Interview Tips for a Research & Development Job

Learn about the company you are interviewing with. It is very important to understand what the company does, what research and development needs they have and where they need assistance. Completing this step can help you focus your answers and responses on information that is important to the company.

Relate your experience, education and interests in research and development to specific elements of the company and/or the job that you are interviewing for. For example, if you are interviewing with a company that produces tennis shoes, then you want to identify specific skills that you have, or specific experiences that you have, that can make a great R&D employee for a tennis shoe company. You can relate your interest in quality sports shoes to your own passion for running, playing basketball or playing tennis. You can also identify specific projects that you have worked on that are related to tennis shoe development, such as a research project that focused on the shock absorption rates of various materials.

Stand out from the competition by being confident, well-prepared and ready to answer every question that the interviewer asks. A good way to do this is to create a list of possible questions that the interviewer will ask, and then practice your answers, remembering to relate each answer directly to skills and characteristics that are important to the employer. Some of the questions that might be asked during an interview for an R&D job interview include: why do you want to work for our company?, what about our R&D department interests you the most?, what do you hope to get from this R&D job?

Cover the basics. When you arrive for your research and development job interview, bring with you several copies of your resume, copies of your references, copies of your transcripts, and copies of any research and development reports that you have worked on. These pieces of information can help support your claims during an interview, and they can show the interviewer that you are a well-organized and accomplished applicant.