How would you design a surveillance system for young children?

A surveillance system is used to examine public health issues across several years, track trends, compare health among groups of people, and determine whether something is improving or worsening for a specific group of people. As an Epidemiologist, would you choose active, passive or sentinel surveillance system? Whichever you choose, tell the interviewer why and what the outcome was.

"I will talk about setting up surveillance for infectious diseases among young children. For example, I will talk about hand, foot, and mouth disease that is commonly seen among young children. I would first start off with my goal for the system and then break it down with objectives, identify indicators that will be collected from this surveillance system, and set up descriptive EPI analysis to identify disease distribution among the children."

Which industry related current event interests you the most?

"I am so happy you asked me that! I was recently reading an article on how some hospital academic departments are starting to employ clinical research associates in clinical trial units and I would love to know what your thoughts were on this?"

The way in which you answer this will be an indicator of your engagement level when it comes to this industry and your career. This is where it is very helpful to conduct research on the organization prior to your interview. Tie your answer into the current activities of this organization. Consider asking a question as a way to start an engaging conversation with your interviewer about current events in your industry.

What type of data analysis are you most familiar with?

"In my last position, I was most often exposed to sequential analysis. What type of data analysis is most often utilized in this company?"

The employer is looking to see the range of responsibilities you have been given in your previous roles. Your answer could potentially reveal the size of clinics/clinical trials you have been involved with. It's best to answer this one with specifics and then end with a question for the interviewer.

"I am familiar with setting up descriptive and inferential analysis using SAS, SPSS, and excel."

What is the most challenging part of supervising technicians and other Epidemiologists?

"The most challenging thing about supervising technicians and other scientists is figuring out what works for each person depending on communication style, motivations, and preferences."

As an Epidemiologist in a leadership position, you may find that you have difficulties with your employees. A few challenges you may face are balancing being the boss and being a friend, interpersonal conflict on a team or having employees with bad attitudes.

"I think it would come down to communication. I think having a discussion about the preferred communication style will limit any miscommunication or challenges."

How strong is your knowledge in toxicology?

"My knowledge is very strong in toxicology. I utilized my knowledge while researching and presenting infarction on prescription drug addiction and overdose."

Because there are so many areas to research that involve toxicology, you are or are becoming an expert on the subject. Toxicology is a field of science that helps us understand the harmful effects that chemicals, substances, or situations, can have on people, animals, and the environment.

Are you aspiring to return to school for your Ph.D.?

If you have no intentions of returning to school don't be concerned about it hurting your chances to land the job. When answering this question, put a positive spin on it and let the interviewer know that you want to become an expert at your job and improve your public speaking skills before you enroll in a Ph.D. program.

Explain what is reservoir.

Researching how diseases start, spread and die is something you do on a daily basis. You know that reservoir is used to refer the habitat of an infectious agent where it thrives, grows and multiplies. The reservoirs can be a human reservoir, animal reservoir, and environmental reservoirs. Tell the interviewer about a recent study you were part of, what the reservoir was and how you controlled it.

"A reservoir acts as a source for the development of infectious agents. Reservoirs are not affected by the agents themselves but are able to transmit infectious agents."

Explain what are the measures can be taken to control communicable disease?

As an Epidemiologist, you may have had a part in controlling communicable diseases. Tell the interviewer your role in educating the community, helping stand up treatment centers, educating proper sanitation and hygiene and providing medical, food and water supplies. Share a story of when you had to apply these measures in a real-world situation.

"First, we need to understand the disease incubation, transmission, and potential sources and set up protocols and public health recommendations. Based on those factors, we can set up control measures. It can include isolating the case, setting up an investigation for the case and closing contact notifications, surveillance infrastructure to track additional cases, and analyzing data to identify disease trends to update recommendations as needed."

As an Epidemiologist, what do you believe is your best asset?

This question is also known as 'what is your greatest strength'. This is one of the most common questions during an interview so you will need to have your answer memorized so the way it is worded doesn't throw you off guard. Struggling to come up with your answer? Think about the common praises you received in past performance reviews, or ask a respected colleague for their opinion.

"My best asset is my creative problem-solving. I have honed on this asset which is supported by my experience with data analysis, program management, and leadership."

How well do you work with people?

"I love working with people. I'm flexible and approachable in the workplace, understanding that things can change quickly. I encourage open communication with my coworkers and address the concerns they may have."

You work great with people! This question may stump you, but as an Epidemiologist, you may work on your own more often than in a group. The interviewer wants to hear that you work well with all types of people from patients to other healthcare professionals.

"I have excelled in communication skill that helps a leader when needed and a follower when needed. When it comes to conflict resolution, I rather talk with the person 1-1 than keep the issue aside. I would like to hear their side of the story to see where I can meet them in the middle ground. I love inspiring and supporting my team to help them be the best version of themselves."

