Pre-interview prep. And fashion!

My first interview is this coming week. It's a Thursday-Friday-Saturday one, where Thursday is like, dinner or something, Friday are all the interviews and stuff, and Saturday is something else. I don't know the exact details because I haven't received my itinerary yet.

I'm not an overly anxious person in general, but I am starting to get nervous.

I had this crazy dream last night that I received my itinerary, but it was blank. I wasn't interviewing with anyone. Then I realized that it wasn't blank, but all the names had been whited out, so I had to hold it against a window in order to see through the white out. So I do that, and I read the names, and none of them are people that I've requested or prepared for...and they're all MDs.

This is funny because I didn't *think* that I had anything against MDs, but apparently my subconscious dream self is really worried about them?

What am I doing to prep for my interviews you might ask? Here's what I'm doing.

1. Reading papers

My schools all asked me for a list of 10+ people that I'd be interested in talking with. I spent a fairly long time generating these lists, so I had a pretty good idea of the people whose research I was interested in and about a one line description of what they do.

I'm reading one paper (and preparing questions!) for about...five of the ten faculty that I chose. To be honest, this is about all I could manage. Nothing like slogging through a paper to figure out whether you're really interested in a topic or not...

It's sort of a hedging-your-bets kind of scenario. Reading papers takes a fair amount of time. I'm hoping I get the people I've prepared for, but when my final list comes, I'll focus on those people's research, and hopeful I'll have a small headstart with the papers that I've already read.

I had to push myself to read primary papers. For me, reviews are way easier to read and understand, but the more time I spent with them I found out that primary papers are easier (for me!) to find things to ask specific questions about. For one field and a PI that I'm really excited about, I read both. (I hope I get her.)

2. ...not mock interviewing

Other people are doing mock interviews, which is totally a good idea if want to do them. I chose not to...mostly because I've been a tech in a university for the past four years. I can talk about my science and my contributions to my projects at the drop of a hat. I've presented posters at international meetings. I've successfully ridden the elevator with faculty members of my department and not said anything too asinine. I spent a long time making the decision to go to grad school, so I can defend and articulate my motivations. I'm totally just going to wing it.

Clearly most of my preparing is reading papers, thinking up questions and...

3. ...agonizing about what to wear. 

Okay! I know! I hate that this is like almost as troubling to me as the science, but it is, okay? Let's not fight it. Let's deal with it.

Me and my labbies have been in a constant debate that goes something like this.

me: No one in lab/grad school dresses up.

everyone else: It doesn't matter, it's an interview. 

me: But I would feel like a complete moron pipetting in 'slacks' or 'business casual' whatever.

everyone else: It doesn't matter, it's an interview.

me: But that's not how it is in real life!

everyone else: ...

The point is, as much as I want to fight against it, everyone else interviewing is going to be in business casual, and if I'm the only one not, even if labs are casual and I know this, I'm going to be the one that looks bad.

The anxiety part is this: I've been a tech for the past four years and my clothes/personal style ranges pretty much on the 'slightly disheveled' end of casual so...there's that.

One of my favorite quotes ever is "Beware of any endeavor that requires new clothes," and I hear H.D. Thoreau on that because this is definitely an endeavor that requires new clothes and you best beware.

So I did it. I went to the mall and bought myself an outfit. A whole outfit. Everything fits, everything looks good. It's new, so I don't have to iron anything. And let me tell you, having a whole outfit ready to go for Friday has alleviated so much stress.

Because I don't need to be worrying about what I'm wearing. I want to be worrying about getting myself into grad school.

And looking really good doing that can't hurt.