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Applicable to all of you with interviews coming up, but especially for UF folks:
(My advice is simpler: Be yourself and be natural - to try to be anything else is awkward and shows; it won't work anyway. Prepare your mind by preparing your heart - why do you want to do this? Answer all questions in light of that and you will be yourself.)
Secrets to Nailing your Vet School Interview
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 2:18pm
Brittany Bell
I have been wanting to write this for my dear friends for a while now, so I hope it is not too late. Here it goes!
So you got an interview! Congratulations! You've worked hard on the applications, got everything in on time, and SLAVED over your personal statement. And they LIKED it! They really liked it! Now, they want to hear straight from the horse's mouth... Oh CRAP! Believe it or not, the personal statement will be the easiest part! Interview prep is nothing that should be taken lightly. The following are the secrets that I used to nail my interview process, and seal the deal on my dream come true!
THE QUESTIONS...
Go to the pre-vet club's website and answer all their questions there... http://www.palpates.us/mirror/prevetclub/interviews.htm
Then, I also added some I heard about elsewhere:
1. Describe an aha! moment.
2. What accomplishment are you most proud of and why?
3. What was your favorite animal science class and why?
4. Give us an example of your leadership skills.
5. Tell us about yourself, your background, and what about veterinary medicine interests you.
6. What does commitment mean to you?
7. If you were asked to advise a research project on animal use, would you? What if you found alternative methods for the research that would make animal use not necessary, would you suggest these alternatives?
8. Give us a time when you did something that others didn't agree with, but you believed in.
9. Would you euthanize a completely healthy animal, simply because the owner couldn't care for it anymore and didn't want it going with anyone else?
10. What is the capitol of Australia?
11. What are some emerging issues in your chosen field, or just in veterinary medicine, today that concern you, or that you think are important? (Read up on these!)
12. What are your strengths, what are your weaknesses? How do you see your weaknesses playing in your academic career and when you go into practice?
13. What is something that you wil bring to the industry (or family of the college) that no one else has? ( I sang professionally for years, so I talked about understanding the need for a team and human relations.)
Finally, take the time to actually write your answers to these (and others you find) out ON PAPER. I typed up my answers to over 30 different questions about 1 to 2 weeks before my interview, and then printed them out, and read over them everyday. Many of the questions I studied beforehand were exactly the same or similar to ones I was asked. And during the interview, I felt more prepared and relaxed because I already had (just about) memorized what I wanted to say, and the main point I wanted to get across with each answer. It kept me confident and on track with my responses, so I didn't seem like I was rambling.
Also, they will give you the opportunity to ask a question or two of them at the end. HAVE QUESTIONS READY!! Have at least 3 questions prepared to ask them, although you probably will only get to ask one. And Make the questions about something you are curious or concerned about in veterinary medicine. I asked 2 questions: advice for women interested in food animal, where the industry has been predominate male... especially when I am such a small girl, will I be welcomed, respected? AND I asked about the debt to salary ratio... how do they feel about the large amount of debt upon graduation, versus trying to work WHILE in school?
Questions (and properly thought-out answers to THEIR questions) like these will show them that you are past the point of "I-need-to-get-in! I-need-to-get-in!" It will show them you are already thinking of yourself AS a vet student, AS a member of the industry, and THAT is what they are looking for. They are not looking for the right answers to any question, they want to see your thought process on getting your answers, how progressive and professional you are in your responses. Are you already thinking like a vet? <-- THAT'S the big one!
Therefore, you must do a mental prep as well as usual prep. Begin re-training your thoughts and actions so that you become an unstoppable positive energy that people DESIRE to be around! You want them to love you so much, but to not be able to put their finger on what it is about you that says, THAT girl needs to be here! Here's how:
1. Watch the movie, the secret at www.thesecret.tv Then watch it again and again. If you are truly serious about it, I will lend it to you.
2. Remove any "IF's" from your mind. It's not IF I get in this year, it's "when I AM a vet, I will..." --I AM-- statements are extremely powerful.
2. Visualize yourself as a student. Visualize yourself getting that BIG Manilla envelope, jumping up and down, and screaming! Get physical with it! Go to the post office and get one of those little yellow or green slips of paper that they use for certified mail, fill it out, as if it says, from UF (or whatever school you want to go to)... you have a BIG certified acceptance letter waiting to be picked up! Do that and tape it to your bathroom mirror, so you see it everyday. (This will make more sense after you watch the movie.)
