interview help pleasee

[greensage]

Heyy guys,

so I have an interview coming up in january and really want to make sure I do the very best I can. So far I've been to two interviews. Thought I did really well at one and not so great at the other.

I wanted to know what you guys did to prepare for interviews?! I have one more shot and I really can't let this one pass by with a mediocre interview!

any advice/personal experience will be greatly appreciated =]

thanks!!

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[dentallover]

I used this page. Click on Interview feedback and you'll see questions to practice.

 

[bnleong]

I didnt prepare too much for my interviews. Just relax and be yourself. Try to smile more often because you can get a little nervous and end up looking tense.

If you want to prepare for anything, just be able to explain why you are going into to dentistry and also your goals and interests.

 

[peanutb123]

For most people the use of carrier center @ your univ. really helps. Set up couple of mock interviews.

they are free. You can practice w/ them trust me they are very knowledgeable people.

they will tell you what you are doing correct/wrong etc... Take a recorder or something to write down what they say.

 

[jonishere5]

Yeah I would definitely just be yourself and be calm. Also just be completely honest many of these interviewers know when someone is lying. Some common question I have heard from friends are:

Why do you want to be a dentist?

What leadership qualities do you possess?

What experience do you have in a dental office (Referring to shadowing).

One of my friends just got this question at his Colorado interview: How would you deal with a situation as a dentist if you had a really high maintenance patient?

I guess the interviewer said he should alert his staff, and if the patient is too high maintenance he should kick the patient out of the office. This was kind of a weird question, but be prepared for something like this.

Make sure you have clear reasons for wanting to become a dentist too.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

 

[4thMolar]

You can also try contacting your other interviewers and ask any advice from them and how they thought you did at their interview. I don't know if they'll remember you or have any notes taken down, but it's worth a shot.

 

[ellebelle7]

The first thing I would say is dress well. Remember a watch, and remember looks and a smile are the first thing they notice about you.

For the interview, I suggest just being yourself. Google a list of common interview questions and go over them with a friend. It will help you get in the flow of actually saying the answers out loud. Have at least TWO questions to ask the interviewers... if you don't have questions, it will seem like you aren't really interested. I suggest looking over the school website for potential things you could bring up.

Good luck!

 

[Rubber Dam Man]

The interview feedback section is a great tool to help you prepare for your upcoming interview. Make sure you know the answers to the basic questions that you would expect them to ask you (ie. why dentistry? why this particular school? why should we select you? strengths/weaknesses? etc... make sure to have a few questions ready to go at the end of the interview... have them in mind instead of looking in your portfolio (or whatever you have) to read them off... that's just my opinion though

try to come off relaxed even though you might be super nervous inside... Be confident in yourself... be honest... and most importantly, like someone else said, SMILE ... especially when you first walk into the interview room and are introducing yourself. It will give a nice first impression compared to someone who nervously walks in and greets the interviewer/s

 

[DrSpeed]

There are a couple decent books that you can get. I'd really suggest it as it helped me tremendously. My favorite was "the medical school interview," Jeremiah Fleenor.

Also, talk with some local dentists or physicians and see if you can do practice interviewing with them. If you call around you might find someone that has been on committee in the past.

Good luck!

 

[slm266]

I had made outlines of points i wanted to address for the basic questions they always ask. However, sometimes after I said my first point (like of what are yours strengths), they fired off another questions and i was left thinking to myself "man thats not the only strength that I wanted to talk about".

Each interview style will be different, but make sure the first answer that you give is good enough to be the only answer you give.

Practice talking to strangers. Instead of reading or studying on your flights to interviews, I took the opportunity to sharpen conversation skills. When someone was next to me, I talked the entire flight to them, connecting with someone that it seemed I had nothing in common with. On my next flight I didnt have anyone sitting next to me, so I practiced going over my answers in my head while staring at a single point in front of me (simulating eye contact). When you have to think of your answer you tend to look up to the right or left (depending if the answer is spontaneous or memorized). I had to force myself to keep looking at "eyes" while giving full answers.

Smile smile smile and show excitement. You can never smile too much. Be yourself and show that you are down to earth. I never tried to make myself seem super sophisticated, but did try to give genuinely well thought out answers (except for one spontaneous story that set a light mood).

 

[lululime]

Arrange video chats with other SDNers??

 

[wantVCUdental]

I had made outlines of points i wanted to address for the basic questions they always ask. However, sometimes after I said my first point (like of what are yours strengths), they fired off another questions and i was left thinking to myself "man thats not the only strength that I wanted to talk about".

Each interview style will be different, but make sure the first answer that you give is good enough to be the only answer you give.

Practice talking to strangers. Instead of reading or studying on your flights to interviews, I took the opportunity to sharpen conversation skills. When someone was next to me, I talked the entire flight to them, connecting with someone that it seemed I had nothing in common with. On my next flight I didnt have anyone sitting next to me, so I practiced going over my answers in my head while staring at a single point in front of me (simulating eye contact). When you have to think of your answer you tend to look up to the right or left (depending if the answer is spontaneous or memorized). I had to force myself to keep looking at "eyes" while giving full answers.

Smile smile smile and show excitement. You can never smile too much. Be yourself and show that you are down to earth. I never tried to make myself seem super sophisticated, but did try to give genuinely well thought out answers (except for one spontaneous story that set a light mood).

That's what i did, it's amazing how friendly people are on flights