how can I get ready/practice for interviews?

[batista_123]

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Hi guys
I have my one and only interview in about a month and I do not feel ready at all.
I have no idea where to begin. I can't answer the simplest questions like "why do you want to be a doctor" "why this school" "what is your biggest strength" "describe a failure"
don't even get me started on the more challenging questions like "how will healthcare look in 10 years?" "if someone is dying, do you do this or that?"

I am thinking of writing down the most frequently asked questions, and preparing an answer for them. Is this the right way to go?
Once I have my "script", how can I act it out? I dont have anyone that could practice with me because nobody knows I am applying. I have kept it a secret. Dont ask why I am just a private person and this is the way I like it. I am also not in school so cant use the career office (they are useless anyway)
I am thinking of just going to the hospital and asking random people to practice with me, chances are i will find someone? I dont know.

 

[Bro Dude]

If there is a Career Center at your school, ask if they conduct mock interviews. That'd be your best bet.

 

[NickNaylor]

DO NOT memorize answers from a script. I repeat, DO NOT MEMORIZE ANSWERS. That will probably put you in a worse spot than relying on what you perceive as unpreparedness.

As mentioned above, try going to your pre-health or career office and request some mock interviews. If that's not possible, simply get familiar with your application and get ideas from there. Frankly the only way to be "good" at interviews is to know yourself and to immerse yourself in the field of medicine as much as you're able.

 

[GeauxTime]

DO NOT memorize answers from a script. I repeat, DO NOT MEMORIZE ANSWERS. That will probably put you in a worse spot than relying on what you perceive as unpreparedness.

As mentioned above, try going to your pre-health or career office and request some mock interviews. If that's not possible, simply get familiar with your application and get ideas from there. Frankly the only way to be "good" at interviews is to know yourself and to immerse yourself in the field of medicine as much as you're able.

I didn't recognize you with the new drake avatar Nick...

 

[CC8897]

i didn't recognize you with the new drake avatar nick...

+1

 

[NickNaylor]

I didn't recognize you with the new drake avatar Nick...

Takin it back to my hip hop roots.

 

[blizzah]

Takin it back to my hip hop roots.

Lol so you chose soft, simpin Drake

 

[Miss Alyssa]

Hi guys
I have my one and only interview in about a month and I do not feel ready at all.
I have no idea where to begin. I can't answer the simplest questions like "why do you want to be a doctor" "why this school" "what is your biggest strength" "describe a failure"
don't even get me started on the more challenging questions like "how will healthcare look in 10 years?" "if someone is dying, do you do this or that?"

I am thinking of writing down the most frequently asked questions, and preparing an answer for them. Is this the right way to go?
Once I have my "script", how can I act it out? I dont have anyone that could practice with me because nobody knows I am applying. I have kept it a secret. Dont ask why I am just a private person and this is the way I like it. I am also not in school so cant use the career office (they are useless anyway)
I am thinking of just going to the hospital and asking random people to practice with me, chances are i will find someone? I dont know.

I agree with the above poster about not memorizing responses like a script. I'm sure somewhere floating around on SDN you can get a list of commonly asked questions (the ones you answered are definitely popular ones). I took my list of questions and made bullet point list of things that I would like to get across.

For example:

"Why do I want to go to SDN College of Medicine?"
-I believe I fit the schools mission
-and the school fits my mission
-PBL learning in first 2 years
-I went to McMaster for undergrad and really excelled in PBL environments
-Strong research
-mentored research program spanning all 4 years
-research powerhouse
-MD/PHD program
-systems based curriculum
-close to my family, family ties
-rural health care opportunities
-...etc.

Then after you have your list, practice making it into coherent sentences. Don't write down the sentences because you might be tempted to rehearse. You don't want to come across as rehearsed, but need to answer the question and represent yourself well.

