How do I tackle the interview question “why join here and not your former college”?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

Background : I did both my bachelor's and master's degree from the same institute, let's call it institute X. I liked it there during my bachelor's and since very few institutes near by offered a master's degree in the subject I wanted I joined it. It is a decision I regret. The level of the course and syllabus was very poor and most lectures couldn't give us proper guidance on the books one should refer to for self study. I did manage to find out through a very helpful professor from a highly reputed institute how to go about things and managed to get in to a good institute for a PhD. Now I am on verge of finishing and plan on applying to institute Y for teaching position.

Question : I am bound to be asked by the interview panel of institute Y why I am choosing to apply for a teaching position there and not in my own institute. What is the best way to answer?

The real answer to the question is that standards in institute X are falling and the academic environment there is deteriorated. More importance is being given to looking good on paper than to teaching. For example, they show statistics of how you have such a great number of students doing exceedingly well in exams but having written those exams myself I know that they aren't all that challenging to begin with. There are similar exaggerated facts that make the institute look good on paper. I know that I won't be happy there unless there is a radical change.

I don't think I should be saying all this to an interview panel though (or should I?). I really want to give an honest answer but I certainly don't want to come off as some one who insults their Alma Mater even if what I say is true. So what is the best way to answer? Or is there a polite way to say that I don't like the atmosphere there?

EDIT - I would like to add that I am from Bangalore, India.

Thank you.

manpreet 2 years ago

Given the premise of any form of testing is the evaluation of one's knowledge in comparison to the population (i.e. class) as a whole and a set body of knowledge (i.e. syllabus).

How does one approach the issue of com/tag/answer">answering conceptual questions that are completely groundless in a multiple choice format? I know that as an essay format, one can take positions and point out the flaws in the prompt. But in a format where there is (in theory) always a correct com/tag/answer">answer, what options does one have?

The following are poor examples, but it summarizes the question succinctly.

Vaccines cause autism. Studies have shown that Vaccine causes autism. When 100 people were surveyed by University X, 98% agreed that V = A.

Question: What causes Autism?

A: Vaccines

B: Genetics

C: Baseball

The world is flat. If one were to travel too far in any direction, they will fall off the earth.

Question: What will happen if you travel too far East?

A: You will end up on the other side

B: You will fall off

C: Nothing will Happen

Does one exclude the knowledge that they have gained from learning in the greater world and operate within the "confines" of the question, or do they reject the confines and operate on what is and proven at the present?

I asked a friend of mine this question, he/she responded that I had to approach the problem as a logic problem within 'closed com/tag/system">system', meaning not to infer any additional knowledge outside the realm of the question.

If one were to approach the problem with the intent of seeking to maximize one's grade, i.e. the choice that will generate a point, then the com/tag/answer">answer is evident from the examples provided.

If one were to approach the problem with the intent of seeking to com/tag/answer">answer with the correct com/tag/answer">answer, i.e. the choice that most accurately reflects a person's belief (or that of society as a whole), then the com/tag/answer">answer is evident from the examples provided.

But what if the question is political or advocates a hateful rhetoric that is only believed by the question-maker (and therefore the grade-maker)?

If a personal belief is in opposition to the greater whole (i.e. An abolitionist in the South before the US Civil War, learning about social structure) what is the 'correct' com/tag/answer">answer?

Does the 'closed-com/tag/system">system' extend to the class as a whole, irrespective of the outside world, and one's personal beliefs seconded to the beliefs of the grade-maker?

What is the overriding prerogative? Maximizing one's beliefs or grade?

manpreet 2 years ago

I did my graduation in electronics engineering from India, and an M.Sc. that concentrated on certain "sub-specializations" (communication, DSP and control engineering) from a UK university.

I was reading for a Ph.D. in the areas of machine learning and computer vision (also at a UK university), however due to a number of factors I was unable to complete it. These factors include health problems (addictions, hormonal imbalances, depression, etc.) and trying to work in a topic that was too mathematical for my background, in addition to having too much leeway (and consequently not enough support) in my research from my supervisors. (Evidently my supervisors thought me as sufficiently capable at the beginning of my research to let me do what I wanted, but eventually I proved them wrong! :P )

A few years have passed since I terminated my Ph.D. programme. I feel I have worked through most of my health problems now (not all the way there, but I feel better now than I remember being in a very long time).

I did develop an appreciation for "pure" mathematics during my time doing Ph.D. research (the lack of sufficient knowledge and skill notwithstanding). Nowadays I spend some time studying undergraduate-level mathematics textbooks on my own.

Basically I'm examining options that would prepare me to do research in mathematics applied to the area of machine learning, preferably in a professional or academic context (rather than just at a personal level).

Studying on one's own is all very well, but I feel I need to impose more structure and have better focus.

I recently found out about GRE subject tests. I was wondering if preparing for (and taking) the GRE mathematics test might be helpful? I'm looking at it from these angles: (a) having a study "syllabus" to help concentrate my effort, rather than jumping about subjects and topics haphazardly (b) getting an idea of where I stand compared to other students, and (c) strengthening my case in case there's a possibility of going back to university (at the postgraduate level, that is; while I might seriously consider doing an M.Sc. or M.Phil in applied mathematics in the US or the UK, I don't think it's practical to start afresh at the undergraduate level now.)

So, is preparing for the GRE mathematics test a good idea? Any other suggestions (alternatively, or alongside)? And - so as not to put the cart before the horse - how likely is it for someone from my background to be considered for admission to a postgraduate mathematics programme (at a decent university) in the first place?