Microbiologist Mock Interview

Master 30 Microbiologist interview questions covering lab techniques, contamination control, and research methodology.

Question 1 of 30

What made you choose to become a Microbiologist?

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Nisha Yadav is a Talent Advisor & People Specialist with a focus on global talent attraction. Her earlier career experience includes HR and recruitment roles where she specialized in contract and permanent IT recruitment opportunities.

The interviewer is interested in knowing about what in particular motivated you to choose this career. Think back to what might've initially influenced your desire to take this career path. If you can, try to use this opportunity to tell a brief story that will give your interviewer some insight that can be both personal and memorable.

Nisha Yadav

"I chose to become a microbiologist because I have always been curious about the effects of microorganisms on the environment and its inhabitants. I want to be a part of the solutions to our environmental problems. When I was a kid, I was always fascinated by microscopes and living things that were too small for me to see with a naked eye. As I've grown older, I'm still just as fascinated and now know more about how many of those living things impact the world around us. Being on top of the issues related to this area and finding solutions for them is all very exciting to me. The ever-changing landscape of the microbiology is fast-paced and keeps me engaged on a daily basis."

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30Microbiologist Interview Questions & Answers

1.What made you choose to become a Microbiologist?

2.What have you done to further your own professional development in the past 5 years.

3.Give me example of a large project or task you completed, the steps you took, and the overall outcome.

4.How do you feel about supervising others and their work?

5.Are you a detail-oriented person?

6.What drew you to our organization?

7.What is your greatest strength?

8.What is your greatest weakness? What are you doing to improve it?

9.What sort of working conditions do you thrive in?

10.How do you prioritize when you have multiple deadlines?

11.Do you have any questions for us?

12.Tell me about a challenging interaction with reporting results to physicians, family members, or researchers.

13.When making a 1L 1X PBS solution from the stock 10X concentration, how would you do it; which formula would you use?

14.What is the purpose of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and give an example of when you've ran one in the past?

15.How would you handle testing 100 samples?

16.What is the difference between accuracy and precision?

17.What is the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells? And, what is your experience with prokaryotic cells?

18.In the scenario where your quality control fails, what troubleshooting step would you take?

19.What is gram staining and why is it significant?

20.In the scenario where your laboratory finds contamination, what troubleshooting step would you take?

21.What is your experience with following procedure, preparing for, and involvement in a regulatory audit and/or inspections of any kind?

22. What steps do you take to limit contamination?

23.What is the difference between a quantitative assay and a qualitative assay?

24.How has NGS changed testing and what is your experience using the technique?

25.When your boss asks you to get 5 aliquots each of 5 different samples to delivery to another department, what is being asked and how would you perform the task?

26.A colleague asks you to ensure the glassware is sterilized for next week's experiments, what do you do?

27.Describe a time when you made a pipetting error and what you did to fix it?

28.When your boss asks you to design an assay to detect drug resistant bacteria, provide a list of 3 things you will do before testing and optimizing begin?