How should you begin and end you interview?

[LightWeight]

I have an upcoming interview and wanted to get some opinions and thoughts on this. When you are doing the individual interview and you meet the interviewer(s) and start the interviewing process. Should you begin with a thank you for their consideration for inviting you for an interview? And when the interview ends, how should you say thank you for their time? I just want to show how appreciative of them to consider me.

Tips? pointers? thoughts?

Thanks!

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[kys2000]

I have an upcoming interview and wanted to get some opinions and thoughts on this. When you are doing the individual interview and you meet the interviewer(s) and start the interviewing process. Should you begin with a thank you for their consideration for inviting you for an interview? And when the interview ends, how should you say thank you for their time? I just want to show how appreciative of them to consider me.

Tips? pointers? thoughts?

Thanks!

With my interviews, the interviewers usually introduced themselves first with their names, credentials, and what they currently do. Thus, I would introduce myself along the same lines. Subsequently, typical interview questions would follow. At the end is where I would express my appreciation for their consideration. I would typically end the interview with "It has been great meeting you all and thank you for your time and consideration". I prefer short and to the point,

 

[chemtopharm]

Best not to rehearse a specific game plan for the interview in too great a detail. I would not thank them for their consideration until after the interview is over. Keep the beginning of the interview for introductions. As for how to say "thank you for your time", you can say exactly that, as well as reaffirm your interest in the program.

Honestly a lot of interviewing skills are just good manners. Wait for the interviewer to invite you to sit before you plunk down in a chair, address everyone with Sir/Ma'am, etc.

Be polite, genuine, and don't come across as a suck up.

 

[wanttobepharm]

With my interviews, the interviewers usually introduced themselves first with their names, credentials, and what they currently do. Thus, I would introduce myself along the same lines. Subsequently, typical interview questions would follow. At the end is where I would express my appreciation for their consideration. I would typically end the interview with "It has been great meeting you all and thank you for your time and consideration". I prefer short and to the point,

Best not to rehearse a specific game plan for the interview in too great a detail. I would not thank them for their consideration until after the interview is over. Keep the beginning of the interview for introductions. As for how to say "thank you for your time", you can say exactly that, as well as reaffirm your interest in the program.

Honestly a lot of interviewing skills are just good manners. Wait for the interviewer to invite you to sit before you plunk down in a chair, address everyone with Sir/Ma'am, etc.

Be polite, genuine, and don't come across as a suck up.

These are all great advice, I think you should just wing it because every interview may have different atmosphere. End the interview with a firm and confident hand shake and thank the interviewer for his/her/their time is always a great way to wrap things up.

 

[DelawareStudent]

I have an upcoming interview and wanted to get some opinions and thoughts on this. When you are doing the individual interview and you meet the interviewer(s) and start the interviewing process. Should you begin with a thank you for their consideration for inviting you for an interview? And when the interview ends, how should you say thank you for their time? I just want to show how appreciative of them to consider me.

Tips? pointers? thoughts?

Thanks!

First and most importantly Do not wing anything No matter what you think of yourself, unless your name is Obama, or some other equally skilled orator, you are NOT good at winging it, trust me.

Lack of preparedness shows through like a giant spaghetti stain on your shirt screaming "Well I put on my nice shirt for you, but I didn't bother cleaning it"

Introduction:

Firm handshake, eye contact, and a strong "Good morning/afternoon" and a "Thank you for the oppurtunity"

--I would avoid going through credentials and whatnot in the intro, save this for the interview and closing - its largely pointless as you've probably already covered it in your application and will again cover it when answer questions--

Closing:

Them: "Is there anything else you'd like to add"

--This is your opportunity to summarize why you are the student they are looking for. Use points made during the interview, your credentials, and things you know about the school to tie everything together--

fake example: "In closing I would like to touch on what you said earlier about "A student is only as good as the teacher". I agree whole-heartedly and additionally feel that at these early stages of the education of our future pharmacists, more than just strong teachers are needed, we need strong student leaders. Based on my experience as a student body president/shift manager at dairy-queen/red cross volunteering/etc, etc, etc, I feel that I can make an impact to this school not just statistically, by achieving in the classroom, but qualitatively through the contributions I hope to make to the student body by volunteering time and experience where needed. While I make no assumptions in terms of the level of leadership, I hope that through hardwork and a dedication to the school and students, I can make an impact. Thank you again for meeting with me today."

And finally: Yes, you need to fully prepare and memorize your closing statements. It's called an elevator speech, this is your oppurtunity to sum yourself up in 10-20 seconds, so don't get caught stumbling. When it comes time to actually deliver your closing, it's up to you to take queues and parts of the interview and work them in to make it smooth.

