Questions Flashcards
What do you know about Corteva?
I know you guys are a science based agricultural research company. I read over your mission statement and I though the points about using scientific advancements to manage farmland more sustainably to support a growing population was really nice. I don’t think enough companies give the environmental sustainability enough consideration, so it was really nice to read that you guys are working towards that.
What interests you about this position?
One of the main factors that attracted me to this role is the company itself. (Like I said [talk about sustainability]). But I’m also just interested in research. I generally find lab work to be really relaxing rewarding, so I don’t mind repetitive tasks.
Tell me a little about your work history and career goals
I recently graduated from Southern Illinois University with my bachelor’s in science in plant biology & molecular Biochem physiology, with a minor in horticulture. In terms of my work history, I worked at a plant nursery, I also worked as a horticulturalist at a golf course, and for the past two years I’ve gotten to work in a research lab here at SIU. I started working in this lab at the same time as a new master’s student also started. So, it’s been really rewarding in the way that we’ve been working together on his project for the last two years, and he is about to graduate in the summer, and it’s just been really great experience to see the research all come together.
I also had the wonderful opportunity to intern at the Kellogg biological station in Michigan over the summer. While I was there, I got to meet a whole bunch of different people working projects all over the spectrum. And I also got to design and carry out my own research project with the help of my mentor. It’s one thing to read about experiments in papers, but I think getting to actually see one through, start to finish has really given me a better understanding of the research process as a whole. My mentor and I are even, now in the process of analyzing and writing up my research to get it published.
In terms of career goals, I really just want to keep working in research. I really enjoy it, I’m good at it, and I’d really just like to jump in and see where it takes me.
What aspect of your current job do you enjoy the most/least and why?
I really enjoy the community aspect of being part of a lab. Making connections to the people I see and work with every day is really important to me, and being a part of that lab environment is really amazing. Even if everyone is working on their own projects but you’re all working together really. So, one person’s success on an experiment is everyone’s, and on the flip side, if you’re stuck on a problem or something goes wrong in an experiment you have your lab-mates to bounce ideas off of.
Give me an example when you were expected to follow company policy even when you didn’t agree with it, or it wasn’t convenient. What did you do?
Well, fortunately I’ve never had a situation like that come up, but if I did, I would probably go to my manager and explain the situation and how I felt like taking a different approach that might be outside of the typical company policy might be beneficial.
Tell me about the most difficult or most frustrating person you have had to work with and how you managed to work with them.
Back when I was working at a plant nursery, I had this one manager who was a bit tricky to work with. I remember one day in particular it was really windy and we had some of our saplings fall down. She told me to go set them back up, and I did, but later that day she got frustrated with me that they had gotten blown over again. I explained the situation, but she was still really frustrated. I ended up talking to one of my coworkers about it who had worked there longer than me. She reassured me that having outbursts like that wasn’t uncommon for her.
Tell us about a time when a job had to be completed and you were able to go above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done.
Back when I was in high school, I got a really cool opportunity to attend college classes at an art school over the summer. Well, we had a group project on the last week of the program that involved drawing a massive, charcoal mural with just our fingers on the side of a wall. There were probably 10 of us all working on this project that needed to get done before we had our show at the end of the week. So, for this entire week we had a rotating schedule of people working on this mural round the clock. You could tell who the art students were because we were all walking around coated in charcoal dust the entire time. We got it done though.
Tell me about a time you were complimented because of your attention to detail.
I think my favorite compliment I’ve ever received in the workplace was from a professor I’ve worked with for the last two years. We were chatting and she offhandedly mentioned, she said “ You know, you have a really good judgement when it comes to knowing when you can figure something out on your own and when it’s time to ask for help from others.” And I just thought that was a really sweet compliment that’s stuck with me.
What are you most proud about – personally and/or professionally?
Personally, I think I’m most proud of the research I did last summer at KBS. It took a lot of time and effort, and a lot of love got put into that project, and now I’m getting to see the fruits of that labor because we’re working on publishing it. The cool thing about the project that I worked on is it was an offshoot of a bigger project that my mentor had been working on for years already. So it’s been really wonderful getting to not only create a standalone research project but to contribute to a whole body of work and be a part of a bigger picture of research.
Give me your best example of working cooperatively to accomplish a goal. What was the project/assignment?
Last summer I got to do research at a biological station up in Michigan. Well, my mentor at the time was running an experiment that needed hundreds of seeds to be planted into the field all within about a 48-hour window. Each seed had a specific ID number and needed to go in a specific spot in the field. The entire lab pulled together to label tubes, and sticks, and hand-plow 2 different field sites, and spend hours crouched over in the dirt with a clipboard planting. And about a month later we had to do it all over again for my portion of the experiment. It was a lot of work, but I didn’t mind because everyone in that lab is so lovely, the time just flew by.
What is the most useful criticism you received and how did you respond to it?
As I’ve gotten closer to college graduation and entering the work force, I’ve had friends and coworkers look over my resume and help me practice with interviews, and the one comment I’ve gotten over and over is I need to be better at selling myself. I’ve been told tend to be a bit modest when it comes to my skills and capabilities, which I feel might have cost me some opportunities in the past. So going forward I’m really trying to put more confidence behind the skills I’ve worked so hard for.
Why should we hire you?
I think you should hire me because straight out of college I already have good strong working experience in the lab. I am excited about the position and I’m ready to learn and gain new experiences and contribute to the science and the research. I really like what you guys are doing in terms of advancing agriculture and sustainability through science. I think it’s a really important growing field, and I think that aspect of really genuinely caring about the research and the work that we’re doing is a really strong quality in a candidate.
What motivates you?
I think what motivates me the most is being a good role model for my little sister. She’s three years younger than me and she just finished her freshman year of college. When we were younger, she wanted to be just like me she would always follow me around and she wanted to dress like me she wanted to have all the same toys as me. And as we’ve gotten older, she’s become her own person and I’m really proud of her. You know I majored in plant biology in college and my little sister is majoring in microbiology, she wants to be an immunologist. So, I think what motivates me is just continuing to be a good role model for her and show her she can do it if she really puts her mind to it.
What is a strength of yours?
I’d say my biggest strength is being able to pick up on new information quickly. If there’s something I don’t know how to do, I don’t tend to shy away from the challenge of learning new things.
If there was one area you would like to improve on, what would that be
I’d like to be more self-assured. In the past I’ve struggled with being confident in my own knowledge and abilities. Over the last few years as I’ve gone through college and worked in different environments with different people, I’ve learned to trust my own judgement and be confident in my skills and knowledge.
