bad interview skills

[Lisochka]

I applied to three pharm schools. Got interviews in all three.
Interviewed in two and completely screw it up....Did not get in in both schools.
To prepare for the interviews I researched interview feedback on this forum. Wrote all the answers to the questions. Tried to be myself.
I think my asnwers weren't mature, I don't know. On the first interview i said I was a bad time manager. I knew it was one of the bad "tabu" answers, and I have no idea how it slipped of my tongue
The second interview I was 2 minutes late (got lost in town, even though the day before I had gone to the school and researched the rout....) and smiled too much....I think..... So, they got an impression as I was immature or not taking them seriously...I don't know...
I have the last interview coming soon....
Can you guys help? I really do not want to screw it up!
I don't know what is going on with me. I never thought I was bad at interviews...I would always get a job if I interviewed for a job.... What is going on?

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[Lisochka]

can you advice a good book on interviewing skills for a health care field may be? Or medical field schools?

 

[mustang sally]

Well, it sounds like you are at least trying to prepare for your interviews and that is a good thing! Maybe you are just getting too nervous and that is affecting your performance?
One thing I have noticed is that when people over-prepare their answers, they may come across as stilted and not very natural. I guess you want to be well-prepared, but don't sound like you are regurgitating a memorized script or anything.
It seems like a lot of schools offer interview coaching; if you are affiliated with a college, I would definitely check out the career center and see if they offer anything like that. Another thing I would recommend is to try and check out your interview site the day before (if possible) that way you don't have to worry about finding the place the day of the interview. Hope this helps you!

 

[WhiteSnows]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=583273

 

[Spock87]

I applied to three pharm schools. Got interviews in all three.
Interviewed in two and completely screw it up....Did not get in in both schools.
To prepare for the interviews I researched interview feedback on this forum. Wrote all the answers to the questions. Tried to be myself.
I think my asnwers weren't mature, I don't know. On the first interview i said I was a bad time manager. I knew it was one of the bad "tabu" answers, and I have no idea how it slipped of my tongue
The second interview I was 2 minutes late (got lost in town, even though the day before I had gone to the school and researched the rout....) and smiled too much....I think..... So, they got an impression as I was immature or not taking them seriously...I don't know...
I have the last interview coming soon....
Can you guys help? I really do not want to screw it up!
I don't know what is going on with me. I never thought I was bad at interviews...I would always get a job if I interviewed for a job.... What is going on?

1/ Does your school's "career center" offer mock interviews? If so, sign up and practice with them
2/ For your sake, do NOT say you're a bad time manager, socially awkward, unable to deal with stress, etc. LOL...common sense but I thought I would point it out
3/ Could you call/ email the people who interviewed you and asked them for their feedback on what you did wrong? That way you can avoid those mistakes for the next interview. I applied and did not get in last year. I came to talk to them, and it helped a lot.
4/ Smiling too much could be a problem...lol..who knows! I often smile when I shake their hands at the beginning and at the end and right before I answer their questions. Other than that, I just keep good eye contact.
5/ Make your points clear in your answer. This comes with practice. For example, if they ask you why you apply Pharmacy, you can give them those reasons in this format "First, second, third' and then conclude it at the end. I don't know just my style...may or may not help you
6/ Before the interview, picture yourself succeed!! I learned this from a public speaking class. It kinda helped me...

Good luck!!

 

[Thovkhaws]

Allright so it may not be that cool nor cutting edge but the one thing I noticed when I interviewed at Pacific was that yes I was too nervous and was more or less going off of my fight/ flight reactions and ended up saying some pretty dumb things. What you do is 1) research the possible questions you might get from that school, 2) make a list, 3) bring that to the gym and then hop on a treadmill or eliptical machine and get your heart rate up and 4) with earplugs in or something to block out other noise so you can just hear yourself breathing and your heart pumping start practicing your questions. It's so much harder than just sitting in a chair at home where you are calm and relaxed. Try it.

 

[trailrider400]

How do you know you completely screwed up the interview? If you didn't get accepted after the interview it wasn't necessarily because of the interview. I don't think smiling a lot is a bad thing really. It shows you are excited to be there and meet your interviewer and are enthusiastic about your answers. But like the others say I'd just make sure you know generally what to say in your answers but don't memorize them. Just try to relax. Unfortunately I'm sure you'll be even more nervous for you third interview because you think you really bombed the first two. Just do your best to make yourself feel confident and relaxed. You'll have more confidence if you know exactly how you are going to answer the questions. Instead of memorizing a statement have a few words memorized for each question. For example.

