What if I only have lab experience from university?

That's common for entry-level roles. Talk about techniques from your modules and projects, be honest about depth, and show you follow protocols carefully.

How technical will the interview be?

It depends on the lab. Expect questions about the methods named in the job description, and possibly a short practical or written test. Revise those methods before you go.

How do I answer questions about repetitive work?

Say you find satisfaction in doing it right every time, and describe how you stay accurate, such as checklists and short breaks between batches.

What if I don't know an answer to a technical question?

Say you're not certain, explain how you would find out, such as checking the SOP or asking a senior colleague, and share what you do know.

What should I ask at the end?

Ask what training new technicians get, what the main tests or methods are, and how the lab handles quality issues. It shows you care about getting results right.

Lab technician interview questions and how to answer them

What the interviewer is checking

Lab technician roles cover clinical labs, research labs, manufacturing quality control, environmental testing and more. Whatever the setting, the interviewer wants to know whether your results can be trusted. That comes down to four habits:

You follow the protocol as written, and ask before changing anything.
You stop and report when something looks wrong, instead of quietly fixing it.
You document as you go, so someone else could repeat your work.
You work safely and speak up when others don't.

Most questions are a version of "what would you do if something went wrong?" The best answers are calm, specific and slightly boring. In a lab, boring is good.

Your techniques and equipment

Start with "Walk me through your experience." Group what you've done by type, and be honest about depth.

Example answer for a recent biology graduate:

"Most of my hands-on work is from my final-year project and two lab modules. I've done PCR and gel electrophoresis regularly, prepared buffers and media, and used a spectrophotometer and centrifuges every week. I've used an autoclave and worked in a biosafety cabinet with aseptic technique. I've seen HPLC run but haven't operated one myself; I'd want to be trained on it properly."

Saying what you haven't done builds trust. Overclaiming gets caught at the first follow-up question.

Following protocols

"How do you make sure you follow a protocol exactly?" needs habits, not "I'm detail-oriented."

"I read the whole SOP before I start, not step by step as I go, so nothing surprises me halfway. I lay out and label everything first, and tick steps off on my worksheet as I do them. If a step is unclear or seems wrong, I stop and ask my supervisor rather than interpret it. I don't change a method, even if I think I've found a better way, without it being approved and documented."

A contaminated sample

This is the scenario most likely to come up. The panel wants to hear you stop, contain, report and document, in that order, and never present a doubtful result as good.

Stop working with the sample and anything it may have touched.
Don't report the result as if it were valid.
Tell your supervisor straight away.
Document what you saw, when, and what was affected.
Follow the lab's procedure for repeat testing, recollection or disposal.
Help find the cause so it doesn't happen again.

Example answer:

"In my project, a set of cultures showed growth in the negative control. I stopped, didn't use any of that day's results, and told my supervisor. We logged it, discarded the plates the way the lab required, and traced it to a media bottle that had been opened several times. I re-ran with fresh media and started dating every bottle when I opened it. In a clinical or QC lab I'd follow the same order: stop, report, document, then whatever the procedure says about re-testing."

Quality control

"What would you do if a QC result was out of range?" checks that you don't release results from a run you can't trust.

Weak	Stronger
"I'd run it again until it passes."	"I'd hold the patient or batch results, check the obvious causes, and follow the lab's QC rules for what to do next."
"It's probably a one-off."	"I'd look for a pattern in recent QC data, not just this point."
"I'd adjust the calibration."	"I'd only recalibrate or change anything as the SOP allows, and document it."

Record keeping and mistakes

For records, describe how you write: in ink or the lab's system, at the time, with dates and initials, and corrections that leave the original visible rather than erased.

For "Tell me about a mistake", choose a real one you caught or reported, such as a mislabelled tube or a wrong dilution. Explain how it was found, what you did immediately, and the check you added afterwards. A technician who says they've never made a mistake worries interviewers. More examples are on the mistake question page.

How to prepare

List every technique and instrument you've used, marked "regular", "a few times" or "seen only".
Prepare stories for contamination or error, troubleshooting, a mistake and a safety concern.
Read the job description for the specific methods or regulations it names, and revise those.
Say your answers out loud. Technical answers that read well can come out rushed; the pace checker helps you hear it. Speaking Coach can also play the interviewer and follow up on the technical detail you give.