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While this thread may be a little late for most of you, I thought that I would offer my advice for those of you who are still looking forward to interviews for advanced standing programs. I should preface my remarks by admitting that I am not a dentist. However I do know a little bit about interviews in general and specifically health profession program interviews. The phenomenal fact about the interview procedures at some dental schools is that you will only have 20 to 30 minutes to make a lasting and positive impression upon the interviewer. To distill so much of your effort, hope and aspirations into such a compact period of time absolutely demands that you make the most of it. So with that in mind here is my humble advice:
Oral delivery
I'm not refering to the the mouth cavity here. I'm refering to your spoken delivery during the actual interview. First let me say that you will probably speak the same way that you write and you probably write the same way that you speak. So try to write correctly at all times, or suffer the chance that you will fall into bad habits that will haunt you later on. This era of instant messages does not reinforce good writing skills and many people who post on SDN fall into the trap of an awful abbreviated form of English that can be impossible to decifer. For the record, it is either "your", "you're" or "you are" not "ur". You want your delivery during the interview to be clear, understandable and as lucid as possible. Forming complete and proper sentences on paper helps you to form complete and proper sentences during your spoken delivery. I have specific advice for candidates from India, and that is to work on your oral delivery so that your accent does not get in the way of effective communication. Many Indians that I have met speak so fast and with such an accent that it takes me a long time to mentally process what they are saying to me. My friend Aravind, from Hyderabad, speaks perfect English, but he puts emphasis on vowels in such a way that I have no idea what he is saying. So I often ask him to repeat what he is trying to tell me. You, as a candidate, won't have the luxury of second chances to get your message across in the interview. Regardless of where you are from in this great big world, know that your accent and rate of delivery affect how you are being perceived by the interviewer. You may not ever be able to lose your accent, and that is certainly OK, but understand that simply slowing down your delivery will assist in the listener's comprehension of your message. Finally, practice your enunciation, even if you have an accent, deliberate and precise choice of words will create a positive impression.
What should my message be?
Your message ought to be that you are an outstanding candidate for the program for which you are being interviewed. You should approach the interview with humility and grace about the very fact that you made it so far in the process that you are actually sitting for the interview, but don't be timid. Acknowledge that you have much to learn about dentistry and clinical skills to improve upon, but show confidence about your own ability to complete the program and your desire to become an outstanding dentist in America. Don't be arrogant about your previous dental education, but rather refer to it as a foundation for the program that you hope to embark upon. I hate to say it, but I have gotton the perception in reading some posts that a few candidates have a chip on their shoulder about their education and/or experience. If you even have a hint of that attitiude, don't waste your time or money attending an interview. The interviewers have a 6th sense about such things. Be enthusiastic about the specific program that you are interviewing for. Be very enthusiastic! In summation, you are an outstanding candidate for the program, the program that you are being interviewed for is the one best suited to your talents and professional goals, and you really, really want to be admitted to this program.
A matter of style and technique
You should exude confidence and thoughtfulness when you are responding to questions. So you should practice your answers to commonly asked questions and work not only on the content of your answers but the actual delivery of your answers. I have noticed for example that some Indian girls are kind of shy and tend to avoid direct eye contact when speaking to someone. Try to work on your sense of self-confidence and make eye contact with the person that you are speaking with. When you sit down for the interview be alert and maintain good erect posture. Do not slouch or get too comfortable regardless of how relaxed the interviewer seems. Do not cross your arms in front of you because that is perceived as a defensive posture. You can lightly clasp your hands together however, or place them in your lap. You may occasionally use your hands in expressive gestures to make a point about the topic you're discussing. Latin people do this well, although sometimes to excess. Be deliberate in your speech patterns and consider your answer for a moment before you respond to specific quesions. Don't rush into a response even though time is of the essence.
Questions to anticipate
Think about your own personal answers to common questions. Some of those common questions are:
1. Tell me about your dental education and/or how dentistry is practiced in your native country.
2. Why did you choose this program over others?
3. How did you learn about this program and how did you research it? Do you have any acquaintances that are graduates of this program?
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your goals?
5. What specialty fields of dentistry, if any, interest you and why?
6. Why did you choose dentistry as a career?
7. What are your strong points and weak points?
8. Do you want to practice dentistry in the US and if so, why?
9. Do you see yourself as an educator at a school of dentistry in the US? (This is not a common question, but it is a relevant one for some of you. In case you were not aware, there is a looming shortage of dental school educators in the US. So a candidate who is seriously considering a career as a teacher, may be given preference over a candidate that is not. Don't be deceptive about your aspirations though. If you have such a desire, be sure to state it unequivocally.)
I'm sure there are other common questions but these seem to be the usual ones. Knowing this, you should think about your responses and write them down. The active process of writing them down is invaluable. You don't have to create an exact script to follow in the interview. But if you thoughtfully consider how you would respond and then write down potential responses, you will be way more confident during the interview. Having written them down, practice your delivery of your answers to commonly asked questions. The more you practice your delivery, the better your delivery will be.
Do you have any questions for us?
This is a common way for interviewers to close the interview. You should consider your potential questions and gear them to the specific program that you are applying to. I suggest that you not ask questions about mundane issues such as student visas or how to finance your education. You might ask questions that clearly demonstrate your committment to the particular program you are applying. One question that works well is "What do you expect of me as a student in your program?" Avoid questions that could have been answered by more thorough research of the program to which you are applying. If your read the website of the school and search through SDN, you will learn a lot about the program that you are applying to and perhaps find topics and areas that provide insightful and intelligent questions for you to ask the interviewer. Just keep in mind that this question normally comes at the end of the interview so don't ask a question that would require a long dissertation for a proper response.