I've been a hiring manager for years, and have gone through hundreds of interviews both as an interviewee and interviewer. Preparedness is the key - find every possible pharmacy interview question out there and create and memorize an answer to it. You should spend a minimum of 3-4 hours preparing for your interviews. Know who the staff are, recent accomplishments at the school, news etc.

 

[wanttobepharm]

Good advice, but it may be possible to over prepare. I'm not saying you should pull things out of your arse but just do it naturally.

Oh well, to each their own.

 

[kcwang]

I like to take in charge of my interviews, so I spend most of the time talking. Sometimes interviewer might start chatting with you and go off topics. When that happens, question could be a good way to control the conversation. You can also use questions to shift the direction of the interview, if you feel that it is going somewhere unfavorble.

imo, I wouldn't memorize any speech. A good interviewer can tell right away if you are reciting your speech (espicially if you dont have as much interview experience). I would look at sample interview questions (sdn interview feedback is a great resource), and have a general idea how you should answer if asked.

 

[DelawareStudent]

Good advice, but it may be possible to over prepare. I'm not saying you should pull things out of your arse but just do it naturally.

Oh well, to each their own.

In any interview, you'll probably end up with 5-10 questions. There are essentially two types of questions most commonly asked:

1) Situational "Tell me about a time when...."
2) Hypothetical "If you were in this situation, what would do"

The goal to answering most interview questions is to give a clear, concise answer that both showcases your own skills as well as ties them into the job/school/position you are applying for.

Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager:​

I disagreed with my manager over how timecards should be processed. I felt I had come up with a better way of doing them, but he wanted to do it his way. (Issue) Rather than simply give up or become overly insubordinate, I decided the best course of action would be to put together a strong case for why my way was better. I decided to (explain how you resolved here) and he agreed with me. I feel my ability to creatively resolve this issue will translate well into my role as a student and pharmacist where thinking and problem solving creatively is a necessary tool to succeed.(tied into role as student/pharmacist)

The trick is not too come up with 500 different answers, but instead, understand what kinds of questions they might ask and come up with 5 strong, rehearsed answers that can be used on a variety of questions.

For example, the above story could be used for "Disagree with manager" "Tell me about a time you were faced with adversity and still successful" "Tell me about a time you suggested/spearheaded a new idea" etc etc etc

Similarly, you can use this to relate hypothetical questions to a real life experience. I.e. What would you do if a patient was taking a dangerous combination of med but refused to stop. You could relate that back to the time you mediated with your boss for the timecards and explain how keeping a cool head and developing a plan of action helped you to accomplish it or whatever.

Finally - go to the Interview section of SDN and find out exactly what questions the school you are applying to is asking so you can be even better prepared.

Interviews take a combination of game planning and thinking on your feet. Just keep in mind, it's better to over-prepare, than under-deliver.

 

[DelawareStudent]

imo, I wouldn't memorize any speech. A good interviewer can tell right away if you are reciting your speech (espicially if you dont have as much interview experience). I would look at sample interview questions (sdn interview feedback is a great resource), and have a general idea how you should answer if asked.

I don't think it takes a good interviewer to tell when someone is verbatim reciting memorized material. It also doesn't take a good interview to tell when someone has taken no time to prepare answers.

I would be careful about advising an interviewee to under prepare. The best formula lies somewhere in the middle and it's up to the OP to decide at which point he feels comfortable. But simply telling someone to skip a part of preparation is more likely to hurt them then help them.

Additionally, the closing statement IS a speech, that's why it's called an elevator speech. If you had only 10 seconds to sell yourself, what would you say? If you don't already know exactly what points you would hit on, start working on it and use it when you're wrapping up your interview. Remember, in general, the biggest impression is made at the start and end of the interview.

And just to make a point of my earlier comment: No matter what you think of yourself, unless your name is Obama, or some other equally skilled orator, you are NOT good at winging it(myself included), trust me.

 

[ttngu234]

Practice, practice, practice. You are selling yourself to them, and want to make a great, lasting impression!

Think about what you would like for them to remember you by. Choose three quality traits, and emphasize them during your interview. You have to be aware of the interview setting and your interviewers, and let them know your accomplishments and what you have done that makes you an exceptional pharmacy candidate.

Dressing properly is another topic as well. The first impression is also the last impression. I guarantee that their eyes will be on you, observing you closely as you walk in. Suit up and make it work!

 

[owlegrad]

Practice, practice, practice. You are selling yourself to them, and want to make a great, lasting impression!

Think about what you would like for them to remember you by. Choose three quality traits, and emphasize them during your interview. You have to be aware of the interview setting and your interviewers, and let them know your accomplishments and what you have done that makes you an exceptional pharmacy candidate.

Dressing properly is another topic as well. The first impression is also the last impression. I guarantee that their eyes will be on you, observing you closely as you walk in. Suit up and make it work!