What is the most fascinating disease you have studied in your epidemiology career thus far?

There are so many different types of diseases you have studied over the years it may be hard to narrow it down to just one study you were part of. Choose one field that spoke to you personally. Tell the interviewer about a study you were a part of and how you played a part in it. Nutrition, physical activity, and obesity, prescription drug overdose, teen pregnancy and tobacco use are a few topics you may choose to talk about.

"I would say Monkeypox would be the most fascinating disease I have investigated. The disease is not an STI but is seen through the STI lens by the community. So, I really like educating my case and close contacts about the disease."

Do you prefer a research or clinical setting?

"I enjoy working in both types of settings. If I had to choose one it would be clinical. I love being able to interact with patients."

To prepare for this question you will want to do your homework on the company you are interviewing with. If they expect you to work in a research and clinical setting than the answer to their question is 'both.' Tell the interviewer good points about each setting.

Walk me through how you prepare technical and research reports and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.

"When preparing reports I put together an outline of my research. An outline allows me to fill in the blanks as I research and determine what the outcomes are. I use this outline to help me stay on track. I also use this same outline to give my presentation."

The interviewer is asking you to walk them through your process of preparing research to present it to a crowd. The interviewer is asking you this question to evaluate your organization and presentation skills.

"I first outline the research report and find resources to support the report. The outline also helps me stay on track. I then set up deadlines to make sure the report is reviewed by my leads before it's presented to the public. In the end, I make sure the report is reviewed and put together in an easy-to-read and understandable format."

Tell me about a disease you have recently investigated. Were you able to discover any breakthroughs?

Healthcare-associated infections. heart disease and stroke or HIV. Tell the interviewer what disease you recently researched and what the outcome was. Tell the interviewer what your role was if you worked on a team. Tell the interviewer about any breakthroughs you all discovered and if you were published.

"I recently investigated a monkeypox case. No major breakthroughs were identified. I do think collecting close contact information for these cases is challenging and I was able to collect the information from my case."

Tell me about a public health report you contributed to.

Prescription drug overdose. Teen pregnancy and Tobacco use are just a few public health reports that you may be passionate about. Tell the interviewer about a study you were part of or a report that you had published. Tell the interviewer what it was about, what you discovered and what the impact was.

"In my current job, I have contributed to manuscripts by helping collect data by leading a team of investigators to investigate cases affiliated with a college setting."

What made you choose to become an Epidemiologist?

This question is similar to 'tell us about yourself. The interviewer is asking you this question to hear a bit more about you. Keep your response relevant and work-related. You can choose to tell a quick story that relates to why you chose to enter the public health career field. The great thing about this question is that you can really show your passion for the career field. Show the interviewer that you're good at your job and love coming to work each day.

"As you see, I was a dentist in Bangladesh. Since then, I always wanted to learn about the situation when an epidemic occurs. For example, how does the health department handle the situation like Dengue fever or Ebola? How do they plan or work? I wanted to learn & that's why I choose to become an epidemiologist."

"I like making things simpler as much as possible using innovation. I found epidemiologists to be the fit for my career, there are aspects of acting as a disease investigator, setting up novel resources or surveillance systems, and communicating the results in the most simple and effective way possible to the public."

Describe your experience using health survey data.

The interviewer is asking this question to hear about a time you utilized a health survey in order to compile data and conclude results. Tell the interviewer why you chose to survey the community on the particular health concern, how you collected the data and what the outcome was.

"In my current job, one of my tasks is reviewing the survey data we receive from our college affiliates who are currently helping out the department with covid-19 interviews. I review the data we receive to identify any cases affiliated with high-risk occupations and/or settings, schools, daycares, and any out-of-jurisdiction cases. After reviewing I compile them into a report and send them out to appropriate teams for follow-ups. In grad school, a Semester-long project, I have been trained in constructing surveys and conducting surveillance. The project revolved around designing a survey to analyze the relationship between exercise and stress. The surveillance population of interest was the school of public health students and was done using Qualtrics. Emails with project descriptions were sent to a sample of students. The project was conducted for a period of 1 month. Data points from Qualtrics were extracted and analyzed using SAS 9.4 software. The results were then shared with the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan Team who is in charge of improving the well-being of students through innovative methods."

What are the types of public health surveillance?

As an Epidemiologist, you know that active, passive and sentinel are three different types of surveillance. Tell the interviewer a bit about each type of surveillance and how you've used each in your job. Tell the interviewer how much time and resources you've found that each needs.

What are your thoughts on the Ebola epidemic?

"Most people think the Ebola epidemic started with a young boy playing in a hollowed out tree that was inhabited by bats. While I agree, I also think it spread like wildfire because of poor economic standing of these countries and their inability to get good medical care."

