Interview Questions: “Tell me about a time...”

[zelman]

I’m terrible at “Tell me about a time...” questions and I’ve got a PIC interview tomorrow. Anyone have a few common/good ones I can think about ahead of time?

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[lord999]

When you made a mistake
When you had an angry customer
When you were threatened
When you delivered great service

 

[owlegrad]

Had to work in a team to achieve a goal

Had difficulty communicating

Had a difficult choice to make

 

[lord999]

And good luck or condolences as you prefer. And Doukas is now done.

 

[Twentytwelve2]

I find these questions stupid. As a PIC myself on interviews, I just get to know them for a brief bit and then tell them more about the position and see if it is really something they are interested in doing.

 

[gwarm01]

When you had to deal with conflict at work.

...

Tell me about a time that you wasted an hour answering lazy questions from HR because your interviewer couldn't be bothered to read your resume and have a real conversation with you.

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

Tell me about a time when you were tricked into committing to something long term and how you dealt with it.

 

[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

This may not reach you in time, but if you have more interviews lined up..

I recommend a different approach than memorizing all the potential questions they could ask.

Focus on 5 power stories that outline all your strengths and skills.

Use these to answer the relevant questions during the interview.

If they don't ask a question that enables you to use a power story, weave it into the conversation.

"By the way, I think I'd be the best candidate because.."

Good luck and godspeed.

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[alpha12]

If you think those interviews our tough, you don't want to be in a coding interview.

 

[zelman]

If you think those interviews our tough, you don't want to be in a coding interview.

I can code better than I can remember particular applicable incidences.

 

[VictorOfHungerGames]

I find these questions futile. How can you even tell if the interviewee is even telling the truth? Lol

 

[lane one]

Regardless of setting (inpatient/outpatient), I've found that "Tell us about a time you delivered coaching to a technician" is a pretty common one.

 

[owlegrad]

Regardless of setting (inpatient/outpatient), I've found that "Tell us about a time you delivered coaching to a technician" is a pretty common one.

I could crush this one!

 

[Xenophylia]

How about "Tell me about a time when you paid 200 grand for something and were left with nothing to show for it..." I hear they are using that question a lot because your response shows if you are truly ready to enter pharmacy.

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

How about "Tell me about a time when you paid 200 grand for something and were left with nothing to show for it..." I hear they are using that question a lot because your response shows if you are truly ready to enter pharmacy.

There are many variations to that question such as:

“Tell me about a time when your boss told you to get him coffee and you didn’t know his preferences. Did you put sugar or cream in it and why?”

“Tell me about a time when it was snowing and you counted the snowflakes. Did you get to 15,000 and what reflections did you have when sizing up the total number of snowflakes raining down from above?”

“Tell me about a time when you had to step on others’ throats to get a commodity that everyone desired.”

“Tell me about a time when a customer got angry at you because you didn’t ask him if he wanted fries with his burger. How did you resolve the situation?”

“Tell me about a time when nobody was willing to validate/recognize your credentials and you felt as if you were having an identity crisis. How did you deal with that?”

 

[Xenophylia]

Wait!!! I've got a couple more! These are skewed towards retail-

Tell me about the last time you were asked to kiss a member of management's ass and did you smile/enjoy the experience?
Tell me about the last time you were treated like **** by a manager and did you say "please sir may I have another?"
Tell me about the last time your intelligence was insulted by a member of management telling you how to be a pharmacist and how you handled it?"

 

[Xenophylia]

If you answer the above questions correctly, you are instantly put into a CVS/ Walgreens database for future reference.

 

[BidingMyTime]

I can code better than I can remember particular applicable incidences.

Man, I know what you mean. I'm a forward thinker (or something), once a day is gone, it's out of mind, I can't remember stuff about to answer all those kinds of "tell me about" questions.

 

[spacecowgirl]

I'm looking through a question list from a recruiter now and there are some ridiculous questions no actual manager of people doing real work would ever ask. I have interviewed dozens of people and never have I considered some of these questions to be informative.

 

[zelman]

I'm looking through a question list from a recruiter now and there are some ridiculous questions no actual manager of people doing real work would ever ask. I have interviewed dozens of people and never have I considered some of these questions to be informative.

So, if you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?

 

[zelman]

Thanks everyone for your contributions. I heard back today that I did not get the job and my claim to fame as one of the world’s worst interviewees continues.

 

[BenJammin]

At least you're not like me. I bomb on interviews where people say "hey you should interview for this job!". I've lost out on some really good opportunities because someone told me that and I guess I went on autopilot during the interview. That's gotta be personally embarrassing for that person, right? You recommend someone for a job position and they absolutely bomb? I'm like the bad boy of pharmacy.

 

[Rouelle]

I could crush this one!

Coaching =/= making techs cry.

 

[zelman]

At least you're not like me. I bomb on interviews where people say "hey you should interview for this job!". I've lost out on some really good opportunities because someone told me that and I guess I went on autopilot during the interview. That's gotta be personally embarrassing for that person, right? You recommend someone for a job position and they absolutely bomb? I'm like the bad boy of pharmacy.

You can’t beat me:

Q: "How did you react when you got that C?" (Lowest grade on my transcript)
A: "I was happy because technically I should have failed the class."
*facepalm*

 

[Pharmacy Kid]

So, if you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?

I would be a cucumber, so I could tell the interviewer to shove the questions up his...

 

[zelman]

I would be a cucumber, so I could tell the interviewer to shove the questions up his...

Cucumber is a fruit. You have failed the interview.

 

[Sine Cura]

Bull**** questions are there to probe how interviewees would react

 

[Dred Pirate]

my favorite I have heard "Tell me about a time you broke the rules" depending on how you answer, you can tank the interview right htere

 

[Deja]

I could crush this one!

by making them cry

 

[owlegrad]

by making them cry

The interviewer? That would be good even for me!

 

[GrandTheftAutumn]

my favorite I have heard "Tell me about a time you broke the rules" depending on how you answer, you can tank the interview right htere

What are some of the good answers for that?

 

[Dred Pirate]

What are some of the good answers for that?

something to the effect that you did the best thing for the patient in the middle of the night that normally should require calling a manager but you knew the right answer and didn't want to wake them but let them know first thing in the AM

 

[zelman]

What are some of the good answers for that?

Murdered an interviewer who didn’t give me a job.

 

[Twentytwelve2]

Cucumber is a fruit. You have failed the interview.

Rats! And all this time I thought I enjoyed eating vegetables!!!