Research Assistant Interview Experience at The University of Cambridge | Questions, panel & thoughts

My Research Assistant (in Genetics and Stem Cells) Interview Experience at The University of Cambridge 👩🏻‍🔬🎙
Hi everyone 👋🏻 I'm back with another RA video! This time talking specifically about my interview process, questions asked, what the interview panel was like and my general thoughts/feelings at the time. I've previously made a video on how to prepare for an interview, if you're interested you can check it out here: • How to Prepare for a R...
Time Stamps ⏳
00:00 - Intro
00:40 - Interview invite
01:28 - Panel of interviewers
01:51 - Always note down job descriptions!
02:43 - Time, length & structure
03:50 - Interview Part 1 (knowledge-based)
06:51 - Interview Part 2 (experience & general)
08:54 - Immediate thoughts after the interview
10:03 - Interview outcome
10:16 - My personal advice
🎥 Related videos:
My Journey to Becoming a Research Assistant - • My Journey to Becoming...
How to Prepare for an RA interview - • How to Prepare for a R...
How to write a CV - • How to Write a CV for ...
How to write a Cover Letter - • How to Write a Cover L...
Cambridge Research vlogs (Playlist) - • Realistic Day in the L...
Music 🎶
Music by Public Library Commute - With Somebody - thmatc.co/?l=1BFB98E8
👩🏻‍🔬 About me:
Hello 👋 My name's Vy and I make videos about pursuing an education and career in Biomedical Science 🔬 I'm currently working as a Research Assistant in Cambridge and studied Biomedical Science in the UK 🇬🇧 Outside of science, I really enjoy all things creative arts 🎨 This channel is also a place for me to document the little joys in my every day life and my travel adventures 🌎
💻 Socials:
Instagram - @biomedwithvy biomedwithvy?ig...
This video was entirely filmed and edited on my phone.

[@jochen_cr]

Very informative video! I'll keep the points you made in my mind when I'll apply for a job once I have my degree. So thank you Vy! :)

[@biomedwithvy]

Glad you found it helpful! 😊

[@goodgiaooo]

thank you Vy～Your videos are very helpful for me🎉

[@biomedwithvy]

Happy to help 🤗

[@nomeayano7757]

I felt for you so much when you mentioned you didn't remember the job description! After a couple applications for Cambridge positions, it finally dawned on me to start saving the text of the postings, but I was very close to finding myself in your exact situation! I still had a moment of panic when HR messaged me and I couldn't initially tell which job I heard back about. Your video made me feel very validated 🖤

[@biomedwithvy]

Hahaha omg it’s comforting to know I wasn’t the only one 😂😂 but so glad you didn’t end up losing the job posting as I did hahaaa

[@nomeayano7757]

@@biomedwithvy Definitely not, haha. I have an interview tomorrow, wish me luck. 😅

[@chatty_homebody]

Great video! As an international student, it's difficult to get a bio-med related job or even find information about getting a job in the uk. Thanks for making the video! I'm applying RA jobs as well so fingers crossed something works out soon 🤞

[@biomedwithvy]

Absolutely! Job applications get real tough but I hope you land a role you'll flourish in!

[@LoveIslam100]

Thanks a lot! ❤❤❤

[@ataelbizanti9998]

omg thank you for this! right on time!!!! I just got an invitation to interview at university of Cambridge at one of the labs (Neuroscience/ clinical biochemistry) and I immediately ran to your channel to re-watch your old video on how to prepare for an RA interview. I'm so excited for this interview and the lab emphasised that they're looking for someone whom they can train and teach new techniques for but I am so worried I will mess this up bc of my anxiety during interviews. idk why when I get anxious my brain forgets everything, even how to form sentences? I suddenly find it difficult to articulate my thoughts clearly and it makes me less concise and to the point so I start rambling trying to make sure I gave them the answer they wanted, which makes me look unconfident and like I'm winging it. Do you have any advice on how you tried to stay concise and to the point? also when answering questions you didnt know the answer to how did you handle that? I had a bad interview experience at Oxford last year where they made me feel so dumb for not knowing some of the questions and I feel like I could've handled the situation better. ALSOOO idk if they asked you to prepare a 5 min presentation on your recent work but I was wondering if you know how to prepare for the presentation and what to include? your videos are incredible thank you for putting the time and effort xx

