The problem with interviewing undergrads is that they're desperate for things to slap on their resumes, so they'll say anything: "I designed complicated circuits", "I can use machine shop equipment", "I know advanced biology/chemistry/physics", etc. They often overestimate their abilities because they don't know any better and they think the skills they've learned are advanced. Unfortunately, they're taught at a very basic level and aren't really taught the knowledge in detail before the application.
So I ask a few basic questions in each interview. The questions vary based on what's going through my mind, but they usually encompass these questions depending on the type of position I'm trying to fill:
Why is the sky blue?
If I have a bath with saline residue, how would I clean it?
How do I make 0.1M of NaOH?
How does the heart beat?
How can I sterilize this equipment?
*Solve dy/dx=x for x
Heat conduction is a function of what?
Heat conduction is a function of what?
What's Snell's law?
What do the kidneys do and what's the functional unit?
Name 5 components of a eukaryotic cell
What's mechanical stress?
What's mechanical stress?
**What's the unit of electrical current?
Really simple questions depending on the position. Today I interviewed a student who has a 4.0 from a top 20 university. She's finishing her MS I'm biomedical engineering after a BS in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering. Her answer to * was "x"; her answer to ** was "watt". What the heck? Is this seriously what schools are pumping out?!?
I wanted to scream. Of course, I corrected her and explained it. It seemed like it was the first time she was seeing these answers. At first I thought she was nervous, but if she was, she masked it very well. She seemed quite confident in herself. I really hope she was just not in the proper state of mind today, because I'm probably not going to be interviewing too many people from her background or university. I hate to stereotype, but I don't have time for this crap. I hire interns to have someone to mentor, but ultimately I have to get things done. When someone is this far behind, by the time they are ready to actually contribute, their seven month internship is over. I've been pretty lucky with interns where they can usually contribute within a couple months. Interns of all races and sexes. Unfortunately, this young woman is not going to cut it. Schools, please do better. I haven't started my academic post yet, but I'm really hoping I don't let kids pass by with this remedial knowledge.
