Behavioral interviews

[lunazzurra]

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For those of you who have experience with this interview style, would you say it's better to use "lighter" anecdotes than serious ones? For instance (and these situations are hypothetical), if a question is asked about a difficult decision I've made, would I be better off sticking to a simple story about disciplining an errant employee, or discussing a decision I made to take a loved one off life support? Again, I've never been faced with that particular dilemma, but I have had to grapple with a significant life-or-death decision before. I would not want to relate such stories to the adcom if they would come across as melodramatic or just plain dark.

What are your thoughts, oh trusty pre-vets? 🙂

 

[robeezy08]

Hey lunazzurra, good question! I just got through the behavioral interview at Western and in preparing I was told by a friend to try and remember why the question is being asked in the first place. Is it to gain insight into your: leadership skills, organizational skills, management capabilities...etc? Each question is designed to gain more insight into particular qualities (google behavioral interview for more categories.) So just be sure the story you tell will portray these type of qualities to the interviewers. Also, for Western at least, the behavioral interview is a blind interview, meaning the interviewers don't read your applications. So I'd say in answering questions, try to tell them as much about your vet/animal related experiences as possible rather than really personal stories. Just my two cents, hope that helps!

 

[Pomona2006]

I agree with robeezy08

When you're thinking about good anecdotes, you should keep in mind:

1) Is this a story you're going to be able to tell without getting emotional / crying?

2) Is this a story that is going to evoke such emotions in your interviewers that they will not notice the qualities you possess and are trying to communicate.

I think these are important - I was asked about a time when I had competing priorities and, to be honest, the first thing that came to my mind was my grandfather dying right before finals week of Fall 2008 (keep in mind my entire family is in NY and I am in CA, alone) and I had to decide whether I wanted to fly home for the services (long drawn out thing because he was hugely involved in the military and was also a firefighter, so lots of formalities). Anyway...I decided NOT to go with that story because a) I didn't think I could talk about it without getting emotional and b) I didn't want the interviewers feeling sympathy for me - - - I wanted them to focus on my amazing qualities 😉. I ended up choosing an alternative story that might not have been the greatest, but I was able to communicate it without the aforementioned issues.

 

[Pandacinny]

This is something I've struggled with this year, too, because it's been a rough one. I had a question dealing with time management, which I've learned a lot about this year because I was working a lot, volunteering/helping set up a new charity, visiting my mom in the hospital every day when she was there for a few months, visiting another relative in the hospital, and helping plan a funeral. I decided to leave out all the hospital and funeral stuff and focus on talking about my work/volunteering and how I'd balanced time there while also leaving myself time to spend with my family.

I don't think the nitty gritty details would've helped the adcoms decide whether I should be admitted and I worried it would look like I was exploiting some personal tragedies to get into vet school. I agree with what others have said: look at what they're trying to learn about you and answer the question from that perspective. I mean, pick something meaningful or interesting to you if you can, but don't feel like you need to dig up an involved, very personal story. Especially not if it's hard to talk about.

 

[chris03333]

For those of you who have experience with this interview style, would you say it's better to use "lighter" anecdotes than serious ones? For instance (and these situations are hypothetical), if a question is asked about a difficult decision I've made, would I be better off sticking to a simple story about disciplining an errant employee, or discussing a decision I made to take a loved one off life support? Again, I've never been faced with that particular dilemma, but I have had to grapple with a significant life-or-death decision before. I would not want to relate such stories to the adcom if they would come across as melodramatic or just plain dark.

What are your thoughts, oh trusty pre-vets? 🙂

Not a "pre-vet" but I believe that a behavioral interview is to assess you as a person. If you are the type that is comfortable speaking about serious situations, I would go with that rather than the "lighter" ones.

 

[VAgirl]

I agree with those who have expressed reluctance to talk about the more personal issues if talking about it is going to make you too upset/emotional. However, I don't think it makes sense to worry about adcoms thinking you're trying to garner sympathy by discussing difficult situations that you've dealt with/are dealing with. You're not seeking pity, you're answering their question with a situation that you feel is pertinent. Some of you guys make it seem like you're going out of your way not to mention this difficult situations. If it's going to make you emotional, that makes sense. If not, I don't think it makes sense to bend over backwards to leave those details out.

 

[Pandacinny]

I did bend over backwards not to mention the death in my family this year, but not really because it's difficult to talk about. It was the right thing to do in my situation because of the specific circumstances of the death. Often, people end up moralizing and it's just not okay. (I mean people I'm sharing this story with - not anyone on this forum!)

Anyways, during an interview it's up to you to decide what you're comfortable sharing. I think Chris summed it up really well.

 

[Ben and Me]

On a related note...

Does anyone remember which thread earlier this cycle had that list of behavioral questions? I'd love to use that list to prep for my interviews a little!

 

[sumstorm]

I come at this from a very different perspective. My top choice doesn't conduct interviews, but I have conducted interviews for 1 year internships in a zoo.

My advice comes as an interviewer in that situation. If you do share a story that is heavy (which is fine if it clearly illustrates the trait/skill/etc that you want to share) try to limit it to one story. I have had interviews where the list of heavy stories from a single candidate could fill a small book. When that happens, I wonder if there is every a point in thier life where the world isn't falling down around them and/or which tragedy will be the one that breaks the camel's back...and would it happen while they were in our program.

Also, be aware of what another person may interpret from the story. If I believe family is critical, I might subconsciously frown on somoene who chose not to respond to thier family in an emergency. I had a lot of women fresh out of college that felt the need to inform me that they never planned on having children. It made me uncomfortable because it isn't a topic I could legally bring up.

Having said all of that, I know the question/answer that earned me a TJ Watson Fellowship was dark, but illustrated the ability to work with people, to be subtly creative, and to influence without force, important for someone traveling overseas to conduct research in a variety of cultures and environments. My topic of the answer was about domestic violence, and how to bring a friend into awareness that she was being abused, even if she wasn't being hit.

 

[twelvetigers]

On a related note...

Does anyone remember which thread earlier this cycle had that list of behavioral questions? I'd love to use that list to prep for my interviews a little!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=569475&highlight=behavioral+interview+questions
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=7231565#post7231565
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=595563&highlight=behavioral+interview+questions
http://more.studentdoctor.net/schoollist.php?type=8

 

[Ben and Me]

Twelvetigers, thanks so much! That post from VAGirl is what I was looking for! You rock!

 

[twelvetigers]

Happy to help (and rock). 🙂

 

[Solidgun]

Would you bring up your life experience and overcoming serious depression if it is related to the question? I ask this, because I am not sure how truthful one should become.

 

[CR165583]

I wouldn't bring anything into debate that might sprout a thread of concern about your ability to cope and succeed in school. Stick to positives. Keep the interview positive.
Helping someone else cope is a different story. But never, never let them see you sweat.

 

[DollyyLlama]

for me, it would depend on how far removed the episode is. if i could speak about it in the past tense, without feeling like i might lose control of my emotions (which is very easy to do when i'm nervous), and sound like it's behind me now, then it might be ok.

i mentioned my anxiety condition on my tufts app, and sure enough they asked me if i'd be able to cope with vet school. i was a little offended actually but i did volunteer it so it's fair game. i told them that it's been well managed since my diagnosis, it hasn't interfered with academics ever before, and that i know myself and know how to handle it.

there's another issue, though, that i'm sure would make me emotional to discuss, so i've been keeping it very much to myself.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=593123