1. Interviewing – The Do’s and Don’ts for Job Interviews

2. #1 Most Common Interview Question: Tell Me About Yourself Purpose: The employer wants to find out more about you. This is a great question to start the interview process. The interviewer wants to get a sense of who you first. They will see your personality through this question. What the employer is looking for: Professionalism, Whether the person is “well-rounded”, certain personality traits – extroverted, introverted, relaxed, nervous, etc. How You should answer: Always keep the answer in a professional capacity – where you studied in university, your internship/volunteer experience, why you chose to pursue a PhD, and what you do for fun as the last point

3. Most Common Interview Questions: What made you choose to pursue a PhD? Purpose: The employer wants to know the reason you pursued a PhD. They want to see if the person has passion for he/she is studying. Answer: “I found that I really liked the independent and self-directed nature of the work. Taking ownership of a project and driving it forward was really appealing to me.

4. Most Common Interview Questions: Tell me about the PhD project you’re currently working on. Purpose: The employer is looking for specific skills you have applied while working on your project. They want you to tell them how you applied these skills / knowledge you’ve gained and how you can apply these skills to the new role Accomplishments Challenges you faced, and how you resolved them – problem solving skills Creativity Managing large quantity of new information Being a quick learner Leadership qualities While the technical work is important, the employer is looking for the above “soft” skills.

5. Most Common Interview Questions: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years? Purpose: The employer wants to see whether your career goals matches with the company’s goals. Does the person want to grow within the organization? Do they want to grow and expand the existing role? Has the person thought about their own future?

6. Most Common Interview Questions: Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses Purpose: The employer wants to see the strengths the candidate mentions matches to the skills the role requires (in job description). Example: If the job description asks for strong interpersonal skills – it is very important to mention how you demonstrated this skill as your answer. Tip: Not linking your strength to a skill the job requires creates a weaker answer Tip: Back up your strengths with examples

7. Most Common Interview Questions: Job Profile: 1.Superior scientific profile preferred (MD, PhD in natural sciences, PharmD) 2.Relevant therapeutic and clinical experience preferred 3.Minimum one year of MSL or industry related experience preferred 4.Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to network 5.Effective communication and presentation skills 6.Ability to clearly articulate complex scientific and clinical data in 1:1 group settings 7.Business acumen with a basic understanding of pharmaceutical industry and healthcare arena 8.Ability to take initiative and work independently an in a team environment 9.Strong multi-tasking, time management, and organizational skills 10.Focus on delivering customer value and impact

8. Most Common Interview Questions: Job Profile: 1.Superior scientific profile preferred (MD, PhD in natural sciences, PharmD) 2.Relevant therapeutic and clinical experience preferred 3.Minimum one year of MSL or industry related experience preferred 4.Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to network 5.Effective communication and presentation skills 6.Ability to clearly articulate complex scientific and clinical data in 1:1 group settings 7.Business acumen with a basic understanding of pharmaceutical industry and healthcare arena 8.Ability to take initiative and work independently an in a team environment 9.Strong multi-tasking, time management, and organizational skills 10.Focus on delivering customer value and impact

9. Most Common Interview Questions: Tell me about your weaknesses Purpose: The employer also wants to know if you will be extremely honest with your weakness, so honest that it will actually cost you from getting the job. Tip: Be very careful about how you answer this as the employer is looking for ways to eliminate you. Keep in mind that the employer is afraid of hiring the wrong person.

10. Most Common Interview Questions: Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses Example - strength: One of my strengths is my interpersonal and communication skills. As an example, I’ve presented my work at numerous external conferences which has given me experience speaking in front of large groups. Always back up your strength with an example Example - weakness: I would have to say sometimes I lack the patience to achieve results, in the sense that I want to succeed immediately at everything I do. This was especially true when I started my PhD, and as any grad student knows, science is very humbling. Tell the interviewer how you are working on improving your weakness

11. Most Common Interview Questions: Tell me about a time when you had to persuade someone at school or work Purpose: The employer wants to see whether you are able to influence others with your knowledge and experience. That you don’t just agree, but also are able to voice your opinions and contribute in a constructive way to the organization, without being forceful or rude.

12. Most Common Interview Questions: What are some of your leadership experiences? Purpose: The employer wants to see whether you are able to take initiative. Even if you have never led any projects, etc, you can definitely mentioned times when you took initiative to get things done.

13. Most Common Interview Questions: Tell me about a time when you made a mistake Purpose: Everyone makes mistakes. What the employer really wants to know is not so much the mistake, but how you resolved it and bounced back from the mistake. Example: About a year ago I was doing some imaging for a collaborator, and we had got some data that they were getting ready to include in a publication. As I was reviewing my lab notebook, I noticed that I had imaged different proteins in the sample at different camera settings for some reason. I couldn’t remember why I did that in the moment but I knew it would call into question some of the findings. Instead of just letting it go, I insisted on repeating the experiment to make sure it was done right. It delayed the publication a little bit, but I felt it was the right thing to do to represent myself, my colleagues and my university with integrity.

14. Most Common Interview Questions: Why do you want to work for our company? Purpose: The employer wants to see whether you’ve researched about the company and that are genuinely interested in working for them. Tip: Make sure you do a large amount of research on the company – company updates, accomplishments, etc. and mention them in your answer.

15. Most Common Interview Questions: Why do you want to work for our company? Purpose: The employer wants to see whether you’ve researched about the company and that are genuinely interested in working for them. Tip: Make sure you do a large amount of research on the company – company updates, accomplishments, etc. and mention them in your answer.

16. Most Common Interview Questions: Why should we hire you? Purpose: This question usually comes near the end of the interview. The employer is giving you an opportunity to tell them anything you may want to say and may have missed. Tip: Talk about how your strengths, skills and experiences match what they’re looking for.

17. Most Common Interview Questions: What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? Purpose: To see that you are willing to grow both personally and professionally and that you are comfortable with change and you know how to adapt. Tip: Talk about the risk you’ve taken, but also what you’ve learned from the experience.

18. Most Common Interview Questions: Do you have any questions for me? Purpose: To see whether you have done research on the company and how interested you are in working for the company. Tip: Always come up with 1-2 questions prior to the interview that you want to ask. Tip: What not to ask: salary, over-time. Tip: What to ask; questions that show you want to learn more about the company’s projects and accomplishments or responsibilities regarding the role.

19. Most Common Interview Questions: Additional Tips 1.Always practice your answers ahead of time – minimize “um” 2.Bring multiple copies of you resume 3.Firm handshake 4.Never answer with just a “yes” or “no”. Always elaborate 5.Always follow up the interview with a thank-you note and emphasize 2-3 reasons why you are the best candidate for the job 6.If you don’t understand the question – never be afraid to ask the interviewer to repeat 7.Take a moment to think before answering the question. Don’t go off-topic 8.Research more interview questions – prepare, prepare, prepare.

20. Questions? Contact Info: Stacey He E: stacey@staceyhe.comstacey@staceyhe.com Interviewing – The Do’s and Don’ts for Job Interviews