Interview Tips

[blysssful]

---

Members do not see this ad.

WHAT ARE YOUR WEAKNESSES?

I sincerely hate this question. This is the one question in which I do not know how to answer well. Of course I know my weakness but why would I announce them to the admissions committee. I feel that this question should be eliminated from all interviews because everyone lies about it and end up with an over embellished bs answer. 😎

I know the trick to this question is to answer it and make it sound positive. However, I am struggling with this answer; I almost hesitant and stumble in my response.
Do they really still ask this question? Has anyone been approached with this question????

Ugh. I got that question at SCCO. Hahahha... God, I think that was my worst question. This is how it went:
Interviewer: What is your greatest weakness?
Me: *mind blank* Um... I think it must be not knowing when to shut up sometimes... (then I proceed to ramble off some awful example)... kind of like how I should shut up now.


Not one of my finer moments...

 

[kayy]

loll i thought i was the only one who struggled with this question. when i listed one, they insisted on hearing more @_@

 

[OD4eyes]

loll i thought i was the only one who struggled with this question. when i listed one, they insisted on hearing more @_@

lol!!! I had the perfect answer but was thrown completely off guard when the interviewer asked me; What are my academic weakness?
I was nervous and did not know what to say; I wanted to say none but instead I said "Sometimes I can get stuck on certain problems and get frustrated. So I tell myself to STOP, THINK, and PREDICT... she did laugh but what a lame answer... Anyone who took Kaplan would know what this means.... I should've said something else but I couldn't really think of anything... it was the 1st thing out of my head.
What are your weaknesses? vs. What are your academic weaknesses? I am not sure which one is worst to answer... Prepare for both because they are really different questions..🙄

 

[rickyvogas]

hello
it's very nice tips i use some of them tips..

 

[KHE]

Hey, umm, buddy...

I'm aware admissions committees don't seek robots, but, on the other hand, they sort of do. It's a duplicitous situation: you want someone not to sound like a parrot, but, often, it's not a matter of not "memorizing" answers, but of reciting them as though you were doing so extemporaneously.

Usually, as you agree, it's better to go in with an idea of how you'll respond to certain questions, and I'm trying to figure out how best to reply to some of the "bull-****" queries. For example, most students apply to a school to which they do, from its location, but saying — to the inquiry, "Why did you choose our university?" — "Because it's close to where I live," probably would be a bad decision. A better answer, I expect, would lie along the lines, "I like what your school has to offer, academically. You guys have a high pass-rate. I've heard I can enjoy myself on your campus, yet the education you offer is unsurpassed. You have a class-size that meets my style. You have wonderful diversity in your clinic." It's a bull-**** answer (most colleges of optometry are identical to one another, in most respects), but it sounds better than the plainer truth.

That's what I'm trying to do — figure out what works, and what doesn't, in an interview. Of course, it's important to be relaxed and cognizant, and to answer freely when an interviewer asks you what is your favorite sport, rather than why you want to be an eye doctor, but preparing for the "typical" questions, I feel, is a respectable idea.

Thanks for your link — it is helpful.

I think it's usually very hard to BS your way through things like that.

In the example you gave about a college being close to home, I wouldn't phrase it that way but perhaps you would say something like "well, family has always been very important to me so I knew I wanted to be within a few hours drive of where I grew up rather than move accross the country" gives the same answer but just says it in a slightly different way.

I think the mistake that many people make when going on these types of interviews (any interview really) is that they try to telegraph the answer they think the committe or the person interviewing them wants to hear. That almost always shines through clear as day so I think it's wise to shy away from trying to do that.

My practice recently interviewed for a receptionist/technician position. We got many resumes from people who were quite overqualified, likely due to the poor economy. One of the women interviewed laid it on really thick about how she was willing to "do anything" and would take on any responsibility etc. etc. On first blush it sounds good, but the underlying message is "I'm desperate and I just need the money. At the first sign of something better, I'm outta here." That was really obvious.