3. Mail yourself letters of acceptance, complete with the school logo, and copied signature of the deans. You can find all those images online. Then, when you get those letters in the mail, tape them to your ceiling, so they are the last thing you see before you fall asleep, and the first thing you see when you wake up.
4. Be thankful! Go through your day, every day, repeating to yourself, "Thank you for my acceptance! Thank you!"
5. Remove ALL negative music! Make yourself a mixed CD or playlist of only songs that make you feel powerful, sexy, confident. Listen to NOTHING but this tape up until your interview... all the way there that morning, and the moment before you get out of the car in the parking lot. Hold that feeling for when you walk in the room.
6. Go ahead and spend the money on the outfit. When you think about it, this day determines the REST OF YOUR LIFE. Your image says so much to them, before you even open your mouth or shake their hand. Clothes are your armour. And do something different from the crowd of black power suits. Wear something subtle, but a little crazy enough to get noticed from everyone else. I wore a white puffy shirt from Ann Taylor, like the puffy shirt episode from Seinfeld, so the ruffles were poking out of my deep brown (NOT BLACK) power suit, that I had tailored to fit perfectly. Then I wore sexy heeled sandles that poked out from under my slacks just barely, to say, yeah, I'm a woman, and my feet know it!
7. Leave your hair alone. Be natural. This is you, not a beauty contest. Same goes for make-up. Less is more. Especially if you are trying to sell yourself as a large animal or food animal person. They have to believe that you can get down in the manure and love it!
8. Learn how to properly shake hands. This skill will serve you well throughout your entire career. People instantly respect someone who can firmly shake hands, not offer them a limp noodle. However, don't put them in the weavle-locker, either. Practice with your friends!
Do all these things, and you will be suprised at the power you can pull from within, how the Universe truly DOES respond to our wishes. AND, if it happens that you don't get in this year, you will know that you have done EVERYTHING you can to nail the interview. So when the dean says, "Well, I think you need more experience," You know he's telling you the truth.
I did all of this...
Best of luck!
(My advice is simpler: Be yourself and be natural - to try to be anything else is awkward and shows; it won't work anyway. Prepare your mind by preparing your heart - why do you want to do this? Answer all questions in light of that and you will be yourself.)
Secrets to Nailing your Vet School Interview
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 2:18pm
Brittany Bell
I have been wanting to write this for my dear friends for a while now, so I hope it is not too late. Here it goes!
So you got an interview! Congratulations! You've worked hard on the applications, got everything in on time, and SLAVED over your personal statement. And they LIKED it! They really liked it! Now, they want to hear straight from the horse's mouth... Oh CRAP! Believe it or not, the personal statement will be the easiest part! Interview prep is nothing that should be taken lightly. The following are the secrets that I used to nail my interview process, and seal the deal on my dream come true!
THE QUESTIONS...
Go to the pre-vet club's website and answer all their questions there... http://www.palpates.us/mirror/prevetclub/interviews.htm
Then, I also added some I heard about elsewhere:
1. Describe an aha! moment.
2. What accomplishment are you most proud of and why?
3. What was your favorite animal science class and why?
4. Give us an example of your leadership skills.
5. Tell us about yourself, your background, and what about veterinary medicine interests you.
6. What does commitment mean to you?
7. If you were asked to advise a research project on animal use, would you? What if you found alternative methods for the research that would make animal use not necessary, would you suggest these alternatives?
8. Give us a time when you did something that others didn't agree with, but you believed in.
9. Would you euthanize a completely healthy animal, simply because the owner couldn't care for it anymore and didn't want it going with anyone else?
10. What is the capitol of Australia?
11. What are some emerging issues in your chosen field, or just in veterinary medicine, today that concern you, or that you think are important? (Read up on these!)
12. What are your strengths, what are your weaknesses? How do you see your weaknesses playing in your academic career and when you go into practice?
13. What is something that you wil bring to the industry (or family of the college) that no one else has? ( I sang professionally for years, so I talked about understanding the need for a team and human relations.)
