Interview Preparation

[manifesto]

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I'm applying this cycle and I was wondering how much time I should be spending to practice interviews. I'm not a terribly bad interviewee usually.

If anyone could comment on how much time he/she spent practicing and the results, I think that'd be really useful. Maybe even make it school specific.

 

[SRTfour]

didn't prepare at all for interviews, got accepted to the first school I interviewed at

 

[bsp1013]

I recommend having a great answer memorized for the most common questions (ie why do you want to be a dentist?, tell me about yourself, etc). Otherwise, just relax and be yourself.

I bombed the hell out of my first interview, mainly due to inexperience, but I came to find out later that the faculty member that interviewed me was known as the biggest a-hole at that particular school and that he rarely signed off on his interviewees. Hes a prosthodontist, so it doesn't surprise me haha.

 

[SmilesForLife]

I'm applying this cycle and I was wondering how much time I should be spending to practice interviews. I'm not a terribly bad interviewee usually.

If anyone could comment on how much time he/she spent practicing and the results, I think that'd be really useful. Maybe even make it school specific.

It never hurts to be over prepared for interviews. Make a list of common questions: Why are you applying to X program? What makes you the ideal candidate for X program? Why should we accept you over other competitive candidates? What is your biggest strength and weakness? Tell me about a challenge that you overcame? Tell me about a stressful situation and how you handled it? ETC. Don't forget to come up with questions to ask the person interviewing you. Nothing worse than awkward silence and nothing to say!

I would jot down your answers in bullet points, memorize them, and then link them together in a more impromptu fashion as you speak so that your answers don't sound too contrived.