Scientific Phone Interview 101

Chemjobber has a post today asking for advice to improve success during phone interviews for scientific positions. As someone who's had to dip a toe in the interview stream several times in the past 5 years (and now routinely conducts phone interviews to fill openings in my department), I have some tips to add to CJ's arsenal:

1. (1 week prior) - Prepare.

• As CJ points out, know who you'll be speaking with, and a rough idea of their backgrounds. Any public source is fair game: LinkedIn, SciFinder, Mendeley, etc. Bonus: If the lead interviewer has recently published something germane to the position, download the paper and see if you can piece together what they were trying to do.

• Learn something about the company. Small, large? Private, public? Start-up? About how many people? Where do you fit in?

• Can you prove you're the candidate for the job, sight unseen? Break down the job description into chunks, and match with your skills. This may sound hokey, but literally grab a sheet of paper, divide into two columns "What they want"  |  "What I have" and begin filling them in. Gaps? Be sure to explain how you'll address them.

• If you don't have one, now's a great time to write up a Research Summary. Don't know how? It's easy! Condense each project you've worked on into one (1) synthetic scheme or graphic, with a plain-language description of no more than 2-3 sentences below. What were we trying to achieve? How did we do it? What did we learn?

2. (the night before) - Review.

• Go over the information from Step 1.

• Make sure you know your own CV / resume. Again, this sounds silly, but the recruiter may ask about anything you've listed, including something you don't think matters for the position in question: "Why did you choose that particular school? In Chem 257, did you happen to cover [my favorite reaction]? Tell me more about that volunteer gig from 5 years ago." 

• Eat a good meal, get some sleep. In the morning, get ready as if you were attending an on-site interview. Say some lines to yourself in the mirror: "Hi, I'm Casey Smith, from Big State University. I'm really excited for this opportunity." Practice answering a few standard questions for yourself: Where do you want to be in five years? What do you know about the job or company? How have your skills and coursework prepared you to take this job?

3. (10 minutes before) - Relax.

• Briefly review the Step 1 materials. By this point, they should be condensed into a short crib sheet.

• Print out your CV / resume, so you can write things in the margins and understand what the interview team is looking at during the call.

• Have a glass of water, clear your throat. Walk around or pace if it makes you feel better.

• Be prepared to receive the call from 5 minutes early to 5 minutes late. Phone connections are tricky things, so be prepared in case you cut out (or the interviewer does). If you do not hear from them, be prepared to send an email that apologizes and requests a follow-up in the next 1-2 days.

4. (during) - Present.

• Phone interviews are increasingly conducted "by committee;" don't be surprised if you end up on a conference line with 4 people. It's considered polite for the hiring company to introduce the call by introducing the people in the room and reiterating (briefly) the job description.

• Politeness always. Please and thank you go a long way.

• You should at this point know how to answer 80% of the questions your interviewer will ask, because you've already answered them for yourself. Experience? CV. Where you want to be in 5 years? Gap analysis - see Step 1. What you've done? Research Summary.

• Take shorthand notes off to one side, because at some point, they'll ask if you have any questions. You MUST have at least one question! This shows interest in the position and a willingness to engage the speaker. 

• Unless...your question is about an "HR" issue: pay, vacation, benefits, etc. Don't ask about these; you'll have a chance during the on-site.

• Always send a thank-you email to acknowledge the interviewers' time and preparation, and be prepared for them to ask for further information.

That's it. Good luck!

Interview: Prof. Eric Schelter, University of Pennsylvania

(A few weeks back, I posted about rare earth chemistry, and how insufficient domestic supply may hurt new-tech industries in the US.  Prof. Eric Schelter, a Professor of Inorganic and Materials Chemistry, graciously spoke with me about his research) 

SAO: How did you become interested in inorganic / organometallic chemistry, and rare earth / actinide chemistry specifically?

ES: I became interested in inorganic chemistry through interaction with my excellent undergrad mentor, Prof. Rudy Luck at Michigan Tech. Rudy set me up with a synthetic project on a dihydrogen complex of rhenium. This experience was quite formative as Rudy also got me interested in Texas A&M for grad school (he was a postdoc at TAMU). Also, the exposure to dihydrogen complexes introduced me to Los Alamos National Laboratory through the work of Greg Kubas.



In grad school at TAMU I did more synthesis and worked on electronic structure with Kim Dunbar. Working with Kim and her group was a great experience to learn X-ray crystallography, magnetism and electrochemistry. I had an interest in working with actinides so I pursued the LANL postdoc where I learned some uranium and thorium chemistry with Jackie Kiplinger and lanthanide chemistry with Kevin John. My interests in magnetism and f-block chemistry dovetailed nicely for starting my independent career in rare earths and energy science at Penn.







Prof. Eric Schelter (credit: UPenn)



SAO: We've read in National Geographic and Discover about rare earth usage in smartphones, hybrid cars, and military applications.  Can you give examples of other industries that rely heavily on these metals? 





ES: In general, rare earth magnetic materials are very important in many industries. Rare earth (RE) permanent magnets, primarily NdFeB, are used in the wind energy industry in large capacity turbine generators. The permanent magnets are also used in hard drives. Fluorescent lighting depends on phosphor materials that contain REs, especially europium and terbium. Neodymium is also used is lasers. Lanthanum and cerium are important catalysts in FCC [Fluid catalytic cracking] petroleum refining. Erbium is used in amplifiers for fiber optic communication. Yttrium is a critical component of high temperature superconducting materials. Gadolinium has an important use in medicine as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging. This is by no means an exhaustive list.



SAO: Given the supply problem (the US currently does not produce enough rare earths for domestic industry), what is our long-term strategy to obtain more? Do we have a reserve, like the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that we can operate from?  Or will new mining and separation techniques be the answer?

ES: There is currently no comprehensive long term strategy to address the US supply crisis and no strategic reserve of REs. A single supplier (Molycorp) of REs exists in the US, but rare earths are not rare - there are reserves of light and heavy rare earths in many places in the lower 48 [states] and in Alaska. There is a great opportunity here for scientists to help meet an important need by improving methods of obtaining pure RE materials.

SAO: How does your research address the rare earth supply problem?

ES: Much of the cost, time, and energy in obtaining rare earths is concentrated at the separations stage. We're working on new separations chemistry from several angles. In work sponsored by the DOE we're developing a new extractant strategy for use in liquid-liquid separations. We expect to contribute to a renewed domestic supply chain by targeting certain high value REs and improving the efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of their separations. We are also exploring fundamental redox chemistry of REs for application to separations.

SAO: Tell me something fun about yourself, your research, or your group.

ES: I am a complete /Lord of the Rings /enthusiast (freak) and am anxiously awaiting the film release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (SAO: Me too!)



Wow, much thanks to Prof. Eric Schelter for his preparation and willingness to be interviewed. Readers, if you (or someone you know) on the cutting-edge of chemistry would like to be interviewed, simply leave a comment here or contact me at seearroh_at_gmail.com

Update (8/11, 8:45AM): Carmen & CEN YouTube Channel recently covered Eric's chemistry