Interview advice for someone who's never had an interview

[predentaldog28]

I have my first interview coming up and I'm not a shy person, but I can be awkward sometimes and I'm scared that's gonna happen so I was wondering what people do to prepare for interviews to make sure there's no awkwardness during it. I've also never had a formal interview before for anything so this is all new to me and any advice will help

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[macsak]

I have my first interview coming up and I'm not a shy person, but I can be awkward sometimes and I'm scared that's gonna happen so I was wondering what people do to prepare for interviews to make sure there's no awkwardness during it. I've also never had a formal interview before for anything so this is all new to me and any advice will help

don't try and give the "right" answer that you think the interviewer wants to hear
give YOUR answer, OWN it

relax and be yourself

 

[Carmencitas]

I have my first interview coming up and I'm not a shy person, but I can be awkward sometimes and I'm scared that's gonna happen so I was wondering what people do to prepare for interviews to make sure there's no awkwardness during it. I've also never had a formal interview before for anything so this is all new to me and any advice will help

Practice by doing a mock interview with someone. I did this like 2 or 3 times before my first interview and it really helps you get used to thinking and properly communicating while on the spot. Also if you go to the school’s forum on SDN you can find questions they’ve asked in the past.

Good luck!

 

[Bansanso]

I have my first official dental school interview coming up in a week! I'm interviewing with UCSF and they have a list of webinars on their website. These webinars cover a variety of topics and a couple go over interview tips and how to prepare for your dental school interviews. I've been watching the videos and they give some great points on how to stand out during your interview. I think they're great resources for any student preparing for interviews! It's on their DDS prospective students page.

Another thing is setting up mock interviews with families/friends to get used to responding without sounding like you're just reciting something you memorized.

 

[S_Diamond_DDS]

I actually found that sdn was a good resource for this. In fact, if you search in google: “the school you’re interviewing at + Questions + interview + sdn dental” you’ll get actual questions from previous interviewees. Here’s an example: University of Maryland School of Dentistry

Additionally, search for things like “most common interview questions + sdn dental” to get an idea of the questions any school may ask, such as “why this school?” or “why dentistry?” The way I prepared is: I made answers to all of these. I opened a word doc and wrote them down. Answers should only be 1-3 thoughts/sentences long imo, but you should be able to expand on your thoughts if asked a follow up question. Don’t memorize answers word for word, but rather use the doc as a reminder of what you might say to a specific question, kind of like note cards when making a presentation.

 

[Abbasr2000]

Like lots of others have already said, make sure you do lots of practice, remember practice makes perfect! Look up some sample interview questions and do them with a family member or friends. Also know a lot about the school you are applying to and why you want to go there. Good luck with your interview!

 

[2thDoc11]

Just treat it like all the other interviews you’ve had! You’ve got this!