Microbiologist Mock Interview

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

Question 15 of 30

How would you handle testing 100 samples?

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Clara is a career coaching expert and has supported individuals landing positions in education, non-profit, corporate, and beyond.

Your answer to this question provides the interviewer a lot of information about you. It highlights the following areas: problem solving skills, organizational skills, and whether or not you think 100 samples is too many or standard. Depends on the type of lab you are applying to as to whether or not you can expect 100 samples at once, in one day, etc...; therefore, be prepared to answer accordingly.

Clara Canon

Clara is a career coaching expert and has supported individuals landing positions in education, non-profit, corporate, and beyond.

"I have experience running hundreds of samples a day for large scale projects. Prior to testing, I would make sure there are enough reagents, equipment is available, and determine the number of runs based on both reagents and equipment. When preparing and testing samples, I would open one sample at a time and keep the rest on ice or in a rack depending on the type of sample."

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Anonymous Answer

Before conducting laboratory testing on 100 samples, I would carefully plan the testing process to ensure accuracy and efficiency. This would involve the following steps:

1. Assessing and organizing all materials and reagents required for the experiments, including growth media and test kits.
2. Ensuring that all samples are properly labeled to minimize the risk of confusion and errors during testing.
3. Preparing the samples in accordance with established protocols and safety guidelines.
4. Conducting the tests using the appropriate methods and techniques, and recording the results accurately.

By following these steps, I can help ensure that the laboratory testing process is conducted in a controlled and precise manner, leading to reliable and valid results.

Marcie's Feedback

Nice! You come across as very organized and thoughtful, which is great. Preparing and planning sound like the best place to start when testing so many samples. Have you ever tested a lot of samples before at one time? If this is the case, be sure to mention this as well. Otherwise, excellent job!

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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?