Interview Panel Insights for FLF applicants

This blog is aimed at FLF applicants who have been invited to interview and colleagues supporting their preparation. As well as walking through the interview process and suggesting strategies for effective preparation, a set of slides are included for use in development sessions. Click here to download slides

The blog must start with congratulations. If you have been invited to interview it means your proposal judged very good, excellent or outstanding with minor or no weaknesses, and that the FLF appears to be a good fit for you, your vision and your career stage. However, it’s also likely that the panel will want you to strengthen some aspects of your case.

The invitation to interview comes with supporting material from UKRI including a link to example questions from previous rounds. The information provided by UKRI is honest about the process. Those sample questions are a reliable indicator of the 9-10 questions you will be asked by the three Introducing Members who will lead on your interview. There is also the likelihood of a few additional questions at the start based on the comments the sift panel. (More on these below)

Additionally, the panel process is carefully safeguarded to ensure interviewees are judged fairly as every panel is observed by neutral observers (who will have their cameras off) who will report any unfair behaviours or deviation from the process. So, the guidance you’ve received is accurate and should be used by any mock interviewers to make your preparation as relevant as possible. The mock should NOT be a deep dive into the detail of your research plans.

This detailed review came from peer review by experts and you’ve had the right of reply to their comments in your response. The proposal, reviews and your response were evaluated by the moderating sift panel, who will have suggested questions for the interview panel, who are also a moderating panel. (So, reviewing your proposal, the reviews and your response are vital to your preparation.)

 

Preparation

If you want your interview preparation to model the actual experience, it’s important to note the distinction between experts (who are close to your topic, equipped to review and confirm specific details and claims) and moderators (who are familiar with the scheme and your general area, but not experts in your narrow field, so will not “re-review”). A mock interview can make sure of experts as they are likely to be your closest allies and supporters, but make sure they use the sample questions and the FLF criteria. Whilst you can organize your own mock, it’s worth checking with your research office or the people who helped you complete your application about local support. Many institutions and organisations will step in to support you with this.

Your “experts”  may be more useful as Critical Friends or Mentors, reviewing your proposal, reviews and response and provide opinions about what questions they would ask (reminding them that they are moderating). If they take on this role, they will help you to tune into the kinds of questions that the sift panel might have put forwards and whether to provide additional details (beyond what was in your reviewer response) to any concerns or risks identified by your reviewers.  They will also be helpful sounding boards to formulate the update on your work and personal progression that will be asked for at the start of the interview by helping you focus on what provides greatest strengthening of the application. (More on this below.)

 

Presentation

The interview will start with a five minute presentation. You MUST stick to this so practice under “exam conditions” so you are confident about your timing. The presentation is about the VISION of your fellowship so avoid filling it with details on the HOW & WHAT. You may want to address concerns or need for clarification that were indicated by your reviewers, but these will probably be picked up by the sift panel questions, so keep this very brief.

Your focus is the WHY and the WHO. Keep the tone strategic and visionary, with the story of how you and your work will develop over the fellowship, why the work is important and how it will transform your field. Give the panel a sense of the wider research and innovation environment that you have built around yourself and your core idea through your partners, institutional support and the opportunities you will be positioning yourself for. Demonstrate how your leadership will grow through the fellowship using the support from the FLF Development Network and your mentors and allies. Remember that “Future” and “Leader” define the FLF programme so you must talk about how you will develop and how seriously you will take this process.

You won’t be told how many slides to use but avoid the temptation to use too many or to cram them with information (this could distract the panel from what you are saying meaning they miss key facts). Ask colleagues who observe your presentation practice to be honest with their feedback and give them the scheme criteria to work from – some prompt questions are provided below to help their evaluation.

Research and Innovation Excellence:

Why will your FLF will achieve this? (Note, not HOW)

Applicant and Their Development:

Is there a clear trajectory for the Fellow aligned with the project and support?

Impact and Strategic Relevance:

What is the strategy to achieve impacts?

Research and Innovation Environment, and Costs:

Is the Fellow based in a positive research culture and are they committed to building one for their group and collaborators?

Is the project resourced appropriately? (no spreadsheets!)