What is your biggest strength - Strong leader
What is your biggest weakness - Too trusting
Why do you want to be a pharmacist - Easy access to narcotics

Then just take these key words you've memorized and weave them into your response at the interview. It won't sound rehearsed but you'll know exactly what to say.

 

[Jdario86]

I applied to three pharm schools. Got interviews in all three.
Interviewed in two and completely screw it up....Did not get in in both schools.
To prepare for the interviews I researched interview feedback on this forum. Wrote all the answers to the questions. Tried to be myself.
I think my asnwers weren't mature, I don't know. On the first interview i said I was a bad time manager. I knew it was one of the bad "tabu" answers, and I have no idea how it slipped of my tongue
The second interview I was 2 minutes late (got lost in town, even though the day before I had gone to the school and researched the rout....) and smiled too much....I think..... So, they got an impression as I was immature or not taking them seriously...I don't know...
I have the last interview coming soon....
Can you guys help? I really do not want to screw it up!
I don't know what is going on with me. I never thought I was bad at interviews...I would always get a job if I interviewed for a job.... What is going on?

1. First, congratulations on the fact that you were offered interviews from all the 3 schools you applied to.
2. Don't get bogged down, interviews take time to do well on. Personally, it wasn't until my 3rd school interview I was able to fine-tune my interview skills.
3. Smiling is a GOOD thing. Just smile during appropriate times. ie. don't smile if the interviewer starts asking you something negative like 'why did you get a C in immunology?'
4. I think job interviews and pharm school interviews are totally different. In job interviews, they're mainly looking to see if you can do the job and in pharm school interviews, they're mainly focused on how you communicate. Yes - school interviewers are also interested to see if you can become a pharmacist but they're also focused on how well you can articulate the reasoning behind why you want to go into pharmacy.
5. If they ask you a simple question, don't respond with a 1 word response. For example, if they ask for your 3 strengths, don't just say i'm 'caring, smart, and articulate' then end off there. Instead, elaborate each answer ie. 'i'm caring bc i worked with many elderly patients at the pharmacy...i'm smart because i enjoy mental challenges within the biomedical sciences....etc.' ELABORATE and give specific examples, then end it with something proactive like '...and I believe these qualities are necessary to become a pharmacist. Therefore, I will become a great pharmacist.'
6. Contact each school you got rejected from and ask them for specifics about what was lacking your interview or application.

 

[ffpickle]

There are some red flags you don't want to raise during your interviews. For example, never, in any way, hint that you are or ever were interested in medicine. Never in any way indicate that money is a motivating factor, etc. Just as important as "what to say" is "what not to say." Learn those things and stay away from them!

 

[Sparda29]

There are some red flags you don't want to raise during your interviews. For example, never, in any way, hint that you are or ever were interested in medicine. Never in any way indicate that money is a motivating factor, etc. Just as important as "what to say" is "what not to say." Learn those things and stay away from them!

Oh really? During my interview I told them that I had taken the MCAT, I had shadowed 2 MDs, I worked at a pharmacy for 2+ years.

 

[Artful Dodger]

There are some red flags you don't want to raise during your interviews. For example, never, in any way, hint that you are or ever were interested in medicine. Never in any way indicate that money is a motivating factor, etc. Just as important as "what to say" is "what not to say." Learn those things and stay away from them!

i think you would have to have an interest in medicine before pharmacy...that's the root of it in essence. i don't mind telling them my story and how i arrived there, such as starting out as a pre-med, then pre-dent, now a pre-pharm. and i can explain how i arrived to each while still weighing the pros and cons. but whatever.

dear poster, i really hope you nail your 3rd interview! if i was an interviewer, i would've admired the courage to speak your mind in an interview while trying to give you pointers on how you can tailor the answer to the moment. keep working at it. sometimes it's better to be politically correct than honestly correct in a setting such as this. give it your all and keep speaking your mind...the world needs more of you. good luck. hope you get accepted.

 

[DrYoda]

I think my asnwers weren't mature, I don't know. On the first interview i said I was a bad time manager. I knew it was one of the bad "tabu" answers, and I have no idea how it slipped of my tongue

When giving actual weaknesses, I recommend saying how you are addressing said weakness. For example, at one of my med-school interviews I said I was a poor public speaker. Then I pointed out that I had taken a public speaking course and performed well in it.

You can also use your words to make your weakness sound less bad. So what I actually said at my interview was more along the lines of: "I feel that my public speaking could be improved, which is why I took a public speaking course last Winter". This is much better sounding than something like:"I'm a horrible public speaker...". Be selective with your words, you want to show yourself in the best possible light.

