I interviewed my Cambridge interviewer

Let me introduce you to my Director of Studies – Emma Mawdsley. A quick Google search will show you that Emma is incredible. She directs the Margaret Anstee Centre for Global Studies, runs a £1.5 million development partnership programme, lectures in geography, and this year, was awarded the prestigious Busk Medal from the Royal Geographical Society. On top of this, she manages to row, keep chickens, and look after me when I have breakdowns over my essays.

Emma even took the Newnham geographers to London to see an exhibition at the Barbican – honestly the highlight of my first year.

My DoS, Emma, also happens to be the person who sat across from me at my interview on that dark, dark day in December 2019, so meeting up with her in the Whale Café over a cuppa to discuss my interview was no bother for me! We know each other well and I was ready to ask her the questions for a change. It was time to find out the truth behind the Cambridge interview process.

With my laptop at the ready and my phone recording a voice note (very serious journalism, I know!), I started the interrogation interview.

Here is what I learnt.

Interviewers are trained to help you feel comfortable as soon as you enter the room

This is what I remember being most nervous about. Was I expected to shake the interviewer’s hand upon entering the room? Or was I meant to bow down, curtsy or even kiss their feet? Emma let me know that she and other Cambridge interviewers are given specific training on what to do when a candidate comes in to avoid this unnecessary stress.

“My view is that candidates want to be sure that they haven’t messed up the moment they walk in. We are trained to say “hello, you can put your coat here, we will be sitting here, and you will be sitting there”, so people know exactly what to do. Emma said that there are different views on whether or not to shake hands, and if anyone looks like they are hanging back, she doesn’t. But if someone looks like they are starting to put their hand out, she’s ready to respond and shake hands, so they are not left feeling uncomfortable.

I can confirm that this is exactly what Emma did at my interview!

Now, of course, the rules about handshaking may have changed because of COVID but Emma pointed out that your interviewer has been trained to make these new rules clear to you when you walk in. “We’re told to hold back and be really clear about that.”

Don’t worry about being nervous

“Some people when they’re nervous go quiet, other people are really shaky, some are immensely talkative, but others give a great impression of calmness.” Emma and other interviewers are aware that candidates will be nervous – I mean, who wouldn’t be? – and that this manifests itself in different ways.

“We just try not to let that get in the way. You know, you’re not being interviewed for your confidence, you’re being interviewed on your qualities and academic capacities.”

Emma aims to look beyond your nerves: “My job is to get the best out of that person.” I mean, she saw something in my shaky, nervous, jittery Sixth-form self so there is hope for everyone!

The POV of the interviewer

I asked Emma if interviewers are just as nervous as the candidates and the answer was a clear “no” which made us both laugh. The reason for this lack of nerves, as she went on to explain, is that with almost 10-16 interviews per day, they “aren’t nervous per se” but instead they are “excited to see who’s coming through the door.”

Quite rightly, Emma also calls the whole process “exhausting.” “You know that you have 20 to 25 minutes to make a really important decision.” With such a  short time to try and “really understand somebody”, the interview process is a draining one for the interviewers and the days are long. But Emma confirmed that they are all determined to “do the job well” and candidates should take comfort in this fact.

Interviewers write notes about the candidate straight after each interview. “You absolutely have to write the notes there and then. You must absolutely keep track or else things start to blur.”

Despite the importance of the interview, Emma was quick to point out that “it doesn’t all come down to the interview, of course.” It is just one part of a much wider application that includes the personal statement, submitted essays (for some subjects) and the admissions tests. The interview may seem like a big deal to the student, but the interviewer and colleges consider a lot more about each candidate behind the scenes.

The moment we’ve all been waiting for: does Emma remember my interview?

Emma said that the most she interviewed in a day was about 14 people, so I was interested to know if she remembered mine.

“I do.” My cheeks flushed; my smile widened. We reminisced about how I was the first interview of the day. “You came through the door. Bright and bubbly – just the kind of person we wanted to see first thing in the morning.” Please put that quote on my gravestone – I can die happy.

That said, I remember vividly that Emma did terrify me at one point when I was struggling with an answer, and she said “Come on Emily, join the dots …!”. I went home, told my Mum, and we were convinced that I would never hear from Cambridge again.

The qualities that make a candidate stand out in an interview

Thank me for this inside scoop later.

“Above all, the thing I really like to see is intellectual curiosity. It’s not really about people having the answers. It’s about the way people come up with questions. The purpose of a university education is to educate people who ask questions, and know how to go about answering them.” Don’t be afraid about not knowing what your interviewer is on about. Just engage with whatever they throw at you and think critically.

“I never want to judge somebody on what they think or believe. I just try to see who has questions about the world.”

Interviewers are humans too. They don’t set out to scare and intimidate you.

Naturally, I know Emma much better now and I can confirm that she is a human – and not even a mean or nasty one at that. The same goes for other interviewers. They are not trained to be intimidating, they are just trying to do their best and make the right decisions for the university and for you as a student.

The interviewers understand that “these are 17- and 18-year-olds with a variety of experiences, who are often very nervous.” They don’t set out to play bad cop or ask you terrifying trick questions.

On that note…

The Cambridge interview questions you find online are nonsense

The websites that come up when you type “Cambridge interview questions” into Google are “rubbish” according to Emma. “The only place where you can safely try to find out more about the interview system is on the college and university websites and what they tell you. I would really be cautious about anything else at all.”

Emma is right. There’s a huge variety of interviewers and subjects, so someone’s experience of a Cambridge interview – whether a paid Coach or a friend – may be useful to hear about, but it will not be the same as yours. The same goes for this article – Emma cannot speak for all interviewers and your experience may be different from my own!

But despite this uncertainty, you can still prepare! For Geography, the interview requires you to be aware of the world around you. (Contrary to popular belief, the interview does not require you to colour in!) I read news articles in preparation for my interview, and this helped me draw links between my conversation with Emma and contemporary global issues.

News articles wouldn’t be a bad place to start for other social science/humanity subjects – and equally, science interviewees can engage with journals! This method is Emma-approved.

A method that Emma disapproves of however, is memorising your answers. “We can usually tell when someone is just regurgitating an answer that they have learnt.” It’s not worth it.

Finally, if Emma could say one thing to someone interviewing this year, it would be this: “It’s not necessarily what you know but how curious you are. Being curious is such a good quality to have and it’s one of the things I really look for. Curiosity about the world is so important; and it is something that anyone who walks through the terrifying interview door can reveal about themselves, whatever their background!”

Feature image credit: Camfess and Author’s own image 

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