Quote From Batfink27:
Before I had interviews for PhD positions, my old supervisor from my Masters degree told me that there are usually two types of PhD candidates who can be successful at interview. One is someone who is absolutely perfect for the position - their previous experience, knowledge and interests all match the research project so perfectly that it seems to have been written just for them. My supervisor said this candidate is extremely unusual, but if they turn up at an interview nobody else stands a chance, however well they do in the interview. The second type, he said, is much more common - someone whose experience, interest and knowledge can be adapted to suit the research project. These candidates, he said, can all be good in the PhD role, and it just comes down to who seems to be most adaptable and who seems to connect at the interview. I don't know if you'll find that as useful a thought as I did - for me, it took away the anxiety about not being the perfect candidate, and made me think about what it is that makes me adaptable and able to connect with the work being done by the supervisors. I was nervous before my interviews too, but I think if you can find a way to relax so that your adaptability and your ability to connect with the interviewers comes through then it will all be much easier.
I also found out all I could about the research interests of the interviewers - went away and read 3 or 4 of their most recent papers to get a feel for their approach - and that was really helpful. Both of the interviews I had (2 different universities, and I was offered both PhDs) focused on the work I'd done for my dissertation for my Masters, how that could relate to the advertised project (at one of the universities) and where I thought this could be further developed (at the other university), and more general discussion about approaches to research and the general issue that my subject area looks at.
Hope that helps!
Thanks a lot for the time taken to write that out, it's much appreciated and very helpful!!
