I was very happy when I was invited to interview with the UC Davis Integrative Genetics and Genomics (IGG) graduate program and I immediately called my family and friends to tell them the good news. After that, I had two things I mind: what would the interviews be like and how do I prepare?

I had heard from a number people what the interview process was like, but even then I still was unsure what to expect. What events were planned? Which faculty would be there? One thing that I did know for sure was that the both grad students and faculty would basically be interviewing me throughout the entire recruitment event, in addition to my formal interviews. To help me prepare, Dan and Carole gave me a mock interview. The mock interview allowed me realize the parts of my research where I lacked knowledge and why I am interested in IGG, which were two things I knew faculty would ask me about.

During the recruitment, I learned more about the research going on in IGG, talked to other candidates, and proudly used the elevator speech that I had practiced with Dan, Carole, Lynda, and Tianna. Although I was having a good time, I was really nervous about my formal interviews with the three faculty I was assigned to. Of course, I read their recent papers and had questions in mind, but... what if I forgot what I wanted to ask? So I took a deep breath and told myself that I would do great on my interviews.

My first interview was with JoAnne Engebrecht, and I walked into her office feeling confident. But when I walked in, she asked me “What are you doing here,” which confused me because surely she must know that I was there for an interview. It turned out that there was a discrepancy between the schedule that she was sent and mine. Luckily, we share the same lab space, so we scheduled an interview for the following Monday.

My three interviews went much better than I expected. The faculty and I had plenty to talk about and I even went over the 45 minutes that were allotted for each interview! I also did a chalk talk on paper on two of my interviews, which felt great because I was able to describe my research in more than just words.

And 4 weeks after the interview, I received the fantastic news that I was accepted into IGG and gladly accepted their admissions offer.

p.s. Lynda baked a cake to celebrate Ivan's admission. And we brought flowers.

Congratulations, Ivan!