interview behavior

[lovechild404]

how informal is TOO informal for an interview?
i'm not talking about your outfit but rather the way you present yourself. i think it is very important to act interested and your activities/experiences should reflect your interest in dentistry. but is joking around (appropiately!) during an interview and occasionally using everyday language (ie. "you guys") too informal?

i've asked certain people and everyone has a diff opinion. what does SDN think?

i have my first interview on friday and i'm a bit nervous.

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[Yellow Snow]

I made some light jokes during the interview and I think it went over pretty well. This was with an interviewer who was very relaxed though. I think you just have to play it by feel. I think being sincere is the best bet and if you are feelin' the interviewer go ahead and mix a little humor into it.

 

[xxxTheDonxxx]

I made some light jokes during the interview and I think it went over pretty well. This was with an interviewer who was very relaxed though. I think you just have to play it by feel. I think being sincere is the best bet and if you are feelin' the interviewer go ahead and mix a little humor into it.

I too made a joke and it wasn't very funny because nobody was laughing...I felt like an idiot

 

[djeffreyt]

Hopefully you are good at reading people, because that's all it takes to keep you on track in an interview. You need to judge how informal based upon the interviewer and just never take it more informal and fun than the interviewer him or herself gets.

 

[dddsmack]

When the interviewer takes off his shoes, you know its informal.

 

[shamrock2006]

Hopefully that doesn't matter too much. I had an interview about 4 days ago where the guy pulled out a sheet of questions...the first one being "why do you want to be a dentist?"..and the rest of the time we just spent talking about random things, about how he almost hit a guy b/c he said dentists dont really have to do much, or how he thinks other schools really suck. it was bizarre to say the least...but i had a lot of fun with it. Hopefully it wasn't so "informal" that its going to make me look like a clown in the eyes of an adcom. But there was a lot of smiling and joking around

 

[dddsmack]

for advice, see your career services people at your school.

 

[CSI Dentist]

The important thing is that you stay interested the whole time. Your day might be long, so prepare for that. If you are in a group setting, and he asks something, if you do talk it is the best way for them to notice you, and remember your name, and who you are. It is important to leave an impression, hopefully a good one.

Everyone is nervous so few jokes here and there will be appreciated, but don't be a class clown.

Just be yourself, that is the best advice. Stay happy, positive, and smiling the entire time. This will tell them that you are very happy that you are there, and that you are very interested at everything they have to say.

 

[SugarNaCl]

At one of my interviews, while I wasn't nervous at all, I found rather I was excited. Too excited and into it, perhaps. About half way through, I noticed the 2 back feet of my chair were off the ground. I slowly, very slowly tried to lower it so no one would notice. It is unprofessional, but I didn't even do it consciously. The interviewers joked around with me a little about being from Buffalo, so I joked back when I felt it was appropriate.

 

[jmick101]

The best advice that I heard, and someone already mentioned this, is to mirror the level of formality displayed by your interviewer. If they sit up in their chair, you sit up. If their jacket is buttoned, button yours. If they joke, you joke. You get the idea. Do this, and you wont be wrong 90% of the time.