 

Early questions

The interview will begin with an opportunity to update the panel on developments for you or your work since you submitted your proposal. Think about what has strengthened your position in the intervening months. Have you built new or stronger partnerships? Have proof of concept data or new research outputs strengthened your hypothesis? Has deeper work with partners created more need or urgency for your work, or stronger impact opportunities? Have you achieved additional personal success? The timing of an FLF in the early stages of research and innovation career means that applicants can move host between submission and interview, so this is your opportunity to update the panel on how this strengthens your application and how the support from your previous host has been replaced.

After this initial update, you will face the questions received from the sift panel. These are based on the proposal, the reviews and your response to reviews. Each set of questions that are created by the sift panel is unique to your research proposal and you, but there are some common themes. Most of these WON’T apply to you, but the examples might help with your preparation.

 

The core interview questions

As mentioned above, the sample questions are closely related to the ones you will face, so you’ll be aware there is a lot to get through in the 20 or so minutes of this part of the interview.  The detail of your research plan is available to the panel in your proposal, so focus on the assessment criteria. One question will be about how you will use the support and opportunities created by the FLF Development Network. To help you prepare, we’ve put together a short video which summarises our approach – you can find it on our homepage. Think about how this aligns with your leadership plans and create a tailored response based on your anticipated needs.

Tailored responses are key. You are creating a vision of your leadership so think about how YOU will achieve your vision, build a positive culture, support and enable your time. Don’t repeat your standard institutional or organisational offer – think about how you will operate distinctively and in line with your personal leadership approach.

FLF eligibility criteria are deliberately broad to maximise access to the opportunity and panels are encouraged to have an open mind about how leadership develops in Research and Innovation. This puts the responsibility onto YOU to explain why you are an Early Career Researcher and to explain how the FLF will transform your opportunities and trajectory. You need to explain how you will benefit from the ADDED VALUE that an FLF makes possible.

It’s worth acknowledging that with the current pressures on many host organisations, there are likely to be some differences in terms of the in-kind/match support offered to you. The panel will be aware that resources are stretched at the moment and will be guided not to compare your support to FLFs from previous rounds. This may also manifest as additional costs against your fellowship which might have been provided in kind previously. As an applicant there’s little you can do about your host’s costing models and financial support, but you can address these concerns by emphasizing the support that is being provided, why the resources you have requested are appropriate and the value they bring your fellowship.

Although this blog stresses that the sample question map closely against the ones you will face, you may be asked some follow up or clarifying questions to give you a fair opportunity to share all relevant information and to help the panel judge you are the right person to lead on your project. These additional questions might probe your ability to overcome research challenges, particularly if there have been queries raised by reviewers.

 

Interview technique

Although it’s becoming more common to get interview questions in advance, there isn’t a lot of advice available on how to avoid the common mistakes seen when this happens. Although it might be tempting to prepare a script, this creates the risk of reading that script which will reduce the rapport between you and the panel. Speak fluently and naturally to engage them by looking into the camera or at least at their faces on screen*. A prepared answer is unlikely to account for subtle differences between the sample and actual questions creating an “off centre” response.

Getting the questions in advance should help you to prioritise the information you present in your answers – always remembering how tight for time the FLF interviews are. You only have 30 minutes for the whole interview including introduction and presentation. Each of the introducing members should have around 7 minutes for their question set. If you are 20 minutes in and on the first IM you risk missing some criteria that a decision will be based on. Whilst AI is increasingly used to help sharpen language, if you do use this (being mindful of resources required) it should be PART of your preparation. Use the experts around you to help shape your thinking.

 

Final comments

If all goes to time, there is likely to be a chance to leave the panel with a final message. As they reflect on your answers before their deliberations begin make sure that you’ve closed leaving the core of your fellowship fresh in their minds.

Good luck.

 

*This recommendation isn’t intended to discriminate against applicants who need additional support or adjustments in their interviews because of disability. If this applies to you, contact the FLF team at UKRI and they will advise the panel of any additional considerations that should be taken into account to help you perform at your best.

 

**This blog was originally published to support Round 9 interviews, but the advice still stands so we’re removed reference to the round to ensure it’s seen as relevant to all rounds. We’ll review for each round, but if there’s something here that doesn’t align with the information provided by UKRI, assume we are in error.