Interview Practice

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molarseeker

Hopeful Future Int. Rad
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I am going to be applying in June and hopefully getting some interviews. I have worked at two different workplaces, but have never had an interview before. I obviously want to crush my interview.

Some background on me is that I am kinda shy and sometimes it's hard for me to come up with words when put on the spot. What are some ways to improve my interview skills? Anything that you did that helped you?
 
Practice. Get used to talking to people that are authority figures and who are trying to get information out if you. I applied for jobs that I didn't want just for the interview practice.
 
I had practice sessions with other people who had received interviews. We just went through scenarios and gave tips to each other on how to improve.
 
Have practice interviews with a friend. Really pretend that your friend is an interviewer for a medical school. Start by introducing yourself, and have your friend ask you questions like a real interviewer would (like, Why this medical school? What was your most valuable experience as an undergraduate? etc.). Don't break character. If you can't think of a good answer to a question on the spot, do as best as you can and continue the interview, but mark the question so you can think about how you would want to answer it later.

That's what I did to practice for college interviews, and it worked pretty well for me. I'm sure that UCLA has a pre-med advising program, and they probably have a list of common interview questions that you can prepare for.

Good luck 🙂
 
You would think UCLA would, however than isn't the case. 🙁. It really sucks
 
Practice out loud. Make an answer bank to common question, why do you want to be a doctor? Why do you think you would be a good doctor? Why not other careers where you help people, why doctor? Can you Explain (weakness x) from your application?

Then some ethical questions. In a [certain scenario] patient is refusing treatment, what do you do?

If you can answer these you will do fine. Remember you'll only be nervous leading up to the interview, once you start talking to them it's not that bad, unless the interviewer is really mean.
 
You would think UCLA would, however than isn't the case. 🙁. It really sucks
UCLA doesn't have a pre-medical advisor, but they do have the career center. You can sign up for mock interviews with the counselors so you can practice. They're there for all kind of interviews including ones for medical school.
 
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