General interview tips and PCO advice?

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hahahaaj

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Hey so I've got my first interviews coming up and I have NO idea what to expect. Any tips and advice would be appreciated. I feel like I've never had to do a legit interview before.
Also would appreciate any tips specific to interviewing at PCO. Thanks!

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Just relax and be yourself. None of the questions asked (at least at the interviews I've been on) are trick questions or come out of left field. They will ask you things like why do you want to be an optometrist and why are you interested in our school. Make sure to know things about their school like the curriculum and how their focus might differ from other schools. For me, the most important thing was to be prepared, but not to memorize answers. I knew I'd be thrown off if I over-rehearsed, so I just did some soul searching and came up with points that I wanted to touch on, but did not try to plan things out exactly. At my first interview, I opted for the afternoon slot, so by the time I had my interview I had already been on campus and met a number of faculty and students and had asked and answered questions for about 4 hours, so by the time the interview came along I was very relaxed. Just remember, a lot of the time they are looking at something other than your actual answer. If they ask you why you want to be an optometrist, there is not a right or wrong answer, they are trying to gauge if you do have a passion for the field, if you've had exposure to it, and if you understand what an optometrist does. If they ask you a more random question, they're mostly looking at your grace under pressure, how well you can think on your feet, and how well you can communicate an answer.
But seriously, don't stress about the interview. The most important part of the day is for you to learn everything you can about that school and their program. You are seeing if you're a good fit there as much as they're seeing if you are a good fit. You can feel nervous, but if you don't feel comfortable it might not be the best environment for you. At my interviews the faculty went out of their way to try to make me feel relaxed and comfortable and like I could act like myself, that's why I know that those schools will be a good fit for me.
 
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Just relax and be yourself. None of the questions asked (at least at the interviews I've been on) are trick questions or come out of left field. They will ask you things like why do you want to be an optometrist and why are you interested in our school. Make sure to know things about their school like the curriculum and how their focus might differ from other schools. For me, the most important thing was to be prepared, but not to memorize answers. I knew I'd be thrown off if I over-rehearsed, so I just did some soul searching and came up with points that I wanted to touch on, but did not try to plan things out exactly. At my first interview, I opted for the afternoon slot, so by the time I had my interview I had already been on campus and met a number of faculty and students and had asked and answered questions for about 4 hours, so by the time the interview came along I was very relaxed. Just remember, a lot of the time they are looking at something other than your actual answer. If they ask you why you want to be an optometrist, there is not a right or wrong answer, they are trying to gauge if you do have a passion for the field, if you've had exposure to it, and if you understand what an optometrist does. If they ask you a more random question, they're mostly looking at your grace under pressure, how well you can think on your feet, and how well you can communicate an answer.
But seriously, don't stress about the interview. The most important part of the day is for you to learn everything you can about that school and their program. You are seeing if you're a good fit there as much as they're seeing if you are a good fit. You can feel nervous, but if you don't feel comfortable it might not be the best environment for you. At my interviews the faculty went out of their way to try to make me feel relaxed and comfortable and like I could act like myself, that's why I know that those schools will be a good fit for me.
Well said. I completely agree with what you wrote on here.
 
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