Killer questions at science job interviews and how to ace them

Preparing for a scientific job interview? Knowing in advance the types of questions that recruiters love to ask can give you a considerable edge, and can buy you time to work on your answers. In this article, we’ll look at some of the favourite or most revealing questions that are used by hiring managers. These data were gleaned from Nature’s 2024 global survey of more than 1,100 laboratory heads and research leaders from academia, industry and other sectors.

The questions listed below are designed to probe your technical knowledge, interest in a given research field, future ambitions and how you manage conflicts with colleagues or other challenges. By understanding these four question types — and the curveball questions you might also get — you’ll be better equipped to showcase your expertise and passion for science.

Technical knowledge or experience

Typical questions

• Tell me about one of your recent research projects.

• How would you tackle this [specific research question], and how does your background support your approach?

Why they are asked. Most applicants will expect to answer interview questions about their research and experience. According to hirers who responded to the survey, these can be great starter questions to allow candidates to settle into the interview before facing something more challenging. Such questions provide insights into the applicant’s problem-solving ability, and they also allow the interviewer to gauge someone’s communication and presentation skills when speaking about something they should know well.

Worth remembering. Hirers often spring technical questions on applicants to unmask anyone who might have exaggerated their skills. Tulio de Oliveira, who heads the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, says asking technical questions helps him “separate who will be good at the job” from who is simply “good at doing interviews”. One engineer working in industry in France said that they like to use questions that are premised on ‘false’ or incorrect information. “If the candidate answers it like they know about it, I remove them from the shortlist of potential hires.”

Curveball questions

• “I ask a basic maths question. You’d be surprised how often people can’t answer them.” — Academic group leader in the biological sciences in the United Kingdom.

• “Tell me a story about your best project so far, in five minutes.” — Associate professor in the biological sciences in Sweden.

Interest in the team or field

Typical questions

• What aspects of our group’s research do you find especially interesting, and why?

• What do you think has been the most important discovery in our field in the past five years?

Why they are asked. Hirers like to see evidence that candidates have done their homework before an interview. Questions about the hiring lab are a way to test this, and they also help interviewers to understand applicants’ motivations — whether their chief desire is to find any job, or whether it’s this particular job that interests them.

Worth remembering. Be prepared to talk about research that isn’t your own. Which study you choose might not matter as much as having something to say and how you talk about it. Glenn Geher, a psychology researcher at the State University of New York at New Paltz, says that if a candidate hesitates when asked to talk about other people’s work, they might be driven mainly by external rewards, seeing research as ”almost a chore needed to achieve certain outcomes like a degree or tenure”. But if the candidate “excitedly describes an interesting additional line of research”, their motivation is probably more intrinsic, he says.

Curveball questions

• “Having read our recent paper on [topic], what would you do next?” — Professor of medical science in Ireland.

• “Describe the thing that you are best at that you think would be a key contribution to our team.” — Research-group head in the biological sciences at a non-governmental organization in the United States.

Tackling challenges and conflicts

Typical questions

• Describe a situation in which you faced a major challenge at work and explain how you solved it.

• How would you handle a conflict with a colleague?

Why they are asked. Interviewers ask about coping with failure to evaluate candidates’ levels of self-awareness and to gauge their conflict-resolving skills. Questions can be about something that actually happened, or can focus on a hypothetical scenario; it’s worth preparing for both of these possibilities.

Worth remembering. Interviewers will be looking for evidence of introspection and learning, so bear that in mind when choosing which experiences to share. “Anyone with experience as an academic should be able to tell you multiple stories about things not going exactly according to plan,” says Geher. Candidates’ answers can reveal whether they are prepared to take responsibility for problems that emerged, or prefer to shift the blame to others, he says. “If they show signs that they genuinely know that they have a lot to learn — and welcome this fact — that is usually a good sign.” One programme manager in medical research reported giving candidates a ‘prioritization’ challenge, where the applicant must list a number of tasks in the order in which they’d choose to tackle them. One task involves a staff member wanting a five-minute private chat about a personal matter. “We prefer candidates that rank this first, as it demonstrates their humanity.”

Curveball questions

• “Research has its ups and downs; what skills do you have that will enable you to get through the tough days?” — Chemistry professor, country unknown.

• “How would you manage work-related burn-out and health?” — Pharmaceutical lab head in Saudi Arabia.

Future ambitions and goals

Typical questions

• Can you describe your career aspirations for the next five years?

• How does this role align with your long-term goals?”

Why they are asked. Given that many science jobs are short-term contracts, hirers often want to know what your plans are for when the job ends. For longer-term positions, such as tenure track or equivalent roles, these questions help recruiters to assess what you will bring to a broad department or division. Such questions also test whether candidates understand the demands of a scientific career. One principal investigator who responded to the survey said that the ability to chart a realistic course for career development is one of the skills that candidates nowadays most commonly lack, adding: “Grad school does not teach this.”

Worth remembering. For short-term positions, there’s nothing wrong with seeing a job as a stepping stone, but make sure that you still explain how your experience and skills will contribute to the team’s success. Several hirers reported that they prefer candidates who express a long-term interest in their research area. That said, although clear long-term career visions might impress recruiters, it’s usually better to be honest if there are aspects of your future that you are unsure about. “It is easy to identify someone who’s not being honest when answering, and I personally prefer the ones that don’t shy away when saying that they don’t know something,” one astronomer working in academia in Chile said.

Curveball questions

• “If funding were unlimited, what research problem would you like to tackle?” — Biological sciences lab leader in the United States.

• “What is your plan if you are not employed in our organization?” — Academic medical researcher in Iran.