Now is your chance to share your opinion on a topic you are passionate about as an Epidemiologist. Tell the interviewer how you think it was originally transmitted, how you think it was brought to the states and how you think it can be cured.

"The current epidemic in Uganda is very unfortunate. Since we currently do not have a vaccine yet; I am thinking if the new Ebola is identified in the US, we need to act fast with public health measures."

How do you ensure successful communication with others, even if they are are not easy to get along with?

Effective spoken communication requires being able to express your ideas and views clearly, confidently and concisely in speech, tailoring your content and style to the audience and promoting free-flowing communication. Sometimes in the work area, this isn't as easy as it should be. Personality conflicts may get in the way of effective communication. Tell the interviewer how you present correct, clear and concise information to your team.

"I have been in situations where I had a new team member that was initially not easy to get along with. My strategy is simple, I chose to have 1-1 conversations with the team member to discuss their preferred communication style, what they want to get out of this job, and what they are grateful for. Meeting in the middle ground with people that are not easy to get along with is better than a team member who is not participative with the team."

Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the actions of others.

"I really connected with people in my last presentation in our community to positively impact the overall health status. I had numerous people compliment my presentation skill, the information presented and that it was all easy to understand."

As an Epidemiologist, your research can help millions of people and impact serious changes in the world. Focus on telling the interviewer how you positively made a change.

"I love this question because it hits on my transformative leadership style. I inherited a new team member from another that was initially not easy to get along with. They had issues communicating with other teams. I met with this member weekly to discuss their progress to provide pointers and help them improve their communication skills by discussing what their preferred communication style is, and re-introducing the department's values and standards. After few weeks, the members was one of the top performer and was mentoring my other team members."

What are your long term goals in epidemiology?

"My long-term goals are to continue to positively impact our region's health status through collaborative programs with communities, hospitals, and medical practices."

When answering this question you'll want to highlight goals you'd like to accomplish over the next 5 to 10 years. Tell the interviewer if you'd like to become published, work on a specific high-profile project, bring new programs to your community or be in a leadership position. Whatever goal you choose, make it work related.

Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?

"Studies show that there is a connection between smoking and lung cancer. I took the risk to focus my energy on the connection between second-hand smoke and lung cancer. My risk paid off and my research was published last year."

As an Epidemiologist, you make take risks in your job, within your research or how you present information. Whatever your risk was, tell the interviewer about it with confidence. Tell the interviewer that you take risks to think outside the box and get people thinking.

"My lead during my time as an epidemiology disease investigator was out one time and other leads were busy to address any queries. I took a risk to help out my team and address their questions and concerns as much as possible. My lead was appreciative of my initiative and promoted me to backup lead and later to my current position in the supervisory position."

Are you experienced in speeches and presentations? How do you prepare for these?

Hopefully one of your weaknesses isn't public speaking. If public speaking isn't a strength be sure to mention it but add that you are working at it improving yourself and getting more comfortable. Tell the interviewer what your tricks are to professionally deliver information to the audience. This is not the time to tell the interviewer that you picture everyone naked.

"I am a confident public speaker. As a dental surgeon, I used to consult with my patients a lot. During my Master's program, I have had done lots of presentations with 12-15 people group. I try to make my presentation simple. I do a lot of research before the presentation & utilize different communication techniques to make presentations fun, interesting, and engaging."

"I am experienced in providing speeches and presentations. In every job I have held so far, I have presented in front of their leadership to either provide updates on our projects or propose new ideas or recommendations."

What is your leadership style?

"I'd like to think of my leadership style as innovative. I believe that failures don't impede progress, the team gains job satisfaction and enjoyment and it creates an atmosphere of respect for others' ideas."

The interviewer is asking this question to see if you have served in a leadership role or if you are up for the challenge. Tell the interviewer if you've had the opportunity to lead others and what the outcome was.

"My leadership style is flexible & adaptive that best suits the nature of the project & not to impede it. From my experience, I feel that there is not a single "one size fits all style" that works in all situations. Leaders must adapt to a style that is necessary to lead the team toward achieving the goals of the project."

"It is Transformative leadership. Motivating others and having a shared mission."

In your opinion, what are the 3 most important skills that a successful epidemiologist should possess?

"The three most important skills that I will bring to the position is critical thinking, instructing and having a strong science background."

This question is being asked of you to see what you will bring to the table. Choose three skills that you posses and be ready to give an example or brief example of each.

"It would be self-motivation, problem-solving, and communication skills."

Would you consider your ability to analyze data or information a strength?

"At the end of the day, numbers don't lie. Analyzing and presenting data has given me the opportunity to prove to even the biggest skeptics that something is possible."

As an Epidemiologist, you know that analyzing data and information is key to your research. If you are a numbers person this is your question! Tell the interviewer the steps on analyzing data and how it has been important in your findings. Tell the interviewer how you have gone to get lengths to collect this data and analyze it.