The second interview I was 2 minutes late (got lost in town, even though the day before I had gone to the school and researched the rout....) and smiled too much....I think..... So, they got an impression as I was immature or not taking them seriously...I don't know...

Leave way early for interviews, always.

Good luck on your third interview.

 

[krystal2812]

I applied to three pharm schools. Got interviews in all three.
Interviewed in two and completely screw it up....Did not get in in both schools.
To prepare for the interviews I researched interview feedback on this forum. Wrote all the answers to the questions. Tried to be myself.
I think my asnwers weren't mature, I don't know. On the first interview i said I was a bad time manager. I knew it was one of the bad "tabu" answers, and I have no idea how it slipped of my tongue
The second interview I was 2 minutes late (got lost in town, even though the day before I had gone to the school and researched the rout....) and smiled too much....I think..... So, they got an impression as I was immature or not taking them seriously...I don't know...
I have the last interview coming soon....
Can you guys help? I really do not want to screw it up!
I don't know what is going on with me. I never thought I was bad at interviews...I would always get a job if I interviewed for a job.... What is going on?

I already had 4 interviews so far but I didn't think I did well in any. So scared now.

 

[dumbguy]

The most effective way of succeeding in interviews is to actually go through mock interviews and/or real interviews. I'm a 4th time re-applicant for pharmacy school. I've probably gone through more than 20 interviews in my lifetime, including jobs and pharmacy school interviews. Each and every time that I fail, I learn something from it. In my first 3 interviews this year, I got accepted to all 3 schools. So I say the best way to learn anything is through experience and learning from your past mistakes. I did a mock interview once where they video-taped me. I noticed my voice was fading off on my answers. I can see from watching the video that I wasn't projecting my voice as much. I can tell you for sure that after my first acceptance this year, the 2nd and 3rd interview was much more relaxing. The feeling that I've already been accepted had made me more relaxed and do better for the 2nd and 3rd interview. So a tip I would suggest is to apply to a new easy school very early in the application process so that if you do get accepted, your will be more relaxed for your subsequent interviews which will definitely help you do better for the schools that you want to get in. In addition, I believe your appearance helps alot too. I changed my tie to a non-repetitive sleeky design and wore eye glasses to my interviews for this year. It sort of made me look professional and smart.

 

[Transformer]

Although interview performance plays a big part on admission decisions, Schools look at our entire application in the end.

I had one interview this year and it was an open file interview. I thought this actually played against me. Since I was previously an academic screw up, one of my interviewer kept asking me what happened to my grades and what I had done to improve. I told them the truth and I had a feeling, (regardless of what reasons I gave or explained how I improved academically); they weren't too impressed since they had to even ask these questions in the first place.

Even though I'm very grateful and blessed I received an interview and was later denied admission at this school, the attention given to my past grades made me wonder why they even invited me if they didn't think my grades were good enough.

Anyone had an open filed interview and experience similar questions?

The bottom line is if your interviewers liked you, your entire application, and what you had to say at the interview, then most likely you'll get in...

 

[TpharmD]

i also have bad interview skills...how can i prepare for it from SDN?

 

[wolfpackhal]

I have attended 3 interviews for the 09-10 cycle (2 acceptances/1 pending) and all were closed file. Be sure to research your interviews on SDN, etc. to see if they are closed or open. If open, be prepared to address and flaws or interesting things on your application. If closed, be prepared to reveal the good things about you as you answer your questions. I do not think I am the worlds best interviewer, but maybe I am better than I realize. My stats are solid all around, but by no means 3.99/99. My main advice is to be happy, look at your interviewers and appear confident regardless of your words. They really just want to get to know you and will likely ask you questions about some challenges and/or problems you have faced, your accomplishments, your reasons for pharmacy school/qualtities you think a pharmacist should have, and hypothetical situations to get a idea of how you think.

 

[RxAZ]

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[fhx06]

I think it's natural to be nervous; not everyone has the automatic charisma during these situations. The important thing is to be prepared for potential questions but not to the point where you are reciting something. Learn to sell yourself for your positive aspects and leave out the negative.

 

[ValeRx]

Firstly, be YOURSELF. Don't be one of those people who looks around the interviewers office, sees a picture of a football team you know nothing about and then talk about how much you like them. Reason being, when the interviewer asks how they did this season and you can't answer, you look like an idiot!

Second, don't be afraid to take a moment, take a deep breath, close your eyes and relax for a second. The interviewer(s) know you are nervous and won't sit there drilling you with questions. If your mind is all over the place and you are having trouble focusing on the question, do what I do and repeat the question back to them. May seem a little silly but I always did it in military boards (while you are sitting at attention and the board members are grading you on your bearing) and it helped tremendously.