In an interview, how do I talk about a mistake I made?

A 5th year graduate student asks—

I'm preparing for job interviews, and I heard you have to answer “behavioral questions.” I looked them up and they’re questions like “Tell me about a time when you made a mistake.” What makes a good answer to a question like that? How do you make yourself sound like a good candidate while talking about a time you messed up?

How do I prepare for all these interview questions?

A postdoc asks—

I'm trying to prepare for a few upcoming interviews, so I've been looking up common interview questions online. They are pretty easy to find, but there's like hundreds or thousands of questions to prepare for. What do I do if they ask me a question I didn't have time to practice yet?

How do I balance personal and professional considerations in my job search?

A fifth-year PhD student asks—

When I’m starting my job search, how do I prioritize all the different factors that matter to me? I’m worried if I am too picky, I’m not going to find anything. For example, what if I find a job that is really good professionally but isn’t located somewhere I want to live. How do I balance those preferences?

I'm a first year. What should I do to prepare for a faculty position?

A first-year PhD student asks—

I am completely committed to finding a faculty position after finishing my Ph.D., and some of the faculty I’ve met so far have advised that the most important thing is for me to carve out a very specific scientific niche. How do I do that? Are there specific skills or other things I should make sure to develop to make sure I can find an academic job? I know it is extremely competitive.

How do I tell my rotation PI I don't want to join their lab?

A first-year PhD student asks—

How do I tell my rotation PI I don't want to join their lab?

This is an important communication to have with a PI you have rotated with. It often feels uncomfortable, but don't be afraid—the key is to brief. Sometimes people feel bad saying "no," so they feel like they need to provide lots of justification. But saying "no" is ok and in fact necessary, and PIs are used to it! There are a few things you want to convey in your message:

How many of the qualifications listed do I really need?

A postdoc asks—

When there are multiple required qualifications in a job posting, do you have to be a 100% fit for those qualifications? Can you still apply even if there are a few points that you do not meet?

How do I organize all my applications?

A postdoc asks—

I would appreciate tips and tricks for organizing our documents for all these applications. Do 100 applications turn into 100 separate folders? I sometimes feel that is what is necessary, but I frequently get lost in files. I want to be able to easily reference documents I’ve already written for similar jobs.

Is it even worth it to apply to an old job posting?

A postdoc asks—

I was looking at jobs on LinkedIn and I was really excited to apply for a synthetic biology role that seemed like a pretty perfect fit, but I saw that the posting is already 3 days old (and over 600 people have already applied). Is there any point in still sending in an application?

What goes in a cover letter?

A postdoc asks—

Isn't a cover letter just a repetition of my resume written out? Is there something else that should be in there, or is that it?

Should a resume have a separate skills section?

A graduate student asks—

Should we have a separate skills section in the resume to tick off the key terms from the job posting or should we try to include all of that in the research experience?