 

[LizzyM]

You need to find someone who will conduct a mock interview.... ideally, you are willing to reveal to someone you know that you are applying and that you'd like to undergo a mock interview .... The person who interviews you should be able to help you with your delivery, the way you present yourself (nervous ticks, verbal filler, clothing choices), as well as the content of your responses. Ideally, the mock interviewer should be at least 25 years older than yourself (a friend's dad is often a good choice) and perhaps someone who has had professional experience conducting job interivews or something along those lines. Alternately, perhaps a resident or fellow or attending who you are friendly with at the hospital would agree to do it.

The best bit of advice: DO NOT REHEARSE! Give your honest and unrehearsed answers. Practice talking with a friend and not using "um, like, you know"; the content of what you talk about need not be the topic of med school interviews, just a way of being more conscious of your verbal filler.

Some people like doing a videotaped interview and then reviewing posture and mannerisms but I don't know if that helps or just makes people more nervous and on edge on the day of the real inteview.

 

[LossForWords]

I answered questions to myself in the shower, in the car, going on a run, etc. It can help to actually say the words out loud and get a feel for how they sound. You might land on a phrase you like and remember for later, but it's not like you'll remember everything you say verbatim.

 

[obgyny]

Hi guys
I have my one and only interview in about a month and I do not feel ready at all.
I have no idea where to begin. I can't answer the simplest questions like "why do you want to be a doctor" "why this school" "what is your biggest strength" "describe a failure"
don't even get me started on the more challenging questions like "how will healthcare look in 10 years?" "if someone is dying, do you do this or that?"

I am thinking of writing down the most frequently asked questions, and preparing an answer for them. Is this the right way to go?
Once I have my "script", how can I act it out? I dont have anyone that could practice with me because nobody knows I am applying. I have kept it a secret. Dont ask why I am just a private person and this is the way I like it. I am also not in school so cant use the career office (they are useless anyway)
I am thinking of just going to the hospital and asking random people to practice with me, chances are i will find someone? I dont know.

Mock interviews with your school's career center would be good practice. But if you're having trouble articulating these answers (sometimes it's hard to put these answers into words), then I recommend chatting with a friend about it (it's what I did). Casually, we just talked about why we wanted to go into our fields (she was going into pharm), then went back and forth asking the cliche questions. It helped me think through things and realize my reasons/motivations, what I wanted in my career, etc. And even though I was stammering through some of my answers at first, by the time I got to the real interview, I found it really easy to come up with answers on the spot because I knew myself better and knew what I wanted.

And at first, I worried so much about sounding "smart" and tried to make my answers sound so proper. But really, just talk like you normally do (don't try to use big words you don't normally use ) just without the slang, curse words, "umms," etc. And as everyone has said, do not rehearse your answers!! Plus there's no way of being able to prepare for every possible question/scenario. See SDN's interview feedback section for the types of questions you might encounter.

Be prepared to talk about anything that's on your application. If you did research, practice explaining it in simple terms to other people. And be sure to ask questions and make eye contact during the interview.

GL!

 

[Omppu27]

i didn't recognize you with the new drake avatar nick...

+100

 

[LingoLaine]

I answered questions to myself in the shower, in the car, going on a run, etc. It can help to actually say the words out loud and get a feel for how they sound. You might land on a phrase you like and remember for later, but it's not like you'll remember everything you say verbatim.

Same here, exactly -- in the car by myself, taking the dog for a walk around the lake, in the shower.

 

[AugustBurnsDan]

While I agree that you should not try to memorize a script you should have some idea what you would say to standard interview questions. This may sound crazy but I conducted an interview with myself and an imaginary interviewer. After I felt pretty comfortable I asked my dad to really drill me with difficult random questions about school.

I think the best thing would be to re-read your statement, amcas app, and secondary for the school. You would be amazed how with enough practice you can apply your experiences to most any question.

Hope that helps

 

[235788]

interviews were not too bad. Just use your head, don't spout hot gas, and remain humble. None of the prepping I did really helped (endless youtube videos over healthcare reform etc.) I was asked specifics about my application -- so know yourself and your ECs very well.