Lots of great advice being thrown around, but I wanted to highlight this. Focus is an incredible asset that I think many people lack. Have a plan, keep focused, and stay on task. Great advice.

 

[kcwang]

I don't think it takes a good interviewer to tell when someone is verbatim reciting memorized material. It also doesn't take a good interview to tell when someone has taken no time to prepare answers.

I would be careful about advising an interviewee to under prepare. The best formula lies somewhere in the middle and it's up to the OP to decide at which point he feels comfortable. But simply telling someone to skip a part of preparation is more likely to hurt them then help them.

Additionally, the closing statement IS a speech, that's why it's called an elevator speech. If you had only 10 seconds to sell yourself, what would you say? If you don't already know exactly what points you would hit on, start working on it and use it when you're wrapping up your interview. Remember, in general, the biggest impression is made at the start and end of the interview.

And just to make a point of my earlier comment: No matter what you think of yourself, unless your name is Obama, or some other equally skilled orator, you are NOT good at winging it(myself included), trust me.

Everyone has his or her way of preparing for interviews. I was pointing out the cons of memorizing a speech. Also, just to make it clear, I am not trying to give bad advice to the op. As I mentioned in my previous post (imo= in my opinion), I am simply voicing my opinions on this subject with my limited experience, which would help or not help the op. I am not trying to be the holy grail of pharmacy trying to dictate that memorizing speech for pharmacy school is fruitless. I am just voicing my opinion.

Now to further clarify why I, personally, do not like memorizing speech for interview. I prefer to present a dynamic interview where I demostrate my thoughtfulness, determination, am maturity to the interviewers. I do this by interacting with the interviewer through conversation and question. I believe the interview is not about you, it is about what the interviewer thinks about you. There are different type of interviewers and they probably won't shared the same interest in different aspect of your application. You will probably talk about different part of your application with different interviewers. For example, one interviewer might be more interested to hear about the research you did than the volunteering experience at a hospital. My problem with memorizing a closing statement is that you cannot predict what type of interviewer you have nor the interviewing content. To this, I suggested having a general idea of what you want to talk about instead of just memorizing speech. It would flow more naturaly, and you can change the closing statement depending on the personality of the interviewer. In addition, you can also tie your closing statement to any conversation you had earlier with the interviewer, which shows your interest, thoughtfulness and communication skill. I tend to think pharmacy school interview is more like a conversation. The interviewer probably already read your personal statement and application(if open file), so they are more interested in how well you communicate with them. While memorizing speech might work well with others, it doesnt work well with me.

I would prefer more practice interviews than memorizing content. Confidence is also one huge factor in interview (imo), and one efficient way to get confidence is through mock interviews.

Again, I humbly apologize if I am giving damaging advice (which people in the past has told me that I give inappropriate advice). I am just voicing my opinions, which I believe is helpful.

Btw, even President Obama has his speech writen for him!

 

[kys2000]

From the interviews I went on, a memorized speech wouldn't have been an option. Subsequent to the intros and a couple of general questions (why pharmacy, why this school), the interviewers would delve in either specific questions they had created or questions that were geared towards my background, especially what they heard from me in my intro.

I think preparation is key, have an idea of how you would answer a question, but in the end when the interview becomes more dynamic, your oral skills will have to carry you for questions that may not have prepared for. I know that one of my interviewers did comment on my work experience and maturity as compared to a younger student base and asked how I would deal with such a disparity. You can't memorize every question but haven't practiced and prepared give you the perception that have confidence, maturity, and professionalism, which has a large influence.

 

[Fate90]

I was wondering what should be done about hair/dress in the interviews. I understand that you want to look sharp and neat, so suit and tie is probably the best option. However, for my hair is it acceptable to spike my hair up a bit? Or is that considered unprofessional and should I leave it down.

Thank you!

 

[kcwang]

I was wondering what should be done about hair/dress in the interviews. I understand that you want to look sharp and neat, so suit and tie is probably the best option. However, for my hair is it acceptable to spike my hair up a bit? Or is that considered unprofessional and should I leave it down.

Thank you!

http://studentdoctor.net/2010/09/interview-advice-what-to-wear-what-to-wear/

short answer: As long it is professional and nice looking. I seen spiky hair at interview (the nice and modest one), and I didn't see any negative reactions from the adcom.

 

[rxlea]

I think the important thing is to be yourself. I know it is trite, but if you go in with a long memorized speech about your greatness or some other topic, you will just seem like a stuffed shirt. Besides, they have heard it all before. Make your interview memorable by offering unique experiences. Try to relate to the interviewer some way while keeping it professional. Also, try not to go off on some oration about the pharmacy field. Keep it focused on why YOU want to go to their school and what you can offer. Make sure you ask appropriate questions about the program and read up a little bit about it beforehand so you can ask the interviewer to elaborate a bit on something unique the program may have to offer. You want to know what THEY have to offer you, too. 😉

Make sure you thank the interviewer, maintain eye contact, convey genuine interest. Watch your body posture. No slouching, slumping. Read up on STAR interviewing style- it will help A LOT, since many programs and employers use this method for interviewing.

