Share Interview Questions You've Been Asked

[Therapist4Chnge]

It is really important to know if a program produces students who are clearly meant to be academics/heavily into research, as they will want to weed out the apps who aren't "all in". It is the best approach for both sides bc the training, goals, and career paths are quite different.

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[smalltownpsych]

This thread is so wonderful!

Thus far, the only question I've encountered that I wasn't at all expecting was "so what are you *not* looking for in a program?" It was a very clear detriment to me when I wasn't able to clearly articulate the atmosphere and types of experiences I was(n't) looking for.

Also, there has been more of an emphasis on what I specifically hope to do career-wise than I previously anticipated. I thought a fairly general idea (with a more specific *type* of career in mind) would suffice, but so far all POIs have pushed me further than that in their inquiries (not in a pushy "you must know now!" kind of way, just for more info). Just something to keep in mind

I have always hated interview questions that are asking for a negative. Maybe because I tend to be a glass half-full kind of person. Or maybe because the question is so broad in some ways. Also because the things that I might not like might be things that would be tolerable depending on degree. I find for myself the bet strategy to answering that question is just state in terms of the flip of my positives so it usually provides no new info but at least it sounds like an answer.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I've found carefully wording an honest answer to the "asking for a negative" question has produced good results. Acknowledging areas of weakness (or "future/further growth areas") is an important aspect of the training. I've talked about recognizing that I am not naturally an organized person, but I've learned to build organization and structure into my day to address this area of relative weakness. I think this approach demonstrates awareness/insight into my strengths/weaknesses and a willingness to make adjustments to meet changing needs. I also have worked really hard on my organizational skills, and I'm proud of the progress. It still isn't perfect and consistent across all areas, but now I'm able to introduce some of these approaches to my fellows and residents, as we ask a lot of them in regard to time, focus, and workload.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I've found carefully wording an honest answer to the "asking for a negative" question has produced good results. Acknowledging areas of weakness (or "future/further growth areas") is an important aspect of the training. I've talked about recognizing that I am not naturally an organized person, but I've learned to build organization and structure into my day to address this area of relative weakness. I think this approach demonstrates awareness/insight into my strengths/weaknesses and a willingness to make adjustments to meet changing needs. I also have worked really hard on my organizational skills, and I'm proud of the progress. It still isn't perfect and consistent across all areas, but now I'm able to introduce some of these approaches to my fellows and residents, as we ask a lot of them in regard to time, focus, and workload.

I was speaking more about when they ask what I wouldn't want from a prospective program. Expressing personal strengths and weaknesses and talking about how I am working on those areas of development are important. I also find it easier to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of past programs or experiences and believe that is more productive.

I have been asked the same question about "what would you not want in a program?" before and it always feels like a trick question because both parties have already agreed that there is a fit or we wouldn't be sitting in the office together. For instance if I said that I wouldn't want a program that had no neuropsych and they don't have one, why are we wasting our time? At internship interviews I could have said I wouldn't want a program where I don't get group experience or inpatient experience, but that would be sort of a dumb answer. The truth is that I only applied to APA internships that offered what I wanted and there was really no true answer to that question because all of them were programs that I would have been thrilled to be at. In fact, I might have even answered the question along those lines.

p.s. As I read through my response it made me realize another problem with the negative question. It leads to too many double negatives in the answer and I have experienced that in interviews before, too.

 

[EekVonBlergh]

@smalltownpsych I felt similarly when trying to answer that question. "Well, I'm not looking for a program that isn't APA accredited... I'm not looking for a program that doesn't conduct research on specific interest x...I'm not looking for a program that doesn't support empirically-based interventions and conduct applied research (the latter of which is already obvious with my research interest)" Really, the only thing I had that didn't seem glaringly obvious was that I wasn't looking for a very competitive program atmosphere (in the sense that the cohort is competing against each other, rather than collaborating).

I've since gone through and reread program manuals, which has given me some more insight into the differences between them all, but I still don't really like the question.

