UBC Interview Questions
& Process

The interview for the UBC international recruitment assistant role was an in-person behavioral assessment on campus, involving three team members. Preparation using the STAR method and drawing on personal experiences was needed. Good communication skills are also important.

I had an interview for a Research Assistant role in the cardiology department at UBC. They scheduled it for just 24 hours after emailing me, but they did offer some slots for the following week because they knew it was short notice. The interview itself was only 20 minutes and felt pretty straightforward. They mentioned there's a second stage, and I was supposed to hear back the same day. Unfortunately, I never got any updates, even after following up twice. It's been over a month now, which is pretty disappointing.

The job was up online for 5 days. You had to make an account on UBC's job board or apply on Linkedin. I reached out to the HR coordinator on Linkedin and we chatted about the role. I think this helped me get an interview as she told the people interviewing me about me. I heard back for an interview 2 weeks after I applied. The first interview was with 3 people, but 1 person couldn't make it. They don't give you time to discuss your overall experience, they jump right into questions and take turns asking and writing down your answers. They did leave a lot of time at the end for me to ask questions, so be ready for that. They said it would take 2 weeks to hear back about a second interview if I got selected, where I would meet more people in the department and do a skills test.

The interview process began with a pre-recorded video interview that had some easy, generic questions. Following that, there were tests covering administrative assistant skills, Word, Excel, and Outlook. Then, a Zoom interview took place. The questions in this part weren't hard, but the interviewer was really robotic and offered no feedback, just delivered information in a flat, expressionless way, which made the experience unpleasant and reduced my interest in the job. Next, they asked for references. I found this annoying because they hadn't indicated I was a finalist or even seriously considered for the role. They had very specific requirements for references, insisting on work domain email addresses, and when I could only provide a Gmail for an overseas contact, they demanded a lengthy explanation for using a 'personal' email. They then requested a LinkedIn profile, which not everyone actively uses, and again, asked for justifications if one wasn't available. This whole thing dragged on for two months, which was lengthy for a temporary placement, almost as long as the job itself would have been. I got fed up and withdrew my application myself, as the process was a major turn-off and I'm unlikely to apply for UBC positions again.