Another mistake many people make is that when given a tough question, many people feel that silence is deadly so they just start talking without really formulating a thought and it comes out as verbal diarrhea. I would encourage people who are in that situation to say something like "Wow, that's an interesting question. Let me think about that for a few seconds."

And then take 10 seconds to formulate your answer. You'll do much better than just starting to blather.

The last thing to remember is that while on some level we all understand that the interview is an "audition" of some kind, it's not an FBI interrogation. As much as you can, try to relax and view the interview as "just a visit."

 

[KHE]

Ugh. I got that question at SCCO. Hahahha... God, I think that was my worst question. This is how it went:
Interviewer: What is your greatest weakness?
Me: *mind blank* Um... I think it must be not knowing when to shut up sometimes... (then I proceed to ramble off some awful example)... kind of like how I should shut up now.


Not one of my finer moments...

NO, NO! I think that's a brilliant answer!

Interviewers almost always expect some BS response like "I work too hard" or "i'm too intense" or some other thing like that.

I recall being asked that question when I interviewed at SUNY. (God, it's been almost 15 years now) The interview at SUNY consisted of me sitting at the head of a table while 3 people asked questions. When that one came up, I paused for a second and then deadpanned "cheesecake."

There was silence for about 3 seconds and the lone woman on the committee said "me too." And we all broke out laughing.

So don't be too rigid and formal.

 

[blysssful]

NO, NO! I think that's a brilliant answer!

Interviewers almost always expect some BS response like "I work too hard" or "i'm too intense" or some other thing like that.

I recall being asked that question when I interviewed at SUNY. (God, it's been almost 15 years now) The interview at SUNY consisted of me sitting at the head of a table while 3 people asked questions. When that one came up, I paused for a second and then deadpanned "cheesecake."

There was silence for about 3 seconds and the lone woman on the committee said "me too." And we all broke out laughing.

So don't be too rigid and formal.

HAHA! I wish I had been as clever as that. Although, I think the interviewer at SCCO would have been WAY, WAY too stiff to even crack a smile.

 

[Commando303]

I think it's usually very hard to BS your way through things like that.

In the example you gave about a college being close to home, I wouldn't phrase it that way but perhaps you would say something like "well, family has always been very important to me so I knew I wanted to be within a few hours drive of where I grew up rather than move accross the country" gives the same answer but just says it in a slightly different way.

I think the mistake that many people make when going on these types of interviews (any interview really) is that they try to telegraph the answer they think the committe or the person interviewing them wants to hear. That almost always shines through clear as day so I think it's wise to shy away from trying to do that.

My practice recently interviewed for a receptionist/technician position. We got many resumes from people who were quite overqualified, likely due to the poor economy. One of the women interviewed laid it on really thick about how she was willing to "do anything" and would take on any responsibility etc. etc. On first blush it sounds good, but the underlying message is "I'm desperate and I just need the money. At the first sign of something better, I'm outta here." That was really obvious.

Another mistake many people make is that when given a tough question, many people feel that silence is deadly so they just start talking without really formulating a thought and it comes out as verbal diarrhea. I would encourage people who are in that situation to say something like "Wow, that's an interesting question. Let me think about that for a few seconds."

And then take 10 seconds to formulate your answer. You'll do much better than just starting to blather.

The last thing to remember is that while on some level we all understand that the interview is an "audition" of some kind, it's not an FBI interrogation. As much as you can, try to relax and view the interview as "just a visit."

Great advice, I think.

 

[mintleif]

Is anyone willing to share some of the questions that are likely to be asked during an interview by a college of optometry? As well, what are some of the more favorable responses to those questions? I'm not looking to script myself like a parrot, but I'd like to go in (if asked to do so, at all...) with some foreknowledge of the interaction, and with an idea of what committees tend to appreciate and be averse to.

Thanks, all.

just remember not to be a dick in the box 😀

 

[raidersfan]

the most important thing is to RELAX! and be sure you dont overpractice your responses because alot of the interviewers can see through that. not a bad thing to know what you are going to say but be sure it doesnt sound like a speech!