7 Questions for the Interview with the HPLC (With Sample Answers and Tips)
Analytical chemists use high-performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC, to find, separate, and measure the parts of a mixture. People who are applying for jobs in the chemistry and pharmaceutical industries may be asked how to use this technique. If you are preparing for an HPLC interview, it might help to learn about possible questions and how to answer them. This article gives you seven HPLC interview questions, some sample answers, and a few tips that may help you prepare for your interview.7 Questions for the Interview with the HPLC
Examples of how to answer interview questions about HPLC
These questions and answers about the pharmaceutical industry may help you prepare for your interview:
What are the names of the different types of chromatography?
When interviewers ask this question, they usually want to know a list of all the different kinds of chromatography. This question doesn’t need a long explanation of what each type is, but you should know how to explain them in case the interviewer asks you. When you answer this question, make a simple list. Usually, being able to remember all of them shows how smart you are.
Chromatography comes in many different forms, including gas, high-performance liquid, thin layer, paper, column, affinity, fast protein liquid, supercritical, reverse-phase, countercurrent, two-dimensional, and pyrolysis gas.
2.What are the parts that make up HPLC?
This is a question that interviewers often ask to find out how well you know the basics of HPLC and if your knowledge is enough to do the job. When you answer this question, just make a simple list of the parts. The interviewer might also ask you to describe each part, so you might also want to think about how to do that.
An HPLC system has a reservoir, a pump, a part for the sample, parts for the column, a detector, and a recorder.
Why is high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) better than low-pressure liquid chromatography (LPHC)?
Most of the time, interviewers want to hear an answer that shows you know more about HPLC. Most of the time, interviewers don’t expect answers that are very detailed unless they specifically ask for them. List at least three good things about HPLC in your answer.
Example: “Some of the benefits of HPLC are that it is more sensitive, the columns can be used more than once, and samples can be retrieved. It also works best with ions and molecules that are big.”
4. What kind of material is used most often in the stationary phase? Why do we use it?
How you answer this question usually shows how well you know how to use HPLC to do things. Most of the time, interviewers want to know if you know how to use HPLC properly and if you know what basic materials it needs. When answering this question, give a short description and explanation of the material.
“Silica gel is most often used in the stationary phase because it is an inert material that doesn’t react with the mobile phase.”
5. What do you do when you’re stressed out at work?
Most of the time, interviewers ask this question to see if you can deal with problems and stress in a professional way on the job. They might look for signs that you have good qualities, like being able to get motivated and not letting stress get in the way of your relationships with coworkers. Healthy ways to handle stress can also show how good you are at solving problems and how well you know your own limits. When you answer this question, try to think of at least two ways you deal with stress at work. Try to talk about stress at work instead of your own issues.
Example: “I try to figure out what’s making me stressed and think about what I could do to avoid it in the future or how I could deal with it differently. If I can’t change what’s making me stressed, I try to move around, like by taking a short walk or going to the bathroom. When I know how to deal with stress well, I also feel more in charge of my environment, so I try to stick to a personal work schedule with due dates for projects and a lot of breaks.”
6. Tell me about a time you had to write to your team to explain your ideas.
This question shows the interviewer how well you can talk, write, and work with other people. These are important skills for writing and reading instructions, talking to coworkers, and writing reports or research, so the interviewer may want to make sure you can meet performance standards. When answering this question, think of a time when your ability to write well helped you. Give a brief summary of what happened, focusing on the situation, the task, the action, and the result. This is how to answer questions about behaviour using the STAR method.
Example: “A few years ago, I was on vacation when one of my interns sent me an email with questions about a task I had given them about a rise in back-pressure they couldn’t fix. They were at the lab after regular business hours, so I was the first person there. I sat at my desk and carefully wrote out instructions for fixing back-pressure, which included several ways to find the different causes of the problem. The intern wrote me back and told me that a problem with the guard column had been fixed with my help.”
7. How do you determine void volume in HPLC?
Employers often ask this question to see how good you are at math and analysis, since those are skills that people in this job use every day. They may also want to know how good you are at solving problems and figuring out what’s going on. Use simple words to explain the math you do when you answer this question.
Example: “You can find out how much space is left in a system by injecting an unretained standard with little to no retention on a certain phase. This value can change slightly depending on the extra column dead volume and how your system is set up and configured. Then, multiply the flow rate by the time it took for the compound that wasn’t kept. This shows how much empty space there is in the system and column. If you only want to know the column void volume, you can subtract the system void volume that was found before the column was added.”
How to do well in the HPLC interview
When getting ready for an HPLC interview, here are some things to think about:
- Bring more than one copy of your resume to the interview. Extra copies of your resume give interviewers something to look at while they talk about your qualifications. If there are more than one interviewer, make sure they all have a copy so they can use it as a guide.
- Get your interview outfit ready before the day of the interview. Most of the time, candidates need less time to get ready if they have a professional outfit picked out at least 24 hours before the interview. Choosing an outfit ahead of time could also help them find clean, nice clothes on time.
- For the interview, get there early. If you get to the interview early, you might be able to calm your nerves and run through your answers in your head. Arriving early may also show that you are professional and that you respect the interviewer’s time.
- Try looking in the mirror as you answer interview questions. It might help to look at yourself as you answer interview questions and practise making eye contact and standing up straight. Most of the time, these things show that you are interested and sure of yourself.