 

[rxlea]

I was wondering what should be done about hair/dress in the interviews. I understand that you want to look sharp and neat, so suit and tie is probably the best option. However, for my hair is it acceptable to spike my hair up a bit? Or is that considered unprofessional and should I leave it down.

Thank you!

I'll be honest, if I was interviewing someone with spiky hair, it would be hard for me to take them seriously. I associate spiked hair with teenagers, punks, clubbing, skaters, etc. You don't want to appear childish. Maturity is something you would probably want to convey in your interview. Of course, opinions will vary, but should I ever become faculty one day that interviews students, any ostentatious hair styles or clothing would be a turn off. First impressions are important!

 

[DelawareStudent]

I'm sorry, I didnt' realize this thread was so volatile. I, in no way, meant to offend. 😱

I think you may be confusing what I'm saying about memorization with recitation. You can't write down and recite an interview.....but if 5 people ask you why you want to be in pharmacy, do you give 5 different answers? No? You give 5 fairly similar answers? So you've memorized why you want to be a pharmacist. Now do the same for why you want to go to the school and why you would be a strong candidate. Practice and rehearse.

 

[xXRAYNEXx]

Yup, better to over prepare than under, and keep it natural. Just don't sound like a robot and remember word for word.

If the job is important to you, don't wing it and spike your hair. But some may get away with it. You want to take the risk of getting interviewers like rxlea?

Do what is generally accepted. Are you trying push your limits or land a job?

 

[Fate90]

As for the interview is it generally like a normal interview where we might bring a notebook to take notes? (perhaps bring a couple of our own notes)? Or is it more common to show up more empty handed?

Thank you!

 

[PolymeraseIII]

Okay, so I've noticed a few people say this so far, but is spiking your hair really something you shouldn't do? I mean that seems kind of ridiculous to me. As long as it is neat and not too crazy, what could possibly be wrong with that?

 

[DelawareStudent]

I by "spike" you mean a Pauly-D style blowout, I would recommend against it.

 

[rxlea]

Okay, so I've noticed a few people say this so far, but is spiking your hair really something you shouldn't do? I mean that seems kind of ridiculous to me. As long as it is neat and not too crazy, what could possibly be wrong with that?

What about it seems ridiculous?

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[PolymeraseIII]

Okay, I mean if you show up like this,

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wPT9ZKdzmFg/TH8ih6ObbkI/AAAAAAAADRs/-UGX6C52hV8/s400/4.bmp

that doesn't seem too bad.

But show up like this,

http://redalertlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/dj_pauly_d_spin_off_show.jpg

and you're definitely pushing it, haha

 

[xXRAYNEXx]

I guess conservative hair spiking is fine for that young energetic look. But if you want to show ur experienced and mature to get that senior management job, spiked hair may not reflect that.

 

[rxlea]

How about the poster asking about spiked hair takes a pic and posts it here so we can see. Just blur out your face or something. Then we can tell you yes or no 😉

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[chemtopharm]

I guess conservative hair spiking is fine for that young energetic look. But if you want to show ur experienced and mature to get that senior management job, spiked hair may not reflect that.

Isn't OP interviewing for pharmacy school admission?

 

[xXRAYNEXx]

Isn't OP interviewing for pharmacy school admission?

😕 what? is this not the business threaad? ...my mistake 😀

 

[ttngu234]

Return of the combover.

 

[PolymeraseIII]

How about the poster asking about spiked hair takes a pic and posts it here so we can see. Just blur out your face or something. Then we can tell you yes or no 😉

Ha, I'll pass on that one. I know I don't have a proper haircut at the moment. I dunno, I guess it just threw me off when I read no spiking. I mean I have pretty goofy looking hair without it being fixed. If I walked into an interview without some gel or product, I would feel pretty unprofessional. I guess we all just kind of have a different style though..

 

[rxlea]

Ha, I'll pass on that one. I know I don't have a proper haircut at the moment. I dunno, I guess it just threw me off when I read no spiking. I mean I have pretty goofy looking hair without it being fixed. If I walked into an interview without some gel or product, I would feel pretty unprofessional. I guess we all just kind of have a different style though..

Haircut? Look, if it's not spiked like
a freako you might be fine but remember that some interviewers are more conservative than others. People make judgments they may not be aware they are making. Hence, my suggestion of researching "STAR" type interviewing.one of the interesting applications of psychology.
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[ttngu234]

Just remember that the first impression is also the last impression.

 

[Incitatus]

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