I vividly remember when I received the invitation to interview for my first science communication job! The excitement was making me shape with excitement. This could be my chance to take my first step into a science communication career.
My first shock was that the interview time slots were either the morning that I had my PhD viva scheduled, or at 4.30pm the day before. Not ideal, but I told myself I could have plenty time to prepare on my train journey home. Then came the words…
“After your interview, you will also be asked to complete a timed interview task”
That was it. That was all the information that I had. I had no idea what to expect and my future could hinge on this 15 minutes. As someone who is a little terrified of the unknown and uncertainty makes me quite anxious, you can imagine how this made me feel. This was my first realisation that preparing for a science communication job did not just mean preparing for the questions. Oh no! Throughout all the interviews for these sorts of jobs I have now had, for the majority of them I have had to complete a pre-interview task to submit before my interview, or a timed task on the day.
If you are here reading this, then it is highly likely that you have an interview for a science communication job – congratulations and good luck! – or you are doing some research on what to expect. I thought it would be a really useful idea to share some of the actual science communication job interview tasks I have had to do over the years, so you can feel more prepared for what lies ahead for you. Here are 5 real life examples of interview tasks which you can use to prepare for your interviews and be more ready to smash that interview and bag that dream scicomm job of yours.
Interview Task 1: Prepare a tweet about a research publication
At a glance, this interview task doesn’t seem too tricky. But I had to read and digest the paper and prepare a tweet for a non-expert audience in just 15 minutes. And you can be sure that it wasn’t a paper in my field of expertise either. This is one interview task though that you can do some practice of in advance. Find the latest publications from the organisation you are applying for, and use them as practice. Start with ones that you feel more comfortable and confident in, and then challenge yourself with something new. Don’t forget to time yourself either!
Top tip: in my actual interview, I was rapidly running out of time. My tweet was too long for the 280 character limit, but I didn’t have enough time to mull it over properly. Instead with seconds to spare, I added some comments to the document where I was preparing it and explained that I knew it was too long and what I would edit with more time.
Interview Task 2: Prepare an event/project proposal
Using one of the strategic aims, I was asked to prepare an event, project or partnership proposal that would work towards one of those aims. In that proposal, I needed to factor in a timeline, audience, budget and key deliverables. I was asked to outline how I would work with the researchers and stakeholders, and also how I would evaluate how successful the project is.
You can practice this science communication job interview task in advance by finding the communication or engagement strategy and brainstorm some project ideas using their research interests, local community groups and mission. You could also think about how you would adapt projects and project ideas that you have had before for this purpose.
Interview Task 3: Prepare a response to an event invitation
This one was a little different. Here is the scenario for this interview task. You have been invited to participate in a science festival. You already have a programme of events for the year, but this could help you to reach a new audience. It is free to attend. It is not in the easiest location but colleagues have expressed interest to go previously. Prepare a response of pros and cons to give to your boss and whether you would recommend attending the event or not.
There was more of a description than that. But it was a really useful exercise to consider all the factors at play in a decision. If you get a task like this, I would advise looking at what other activities and events they attend. Also, take another look at a strategy again. For tasks like this, there is no right or wrong answer. Just know or learn how to justify your recommendation.
Interview Task 4: Prepare a summary of a project for a potential donor
The aim of this task was to write a summary about a newly funded project. This would be for a non-scientist and should inspire them to take action and donate to the cause. Oh – and in no more than 350 words. The second part of this task was to convert the same project proposal into an even shorter snippet. This time it was to go on the public website.
A tip for this one is about more persuasive language. Also, really try to capture that big picture and the impact. If you have any information about the donor, use that to your advantage and incorporate that in, especially if you get to choose between a few projects which I did. For example, researchers may be doing a project using vibrations to help treat a disease. That might match well with a potential donor who is interested in music.
Interview Task 5: Prepare a presentation about sharing their mission on social media
For one task, I was asked to assess the organisation’s mission and key messages. Then, describe how I would communicate that through social media. I shared who I believed the key audiences are for them. Then, I broke down my communication process – from prep to evaluation and all the tasks that would go into that. Following that I matched the audience with some social media platforms and gave some examples.
I struggled with this one, but what I think is good to show in tasks like this is:
- that you have looked at their website
- show more about your working process
- show what expertise you can bring to them
- and how you can apply that knowledge to them
I hope that by sharing these examples that I have been given, you can be more prepared for your next science communication job interview and the interview task at hand. If you have had another type of science communication job interview task, then I could really appreciate it if you shared it in the comments below so we can all learn and share with each other.
Good luck for your interview!