[@biomedwithvy]

Congrats on getting to the interview! Learning how to articulate your thoughts clearly takes a lot of practice and making YT videos has actually helped me a lot 😂 For general questions, you can always prepare bullet point answers and whilst practicing to yourself, if you catch yourself talking for more than 3+ mins per question, pause to see if all of what you're saying is really necessary. Again, this takes loads of interview practice so don't be too harsh on yourself, we get better with each experience! We're not encyclopedias so it is unrealistic to expect candidates to know everything. When I blank out, I admit that I don't know the answer, but I will go on to say what I do know. Try to tell a story, start broad or from the beginning, then try to work your way through the question, try to avoid finishing your concluding remark with "and yeah" bc I'm so guilty of that hahaaa. All the best!

[@biomedwithvy]

They normally ask to include your education background and research experience in the PowerPoint, so summarise your CV and highlight skills that make you best fit into this role.

[@user-eg8fn5sd2z]

Hey, vy. It's a phenomenal thing to help other research aspirants out there. I wanna know if grades from UK University matters for an RA position other than academic research experience and publication. Like, if a candidate have low grades, but have good academic research experience, is it likely for the candidate to secure the job in spite of low grades? Thank you in advance!

[@halimamuhammadumar4679]

helloooo i have an interview o ming up for RA wih a dinner with lab members any advice for me?

[@benmaaouihamza30]

Thanks a lot for this video and I hope that your experience is going well, I have an interview soon and I hope that it will go well, did they ask for a pre interview task to do ?

[@biomedwithvy]

All the best for your interview 🙌 for my interview at Cambridge I didn’t need to prepare for anything. However, for other positions I was once asked to analyse qPCR data and another one asked me to prepare a 5-10min presentation.

[@anarchistpatho583]

I have a question regarding an interview, namely, If you wanna do an internship in UK, will interviews tricky and challenging?

[@judgement8283]

Hi, i recently completed my degree in neuroscience and am looking for a RA position. In your plans for the future did you mention you would like to do a phd by any chance? Cause i heard this is a major turn off, i wanna know if its true.

[@biomedwithvy]

I did mention that I want to do a PhD and my interviewer was actually very understanding/supportive of that. Many RA positions are fixed term (1-2 years) and it isn't that common for an RA to stay in that same role for more than a couple years, which makes it especially understandable if a fresh graduate applies to be an RA before pursuing a PhD. This is the case in academia but in industry where they might offer you a permanent RA contract, employers may feel differently.

[@cianle5996]

Thank you Vy 😊 Are u working in the UK under your Graduate Visa or Skilled Worker Visa?

[@biomedwithvy]

My lab sponsored my skilled worker visa!

[@nwunyeUz]

At the time of your application, were you still on the student visa?

[@biomedwithvy]

@@nwunyeUz yes I was!

[@deyvismejia7529]

Damn I never worked with crispr in my undergrad, let alone did I “design” any guide rna lol what uni did you go to

[@biomedwithvy]

By design I meant knowing the sequence and analysing Sanger sequencing results, supervisors/professors guided us a lot 😂😂 should’ve clarified that 😅 I did my undergrad at Imperial College London!

[@deyvismejia7529]

@@biomedwithvy still super cool

[@gourabsarker9552]

Mam do you earn 20000 pound sterlings a year as a research assistant in university of Cambridge? Plz reply. Thanks a lot.

[@biomedwithvy]

RAs in my field usually earn between £25k-£35k depending on city, uni and company

[@JayYT729]

I would like to know the salary pacakge of RA post ??

[@biomedwithvy]

In Cambridge it can range between £25k-£40k depending on experience and whether you’re in academia/industry. There are different titles for different places so this is just an idea of salary range.

[@JayYT729]

Thankyou so much for the reply