Interview skills: academic and competency based interviews

Audience: PG research

Date: Tuesday 4 March 2025

Times: 11.00 to 12.30

Programme: GRADskills

Target audience

Research postgraduate students from any discipline, applying for any role.

Course mapped to

Vitae's Researcher Development Framework domains: B3 (Professional and career developoment)

Course information

PLEASE NOTE: If you are no longer able to attend, please cancel your place at least two working days before so that we can allow others onto the course.

Description: This session is designed for PhD and PGR students who are or will be in the process of submitting applications to vacancies for after their PhD. Delivered by the University of St Andrews Careers Centre, the aim of the session is to provide an overview of preparing for an interview having been shortlisted following an initial application, covering both interviews for academic vacancies as well as non-academic roles. Open to primarily penultimate and final year PhD students from any degree discipline, but all PhD students welcome.

Audience: PG Research

Participant feedback from AY 23/24:

“It provides details on the structures of interviews, possible questions and good/bad answers.”

“The Q&A section, and the STAR model for answering questions.”

Aims and objectives

By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

• Understand the importance of interview preparation.
• Compare the differing focus between academic and competency-based lines of questioning.
• Become familiar with the STAR technique when applied to competency-based questioning.
• Practise preparing concise, effective answers to some possible interview questions.
• Enable you to feel more confident with your approach to interviews in future.

Tutors

Dr Philip Ireland

Dr Julie McLellan

Course provider

IELLI
Email: ielli@st-andrews.ac.uk