Well that is the sum of my advice for now. If anyone has more questions then I will respond. Otherwise I will ask Henna to move this to the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers thread. (Where it will probably be lost and forgotten by the time the next interview cycle comes around.) Good luck to all who still look forward to/dread the interviews that await you.
Scott
Oral delivery
I'm not refering to the the mouth cavity here. I'm refering to your spoken delivery during the actual interview. First let me say that you will probably speak the same way that you write and you probably write the same way that you speak. So try to write correctly at all times, or suffer the chance that you will fall into bad habits that will haunt you later on. This era of instant messages does not reinforce good writing skills and many people who post on SDN fall into the trap of an awful abbreviated form of English that can be impossible to decifer. For the record, it is either "your", "you're" or "you are" not "ur". You want your delivery during the interview to be clear, understandable and as lucid as possible. Forming complete and proper sentences on paper helps you to form complete and proper sentences during your spoken delivery. I have specific advice for candidates from India, and that is to work on your oral delivery so that your accent does not get in the way of effective communication. Many Indians that I have met speak so fast and with such an accent that it takes me a long time to mentally process what they are saying to me. My friend Aravind, from Hyderabad, speaks perfect English, but he puts emphasis on vowels in such a way that I have no idea what he is saying. So I often ask him to repeat what he is trying to tell me. You, as a candidate, won't have the luxury of second chances to get your message across in the interview. Regardless of where you are from in this great big world, know that your accent and rate of delivery affect how you are being perceived by the interviewer. You may not ever be able to lose your accent, and that is certainly OK, but understand that simply slowing down your delivery will assist in the listener's comprehension of your message. Finally, practice your enunciation, even if you have an accent, deliberate and precise choice of words will create a positive impression.
What should my message be?
Your message ought to be that you are an outstanding candidate for the program for which you are being interviewed. You should approach the interview with humility and grace about the very fact that you made it so far in the process that you are actually sitting for the interview, but don't be timid. Acknowledge that you have much to learn about dentistry and clinical skills to improve upon, but show confidence about your own ability to complete the program and your desire to become an outstanding dentist in America. Don't be arrogant about your previous dental education, but rather refer to it as a foundation for the program that you hope to embark upon. I hate to say it, but I have gotton the perception in reading some posts that a few candidates have a chip on their shoulder about their education and/or experience. If you even have a hint of that attitiude, don't waste your time or money attending an interview. The interviewers have a 6th sense about such things. Be enthusiastic about the specific program that you are interviewing for. Be very enthusiastic! In summation, you are an outstanding candidate for the program, the program that you are being interviewed for is the one best suited to your talents and professional goals, and you really, really want to be admitted to this program.
A matter of style and technique
You should exude confidence and thoughtfulness when you are responding to questions. So you should practice your answers to commonly asked questions and work not only on the content of your answers but the actual delivery of your answers. I have noticed for example that some Indian girls are kind of shy and tend to avoid direct eye contact when speaking to someone. Try to work on your sense of self-confidence and make eye contact with the person that you are speaking with. When you sit down for the interview be alert and maintain good erect posture. Do not slouch or get too comfortable regardless of how relaxed the interviewer seems. Do not cross your arms in front of you because that is perceived as a defensive posture. You can lightly clasp your hands together however, or place them in your lap. You may occasionally use your hands in expressive gestures to make a point about the topic you're discussing. Latin people do this well, although sometimes to excess. Be deliberate in your speech patterns and consider your answer for a moment before you respond to specific quesions. Don't rush into a response even though time is of the essence.
Questions to anticipate
Think about your own personal answers to common questions. Some of those common questions are:
1. Tell me about your dental education and/or how dentistry is practiced in your native country.
2. Why did you choose this program over others?
3. How did you learn about this program and how did you research it? Do you have any acquaintances that are graduates of this program?
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your goals?
5. What specialty fields of dentistry, if any, interest you and why?
6. Why did you choose dentistry as a career?
7. What are your strong points and weak points?
8. Do you want to practice dentistry in the US and if so, why?
9. Do you see yourself as an educator at a school of dentistry in the US? (This is not a common question, but it is a relevant one for some of you. In case you were not aware, there is a looming shortage of dental school educators in the US. So a candidate who is seriously considering a career as a teacher, may be given preference over a candidate that is not. Don't be deceptive about your aspirations though. If you have such a desire, be sure to state it unequivocally.)
I'm sure there are other common questions but these seem to be the usual ones. Knowing this, you should think about your responses and write them down. The active process of writing them down is invaluable. You don't have to create an exact script to follow in the interview. But if you thoughtfully consider how you would respond and then write down potential responses, you will be way more confident during the interview. Having written them down, practice your delivery of your answers to commonly asked questions. The more you practice your delivery, the better your delivery will be.
Do you have any questions for us?
This is a common way for interviewers to close the interview. You should consider your potential questions and gear them to the specific program that you are applying to. I suggest that you not ask questions about mundane issues such as student visas or how to finance your education. You might ask questions that clearly demonstrate your committment to the particular program you are applying. One question that works well is "What do you expect of me as a student in your program?" Avoid questions that could have been answered by more thorough research of the program to which you are applying. If your read the website of the school and search through SDN, you will learn a lot about the program that you are applying to and perhaps find topics and areas that provide insightful and intelligent questions for you to ask the interviewer. Just keep in mind that this question normally comes at the end of the interview so don't ask a question that would require a long dissertation for a proper response.
Well that is the sum of my advice for now. If anyone has more questions then I will respond. Otherwise I will ask Henna to move this to the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers thread. (Where it will probably be lost and forgotten by the time the next interview cycle comes around.) Good luck to all who still look forward to/dread the interviews that await you.
Scott