 

[smalltownpsych]

@smalltownpsych I felt similarly when trying to answer that question. "Well, I'm not looking for a program that isn't APA accredited... I'm not looking for a program that doesn't conduct research on specific interest x...I'm not looking for a program that doesn't support empirically-based interventions and conduct applied research (the latter of which is already obvious with my research interest)" Really, the only thing I had that didn't seem glaringly obvious was that I wasn't looking for a very competitive program atmosphere (in the sense that the cohort is competing against each other, rather than collaborating).

I've since gone through and reread program manuals, which has given me some more insight into the differences between them all, but I still don't really like the question.

See. More double-negatives. Not-doesn't, not-isn't. lol
Since my mom was a journalist and grammar Nazi, when I start answering questions like that then I start getting anxious about my grammar.

 

[CleverUsername15]

.

 

[bostongal109]

I got some doozies this week, but one was "if you had to pick your dissertation topic today, what would it be, how would you design it, and what are the limitations of that"

 

[CleverUsername15]

I got some doozies this week, but one was "if you had to pick your dissertation topic today, what would it be, how would you design it, and what are the limitations of that"

Ooof

 

[mcvcm92]

I got some doozies this week, but one was "if you had to pick your dissertation topic today, what would it be, how would you design it, and what are the limitations of that"

I also got this question back when I applied

 

[bostongal109]

I also got this question back when I applied

Yea, I had a list of dissertation ideas I had a prepared, but when it was "ok, that first one you said, explain it in two minutes" type thing was super stressful, haha. But maybe that's the idea. My brain pulled out research methods terms I hadn't heard in 10 years. It was like a word salad of stats class.

 

[SharkBait13]

I've only been to one interview so far, but I have a few lined up this month, so I will have more input later. Here's what I have so far:

Three of us interviewees were asked to design a study investigating a subject that was a mixture of our three individual research interests.

In a different group interview we were asked what we would do as a clinician when we had a patient exhibiting ____behaviors, and these again were relatable to our previous experiences.

In the last group interview, we were asked who our favorite counseling psychologist was. Since I was on the spot and didn't know any famous counseling psychologists, I pointed at my POI, who happened to be conducting that interview (HAH!). I explained and said I felt his work was really relevant today, so hopefully it didn't come off as suck-up-y.

The trickiest question I got was the following: "What should a counseling psychology program do with a current student who refuses to see a specific minority group due to religious reasons?"

 

[CogNeuroGuy]

Ok, so we have seen questions posted by the adcom to students, but what about compiling a list of questions that students could potentially ask an adcom? I see that most range from standard to clearly original/outlandish/analytical, so why not the same for them?

Here is a mock up of some ideas I had, what do you think?

What would you say the best quality of this program is?

If allowed to attend your program, how will the faculty prepare me to be a competitive clinician?

If the school had to choose one person for the doctoral program, who would they be: An outgoing person, a loner, or a pragmatist?

What would you say the weakest aspect of this program is, and why?

 

[Peeweefirebrand]

What's your favorite book you've read recently?
What scares you the most about grad school?
What makes you nervous or afraid (in general)? Follow up: How do you deal with it?
What gets you on a soapbox?
If you couldn't be a clinical psychologist, what would you do instead?
What three words would you use to describe yourself (in general, not related to research or as a student)?
What is your karaoke song?

 

[Nahsil]

What's your favorite book you've read recently?
What scares you the most about grad school?
What makes you nervous or afraid (in general)? Follow up: How do you deal with it?
What gets you on a soapbox?
If you couldn't be a clinical psychologist, what would you do instead?
What three words would you use to describe yourself (in general, not related to research or as a student)?
What is your karaoke song?

Sounds like a fun program

 

[Chalupacabra]

- What five qualities do you think are most important to be an effective psychologist?
- What would be your biggest criticism of current practices in the field? What/how would you like to see that change?

 

[SharkBait13]

Here's my least favorite question I got during my interviews:

"Tell me about a time when you went beyond the literature and your coursework, and connected the dots and had an 'aha' moment?"

After asking for them to repeat, they rephrased the question as: "Tell me how your brain works"