AdditionalInterviewQuestions(usedforlaboratorypositions)

Introduction
Givejobdescriptionbeforeinterview
Havecandidatecompleteapplication(ifinitiallysubmittedresumeonly)
Introducecommittee
Describecampus,lab,typeofresearch,researchteam,.Explainreporting
structurewithintheunit.Tellwhypositionisavailable.
SpecificQuestionsset#1:

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Describeyourfieldexperience:sampletypecollected,sampling
techniques,fieldmeasurementstakenandequipmentused.
PleasedescribeyourexperiencewithanalyticalchemistryDoyou
haveexperiencewithorganicextractionsand/orsedimentortissue
digestions?
Doyouknowwhattracemetalcleantechniqueis?Pleasedescribe.
Pleasedescribeyourexperiencewithand/orknowledgeofQuality
AssuranceandQualityControlAnalyses.
Describeyourexperiencewithanalyticalinstrumentation.
Haveyoudevelopedorassistedwiththedevelopmentoflabor
samplingprocedures?Pleasedescribebriefly.
Describeyourcomputerapplicationsexperience,specificallywith
regardstowordprocessing,textediting,emailanddatamanagement
withtheuseofspreadsheetsanddatabases.Whatprogramshaveyou
usedandinwhatcapacity?
Haveyouhadajobwhereyouhadtomeetstrictdeadlines?What
percentageofthosedeadlineswereyouabletomeet?Whatwerethe
contributingfactorsinthemnotbeingmet?
Whatdoyouconsiderwhenorganizingyourwork?
Describeapastsituationinwhichyouworkedasamemberofateam?
Whatwasyourroleintheteam
Withrespecttoyourinterpersonalskills,describethenatureand
frequencyofinteractionsinyourpreviouspositionsandwithwhom
youinteracted.

Howwouldyousolveanypersonalconflictswithcoworkers?
Ouranalysesaresubjecttoagreatdealofscrutinybyregulators,
discharges,andspecialinterestgroups.Someofourdatahavebeen
subpoenaedandusedincourtcases.Ourdataarealsopublishedin
scientificjournals.Therefore,itisveryimportanttousthatallaspects
oftheanalysesarecarefullyandextensivelydocumentedsuchthatthe
datawillwithstandexternalreview.Thisrequiresagreatdealofcare
andattentiontodetails.Haveyoubeeninvolvedinanyworksimilar
tothisorarethereanyskillsthatshowyourabilitiestoworkinthis
field?
OurworkinvolvesgoingontwocruisesinSanFranciscoBayeach
year.Eachcruiseisforapproximatelytwoweeks,typicallyleaving
SantaCruzonSundayeveningandreturningtoSantaCruzonthe
followingThursdayeveningfortheweekend,thegoingbackforthree
moredaysthenextSunday.Workdaysontheboatduringthe
samplingtripstartveryearlyinthemorningandaretypically10to12
hours.Theeveningsarespentinmotelswithtwoindividualsper
room.Thereisheavyequipmentthatneedstobecarriedtoandfrom
theboat.Sometimestheweatherconditionsandoceanconditionsare
rough.Also,spaceontheboatislimited.Doanyoftheseworking
conditionsrepresentaproblemtoyou?
We'vegoneovertheessentialfunctionsandexpectationsforthis
position,withorwithoutemploymentaccommodation;doyou
perceiveofanydifficultiesmeetingtheseexpectations?(I.e.,Canyou
maneuverobjectsweighing40lbs.fromthedocktotheboat?Can
youusehandtoolstomakesimplerepairs/adjustmentstothe
equipment?

SpecificQuestionsset#2:
Describeyourpreviousjobexperiencerelevanttothisposition
Describeexperiencewiththefollowingtechniques:
iodinatingproteins
cellcultures
RNAisolationandmeasurements
proteinassays
histology

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runningradioimmunoassaysandradioreceptorassays
fixing,embeddingandsectioningtissuesamplesforregularhistologyand
immunocytochemistry
Describeexperiencehandlinglaboratoryratsandmice:
assistingwithsurgicalprocedures
injecting
sacrificing
collectingtissue
Thisjobrequiresworkingwithradioisotopesandcarcinogens.Please
describeyourexperienceworkingwiththese,andthemethodsusedfor
safehandling.Doesworkingwiththesepresentanydifficultiesforyou?
Muchofthisworkisdoneindependentlyinaroomawayfromthemain
labandyouwouldbeworkingaloneforseveralhours.Canyougivean
exampleofworkinginthistypeofenvironmentandwhetherornotthis
wouldpresentanydifficulties?
Giveanexampleortwoofthetypesofrepetitivetasksyou'vehadto
perform,howoftenyouperformedthemandhowyouensuredahigh
levelofaccuracywhiledoingrepetitivetasks.
Describethelevelofsupervisionyou'vereceivedinthepastandthetype
ofworkyoudidindependently.
Canyoudescribeasituationyou'veencounteredindealingwithconflict
intheworkplace?Howdidyouhandletheconflict?
Canyougiveanexampleofachangeinprocedures,orprioritiesyouhad
tomake?
Pleasedescribeyourexperiencewithlabnotes,howaccuratetheyneeded
tobeandwheattheramificationswereifnotaccurate.
Thelabhasapproximatelyadozenpeopleworkingondifferentresearch
projects.Frequentlyequipmentusageneedstobecoordinatedwithother
labmembers.Canyougiveanexampleofworkingasateammemberin
alargegroup?

Closing
Askforreferences
Whatistheiravailabilityifofferedthejob?
Askifcandidatewouldliketoaddanythingoraskanyquestions.
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 Explaintimeframefortheremainderoftherecruitmentprocess.
Discussthedesignatedscheduleforthisposition.
Discussanyfundingissuesofthisposition(softfunded,enddate,etc).

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