do you like best about this place?
- What do you like least about this place?
- What do you want from this new job? (Do you want to know if there are ideas that agree with you or ideas that disagree with you?)
- What are hiring priorities for the future?
- What else does a newcomer need to know?
What sorts of programs are available for new faculty members?
- When you started
- Now
- What do you wish youd known?
- How is the [higher] administration? Rigid? Flexible?
- Are they fair?
- How often does the department meet?
- How are decisions made?
- What do you think? Do you think faculty have enough say in day-to-day operations and big decisions?
Student Life: What’s it like to be a PhD student here?
- How well do students from different professors get along with each other?
- How much do you have a say in how things are run? How about job searches?
- Do students worry about support? How are the TAships? RAs?
- How many students have their own grants?
- Do you have enough money to live on?
- Is there a department social life? Within the grads/postdocs?
- Do the faculty get along? Are there hierarchies? Clear schisms?
- What happens every day? Does each professor have their own lab that works separately from other labs, or do professors work together in groups and share more equipment?
- What do you hear from faculty about:
- Job satisfaction
- Department politics
- Tenure issues
- Salaries
- What do you think about these issues?
- Whats a typical junior/senior course like?
- Whats a typical grad course like?
- What classes are hard? How much work do you have to do outside of class? Is there a lot of difference between the different parts of the same course?
- What courses do graduate students take besides the core ones? Do they take a lot of classes?
- How do you like having required core courses?
- Whats this statistics core course like from a student perspective?
- How big are the classes?
- When you teach, do you have time to do your own research?
- How much teaching does the average student do?
- Do you get trained?
- If so, how?
- Would there be interest in seminars to improve teaching methods?
- If you want to, can you become more involved in teaching?
- When you started here, how many of you had an MS?
- How many of you did research as an undergrad or as a technician?
- Do you feel like youre exposed to sufficient techniques here?
- Is there help to get training somewhere else if it’s not available here?
- Do you have enough computers/equipment to get your research done?
- What do you need that I could buy with my startup money to help people in the area?
- When you teach, do you still have time to do your research?
- Hows the food? Beer?
- People who graduated from your school tell you about their lives after you?
Faculty interview: overview of what to expect. #interview #faculty #jobinterview #phdlife #postdoc
FAQ
What do professors ask in research interview?
What are academic job interview questions?
Academic job interview questions share some similarities with conventional job interviews, while also differing in terms of the specific aspects they focus on for academics. Whether you’re seeking a postdoctoral position or a university lectureship role, it’s important to understand the nuances of these interviews.
What questions should you ask a researcher in a research interview?
The interviewer is likely to ask you specific, in-depth questions about how you perform your research, what tools you use, what criteria you use to select participants and how you collect your data. Several examples of in-depth questions to expect include: What are the six methodologies of qualitative research? How do you approach bias in research?
What does an academic researcher do?
The heart of an academic researcher’s job is to create and explore new research questions or projects. A prospective employer needs to understand how you approach this task, as it will provide insight into your critical thinking abilities, creativity, and command of the research process.
What questions do interviewers ask about qualitative research?
Since qualitative research encompasses a variety of data collection methods, the interviewer may ask you this question as a way to evaluate how your methodologies reflect the organization’s approaches to conducting ethical research. Use specific examples of the approaches you used in past jobs to collect your research data.