Finally, take the time to actually write your answers to these (and others you find) out ON PAPER. I typed up my answers to over 30 different questions about 1 to 2 weeks before my interview, and then printed them out, and read over them everyday. Many of the questions I studied beforehand were exactly the same or similar to ones I was asked. And during the interview, I felt more prepared and relaxed because I already had (just about) memorized what I wanted to say, and the main point I wanted to get across with each answer. It kept me confident and on track with my responses, so I didn't seem like I was rambling.
Also, they will give you the opportunity to ask a question or two of them at the end. HAVE QUESTIONS READY!! Have at least 3 questions prepared to ask them, although you probably will only get to ask one. And Make the questions about something you are curious or concerned about in veterinary medicine. I asked 2 questions: advice for women interested in food animal, where the industry has been predominate male... especially when I am such a small girl, will I be welcomed, respected? AND I asked about the debt to salary ratio... how do they feel about the large amount of debt upon graduation, versus trying to work WHILE in school?
Questions (and properly thought-out answers to THEIR questions) like these will show them that you are past the point of "I-need-to-get-in! I-need-to-get-in!" It will show them you are already thinking of yourself AS a vet student, AS a member of the industry, and THAT is what they are looking for. They are not looking for the right answers to any question, they want to see your thought process on getting your answers, how progressive and professional you are in your responses. Are you already thinking like a vet? <-- THAT'S the big one!
Therefore, you must do a mental prep as well as usual prep. Begin re-training your thoughts and actions so that you become an unstoppable positive energy that people DESIRE to be around! You want them to love you so much, but to not be able to put their finger on what it is about you that says, THAT girl needs to be here! Here's how:
1. Watch the movie, the secret at www.thesecret.tv Then watch it again and again. If you are truly serious about it, I will lend it to you.
2. Remove any "IF's" from your mind. It's not IF I get in this year, it's "when I AM a vet, I will..." --I AM-- statements are extremely powerful.
2. Visualize yourself as a student. Visualize yourself getting that BIG Manilla envelope, jumping up and down, and screaming! Get physical with it! Go to the post office and get one of those little yellow or green slips of paper that they use for certified mail, fill it out, as if it says, from UF (or whatever school you want to go to)... you have a BIG certified acceptance letter waiting to be picked up! Do that and tape it to your bathroom mirror, so you see it everyday. (This will make more sense after you watch the movie.)
3. Mail yourself letters of acceptance, complete with the school logo, and copied signature of the deans. You can find all those images online. Then, when you get those letters in the mail, tape them to your ceiling, so they are the last thing you see before you fall asleep, and the first thing you see when you wake up.
4. Be thankful! Go through your day, every day, repeating to yourself, "Thank you for my acceptance! Thank you!"
5. Remove ALL negative music! Make yourself a mixed CD or playlist of only songs that make you feel powerful, sexy, confident. Listen to NOTHING but this tape up until your interview... all the way there that morning, and the moment before you get out of the car in the parking lot. Hold that feeling for when you walk in the room.
6. Go ahead and spend the money on the outfit. When you think about it, this day determines the REST OF YOUR LIFE. Your image says so much to them, before you even open your mouth or shake their hand. Clothes are your armour. And do something different from the crowd of black power suits. Wear something subtle, but a little crazy enough to get noticed from everyone else. I wore a white puffy shirt from Ann Taylor, like the puffy shirt episode from Seinfeld, so the ruffles were poking out of my deep brown (NOT BLACK) power suit, that I had tailored to fit perfectly. Then I wore sexy heeled sandles that poked out from under my slacks just barely, to say, yeah, I'm a woman, and my feet know it!
7. Leave your hair alone. Be natural. This is you, not a beauty contest. Same goes for make-up. Less is more. Especially if you are trying to sell yourself as a large animal or food animal person. They have to believe that you can get down in the manure and love it!
8. Learn how to properly shake hands. This skill will serve you well throughout your entire career. People instantly respect someone who can firmly shake hands, not offer them a limp noodle. However, don't put them in the weavle-locker, either. Practice with your friends!
Do all these things, and you will be suprised at the power you can pull from within, how the Universe truly DOES respond to our wishes. AND, if it happens that you don't get in this year, you will know that you have done EVERYTHING you can to nail the interview. So when the dean says, "Well, I think you need more experience," You know he's telling you the truth.
I did all of this...
Best of luck!
