Interview help!

[wolverine18]

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I'm beginning to get dates for interviews and realized I'm completely unprepared! What to wear? Do you need to bring anything? Common questions?! any advice would be extremely helpful!

 

[jbizzle]

I'm beginning to get dates for interviews and realized I'm completely unprepared! What to wear? Do you need to bring anything? Common questions?! any advice would be extremely helpful!

Yeah man! I'm going to wear a suit but it's up to you. Some people may wear khakis and shirt and tie, others may wear the suit. However, Will a 3 piece suit be a little too much?

Things to bring, well if you have outstanding pre-reqs or some pre-reqs you are taking this semester and some next semester. Bring a "plan" to show them how you will complete it. Maybe an unnoficial transcript showing that you are enrolled and taking the classes now, and show how you are registered for some pre-reqs next semester. only show it if they ask for it though.

Ummm...directions i guess....you can leave those in the car though. I have to bring directions because I have an interview at Temple. I've never been to Philly and I probably will get lost. I was told that strangers are not very helpful with directions in Philly.

 

[dizzy88]

Congrats!

In my case, I was told never to bring anything unless you are asked to. They have your resume, grades, etc. Always wear a suit. I didn't see anyone who wasn't wearing one (even the majority of girls did).

Interview questions:
Why do you want to be a PT (duh)?
Why not medical school/PA school/etc?
What are some issues going on in PT right now?
How do you think you are going to be able to handle the course load and demands of PT school?
How do you feel PT's help their patients?
What experiences have influenced your opinion of PT in a positive/negative way?
What don't you like about PT?
What skills do you think are important to have as a PT?
What do you think you can contribute to our program?
What are your strengths/weaknesses?
Tell me about a time in which you were in a problem and how you solved it.
Tell me about a time you failed.
What are your plans if PT school doesn't work out?
Do you have any questions for me?

These were all questions that I was asked, so I hope that helps!

 

[jbizzle]

Congrats!

In my case, I was told never to bring anything unless you are asked to. They have your resume, grades, etc. Always wear a suit. I didn't see anyone who wasn't wearing one (even the majority of girls did).

Interview questions:
Why do you want to be a PT (duh)?
Why not medical school/PA school/etc?
What are some issues going on in PT right now?
How do you think you are going to be able to handle the course load and demands of PT school?
How do you feel PT's help their patients?
What experiences have influenced your opinion of PT in a positive/negative way?
What don't you like about PT?
What skills do you think are important to have as a PT?
What do you think you can contribute to our program?
What are your strengths/weaknesses?
Tell me about a time in which you were in a problem and how you solved it.
Tell me about a time you failed.
What are your plans if PT school doesn't work out?
Do you have any questions for me?

These were all questions that I was asked, so I hope that helps!

Oh wow thanks for the questions. Were these the questions you remembered or were these all of them. 15 questions seems short...or was your interview pretty long?

 

[dizzy88]

No, I was asked a lot more. I had 3 interviews total at my school (2 individual, 1 group). Those are just the ones that I can remember! And they seem to be typical interview questions. When I was doing mock interviews with my boss, he wrote up a list of questions I should have solid answers to...and sure enough, I was asked a lot of them! I would say ~8 of the ones I listed, I practiced with my boss beforehand.

 

[markelmarcel]

When I was doing mock interviews with my boss, he wrote up a list of questions I should have solid answers to...

Would you happen to still have that list, or know how I could find a similar one?

This was invaluable to me when I got a list of potential interview questions when I got my education degree, but I don't have such a list for PT...

I'm working on finding as many resources as possible and here is one:
http://students.georgiasouthern.edu...hool/Physical Therapy Interview Questions.pdf

 

[Muscles00GT]

Ummm...directions i guess....you can leave those in the car though. I have to bring directions because I have an interview at Temple. I've never been to Philly and I probably will get lost. I was told that strangers are not very helpful with directions in Philly.

haha you'll be fine J. im from Philly. hopefully your interview is in the morning or early afternoon. if you're unfamilar with the area, it's not somewhere you want to be at night and get lost, then you're asking for trouble..especially if you're not from the area.

you'll be fine. check to see if theres a toll meter where u park cus the PPA (philly parking authority) will ticket ur ass quick. other than that, you'll be fine

 

[wolverine18]

Thanks for the advice and questions!

Girls wore suits too?! I guess that was my biggest concern as a female...there's too many options!

anyone interview at the mayo school? That's where i'll be next week!

 

[cswan515]

No, I was asked a lot more. I had 3 interviews total at my school (2 individual, 1 group). Those are just the ones that I can remember! And they seem to be typical interview questions. When I was doing mock interviews with my boss, he wrote up a list of questions I should have solid answers to...and sure enough, I was asked a lot of them! I would say ~8 of the ones I listed, I practiced with my boss beforehand.

Hi, dizzy88, what was your group interview like? does everyone sit around and answer questions one by one? by the way, thanks for listing the interview questions. very helpful!

 

[dizzy88]

Cswan- my group interview had a lot of components to it. First off, it was myself and 2 other applicants. We interviewed with 1 faculty member, 1 PT from the community, and 1 3rd year student. It started off with introductions and explanations of why we wanted to pursue PT. Then, they gave us a group activity. We were given a slip of paper that described the program's current form of fundraising and it was up to us to decide whether this was a good idea or whether we had any other options that they could consider. They gave us 15 minutes to chat amongst ourselves and form a mini-presentation (the interviewers pretended they weren't listening to us, but really, one of them always had their eye on us haha). After that, each interviewer took a turn dishing out questions. Sometimes they would be directed to one of us in particular, other times, it was just your responsibility to jump in answer. You have to think on your feet because sometimes, the person who answers before you says exactly what you were planning on. It's a little nerve wracking, but it goes by quick!

 

[Lizarde]

Yes, most everyone wears a suit. Honestly though as long as you look professional it doesn't matter that much. A girl with nice pants and a sweater set was accepted at my school.

One school I interviewed had pretty straight forward questions as noted in other posts. The other also had a) follow up questions to everything b) "negative" type questions - time you failed, had a personality conflict, etc. c) lot of leadership/group skills. As long as you relax and don't freak out, even if you say I'm not sure can we come back to that question - it'll probably be okay as long as you handle the situation professionally.
I heard another school has one guy in the group interview that intentionally tries to act as if he doesn't like you just to see if you can handle it. (I personally didn't have any group interviews)

What to bring. Whatever makes you comfortable. I brought a notepad w/ questions to ask in my purse. I prepared a few questions in advance and also jotted down questions in the initial info session. I did pull it out when they asked if I had any questions for them about the program.