"I have collected & analyzed data a lot. This is definitely one of my strengths."

"I would consider it as my strength. I like using data storytelling, I think it helps me to effectively communicate insights from a dataset using narratives and visualizations."

How do you manage stress in your daily work?

"Every morning I start my day with 30 minutes of yoga. Yoga helps me clear my mind and start my day."

We all experience stress on a daily basis...but how you relay this to the interviewer will say a lot about you. Steer clear away from the time that you lost your cool and raised your voice- we all have days like that but now is not the time to bring it up. Tell the interviewer how you manage your work stress and don't take it home with you, as well as not bringing your home stress to work.Here's a sample answer: "Every morning I start my day with 30 minutes of yoga. Yoga helps me clear my mind and start my day."

"I walk every day for 30 minutes, which helps me to reduce my stress. Besides, I listen to music & talk to my family members by phone, which also helps me reducing stress."

"I take 15 min walks at least twice a workday to help with stress management."

What do you like least about being an Epidemiologist?

Don't get caught up in this answer by answering negatively. Avoid being negative about past co-workers or supervisors. Tell the interviewer about a dislike, how you identified it and how you changed it. Don't worry if you weren't able to fix the situation, by sharing your role in the story will show the interviewer that you are looking to improve areas of the job.

"I would narrow it down to waiting on medical reports to arrive."

What is your philosophy towards work?

"My philosophy, when it comes to work, is to do my best every single day. I never procrastinate and always approach a challenge with an open mind. My motto has certainly helped me work my way through many challenges in the workplace."

Having a positive philosophy when it comes to work is incredibly important. Tell the interviewer that you chose a career that you love and enjoy coming to work every day.

Epidemiologist Interview Questions

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1. How would you design a surveillance system for young children?
2. Which industry related current event interests you the most?
3. What type of data analysis are you most familiar with?
4. What is the most challenging part of supervising technicians and other Epidemiologists?
5. How strong is your knowledge in toxicology?
6. Are you aspiring to return to school for your Ph.D.?
7. Explain what is reservoir.
8. Explain what are the measures can be taken to control communicable disease?
9. As an Epidemiologist, what do you believe is your best asset?
10. How well do you work with people?
11. What is the most fascinating disease you have studied in your epidemiology career thus far?
12. Do you prefer a research or clinical setting?
13. Walk me through how you prepare technical and research reports and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
14. Tell me about a disease you have recently investigated. Were you able to discover any breakthroughs?
15. Tell me about a public health report you contributed to.
16. What made you choose to become an Epidemiologist?
17. Describe your experience using health survey data.
18. What are the types of public health surveillance?
19. What are your thoughts on the Ebola epidemic?
20. How do you ensure successful communication with others, even if they are are not easy to get along with?
21. Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the actions of others.
22. What are your long term goals in epidemiology?
23. Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
24. Are you experienced in speeches and presentations? How do you prepare for these?
25. What is your leadership style?
26. In your opinion, what are the 3 most important skills that a successful epidemiologist should possess?
27. Would you consider your ability to analyze data or information a strength?
28. How do you manage stress in your daily work?
29. What do you like least about being an Epidemiologist?
30. What is your philosophy towards work?

Epidemiologist Interview Questions

1. How would you design a surveillance system for young children?

2. Which industry related current event interests you the most?

3. What type of data analysis are you most familiar with?

4. What is the most challenging part of supervising technicians and other Epidemiologists?

5. How strong is your knowledge in toxicology?

6. Are you aspiring to return to school for your Ph.D.?

7. Explain what is reservoir.

8. Explain what are the measures can be taken to control communicable disease?

9. As an Epidemiologist, what do you believe is your best asset?

10. How well do you work with people?

11. What is the most fascinating disease you have studied in your epidemiology career thus far?

12. Do you prefer a research or clinical setting?

13. Walk me through how you prepare technical and research reports and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.

14. Tell me about a disease you have recently investigated. Were you able to discover any breakthroughs?

15. Tell me about a public health report you contributed to.

16. What made you choose to become an Epidemiologist?

17. Describe your experience using health survey data.

18. What are the types of public health surveillance?

19. What are your thoughts on the Ebola epidemic?

20. How do you ensure successful communication with others, even if they are are not easy to get along with?

21. Describe a situation when you were able to have a positive influence on the actions of others.

22. What are your long term goals in epidemiology?

23. Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?

24. Are you experienced in speeches and presentations? How do you prepare for these?

25. What is your leadership style?

26. In your opinion, what are the 3 most important skills that a successful epidemiologist should possess?

27. Would you consider your ability to analyze data or information a strength?

28. How do you manage stress in your daily work?

29. What do you like least about being an Epidemiologist?

30. What is your philosophy towards work?