It can now be quite difficult to get places and especially funding for the most popular postgraduate courses and research places. Increasingly, you need to make a good quality application and attend an interview.
Although many of the techniques are the same as those used in job applications and interviews, there are some major differences. This section will outline these and give you tips on how to improve your chances.
Personal qualities such as the ability to work independently and to have creative ideas may be looked for much more on the research side. In science, good practical laboratory skills may be important.
For all PhD's, resilience is an important quality as one's patience may be sorely tested when experiments or research does not work out as planned and has to be done again.
Make sure that you check departments carefully. Try to talk to students and ex - students. A University should be happy to allow you to do this - if not, then you may have cause for concern. Check especially carefully on small or new departments where facilities may sometimes be rather basic.
Try to find out about your supervisor and whether you get on with them on a personal level - if there is a personality clash it can make it very difficult, if not impossible to do your research effectively
Explain your motivation and goals. Write about any projects dissertations or extended essays you have done if they are relevant or demonstrate relevant skills. Mention any prizes you have won, also travel or study abroad and relevant employment. Describe anything that shows creativity, dependability or independence.
Explain any chronological gaps in your study and give reasons for any poor performance in academic study if you have them. Honesty will make you seem more human.
Academic interviews are usually less formal than job interviews. They may be casual and more like a relaxed chat, but occasionally you might get a grilling on your subject knowledge.
Interviews for vocational courses are likely to be more formal than interviews for research. There are many similarities to job interviews such as the need to prepare well, to show enthusiasm and to ask appropriate questions. You may just be asked questions as you are shown round the department. Remember that academics may not be trained interviewers, so be aware that you may occasionally have to take the initiative.
Sometimes you won't even be interviewed - just given an offer on the basis of your application and references. If so, do make sure that you visit the department to make certain that you would be happy there.
Academic references are likely to be even more important than for job interviews, so choose your referees carefully. It is both wise and polite to brief your referee on your application and to notify them of any particular aspects of your background you think they should know about.
Smart casual dress is usually acceptable for academic interviews, but business studies departments might expect more formality than art and design departments. For vocational courses such as teaching, you will probably be expected to dress in exactly the same way as for a job interview. Interviews for research are likely to require less formal dress, but dress smartly if in doubt - you will never prejudice your chances by doing this.
Avoid simple "yes" or "no" answers - if you are asked a closed question, such as "Have you enjoyed your course?", open it up. Don't confine yourself to very brief answers - the interviewer will expect you to be able to talk fluently, but watch for signs of encouragement or impatience.
Be polite, but don't be afraid to enter into discussion and to stand your ground. Some interviewers will deliberately challenge your replies to see if you can stand up for yourself and argue your point effectively.
Work out work out in advance rough answers to the following questions:
Try to ask at least one and preferably more than one question in the interview as this will indicate enthusiasm and interest. Prospectuses are frequently lacking in detail and there may be questions that you must ask in order to have the information necessary to reach a decision.
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"I was asked what types of techniques I was familiar with and about my research - how I went about it and how I organised myself".
Kent student applying for biomedical science post |
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