University of Oxford Research Scientist interview experience

Instead of focusing on the research being done in the lab and the position I was applying to, the panel pressed into areas that didn’t really connect to my actual work.

I was asked about academic, theoretical topics—like algebraic topology proofs and theorems—even though the lab setup I was joining was described as more applied and computational. I kept waiting for the conversation to return to the substance of the role, but it never really did.

It was one of those experiences where the disconnect made the whole thing feel less like an evaluation and more like a mismatch in expectations. I