Need advice on how to prepare for interviews.

[sow]

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Hi guys,

I need help on how to prepare for interviews. My GPA is great, my EC is so so, but my interview skill is just plain horrible. I always feel awkward talking to new people at interviews as it takes me a while to warm up to others. Also, I tend to bore my interviewers. I'm good with situational types of questions, but ask me to talk about myself, I will flunk it. If I really prepare for the questions (aka practice them at home), I 'll sound like rehearsed at the interview. But if I don't, then I sound like I just babble on.

I read over the interview feedback section, practiced the questions by myself and with my friends. I really don't know what else to do to prepare.

I think one of the main problems is how I answer questions about my EC. I volunteered at CVS for 6 months, then at my university's health center for 1 semester. But when they ask me to talk about it, I don't know what to say...

I bombed 2 of my previous interviews, and my application is on hold. I have 2 interviews coming up next month, and I really don't want to repeat my mistakes. 🙁

Any advice or tip will be really appreciated.

 

[rxlea]

Hi guys,

I need help on how to prepare for interviews. My GPA is great, my EC is so so, but my interview skill is just plain horrible. I always feel awkward talking to new people at interviews as it takes me a while to warm up to others. Also, I tend to bore my interviewers. I'm good with situational types of questions, but ask me to talk about myself, I will flunk it. If I really prepare for the questions (aka practice them at home), I 'll sound like rehearsed at the interview. But if I don't, then I sound like I just babble on.

I read over the interview feedback section, practiced the questions by myself and with my friends. I really don't know what else to do to prepare.

I think one of the main problems is how I answer questions about my EC. I volunteered at CVS for 6 months, then at my university's health center for 1 semester. But when they ask me to talk about it, I don't know what to say...

I bombed 2 of my previous interviews, and my application is on hold. I have 2 interviews coming up next month, and I really don't want to repeat my mistakes. 🙁

Any advice or tip will be really appreciated.

My advice to you is to tell a story. Is there anything interesting that you remember about your volunteer experience? Perhaps an interaction with a patient that left a lasting impression? What was the pharmacist like? How did he interact with patients? Is there a specific time that you felt the pharmacist was acting very professionally? What about volunteering there impressed you? Now, without just writing down a bunch of answers to these questions, try to imagine a time when any of these things came into play. Tell the story of how you felt at that moment. Maybe the pharmacist inspired you to be a certain way. Adcoms like imagery. They like stories. They will REMEMBER stories with examples and imagery. Everything else might be blah, but you want them to remember something unique about you. The story might not even relate to pharmacy experience. When they ask about you, can you think of one character defining moment? Perhaps when you learned something about yourself you never knew existed? How about a time when you demonstrated maturity? Any of these instances can make for a good story, but DON'T REHEARSE IT! Act like you are telling it to a colleague or a family member- but of course tell it in a professional manner.

 

[docss26]

My advice to you is to tell a story. Is there anything interesting that you remember about your volunteer experience? Perhaps an interaction with a patient that left a lasting impression? What was the pharmacist like? How did he interact with patients? Is there a specific time that you felt the pharmacist was acting very professionally? What about volunteering there impressed you? Now, without just writing down a bunch of answers to these questions, try to imagine a time when any of these things came into play. Tell the story of how you felt at that moment. Maybe the pharmacist inspired you to be a certain way. Adcoms like imagery. They like stories. They will REMEMBER stories with examples and imagery. Everything else might be blah, but you want them to remember something unique about you. The story might not even relate to pharmacy experience. When they ask about you, can you think of one character defining moment? Perhaps when you learned something about yourself you never knew existed? How about a time when you demonstrated maturity? Any of these instances can make for a good story, but DON'T REHEARSE IT! Act like you are telling it to a colleague or a family member- but of course tell it in a professional manner.

I agree with this. Stories are very interesting if you can tell it right. Some of the interviewers had asked to describe a particular situation. For example, I was asked to describe a situation when I had to deal with a disgruntled patient, so I told a unique story and described exactly how I handled the situation and why I did so.

People tend to babble on and say meaningless things when they are nervous and pressured for an answer. Don't do that. Just review interview feedback and do mock interviews with friends. You will be surprised to see how much harder it is when you have friends asking you the questions.

 

[PharmTech8241]

Just relax and be yourself...if you go in there sounding scripted and fake you won't get in

 

[Moni526]

Check the interview feedbacks?

 

[sow]

Thanks for the advice guys. I have another kind of dumb question. How do I prepare for interviews without making it sound scripted? I mean, I never write down the answers for the interview questions, but just repeat them several times till they sound right. But by then, I usually memorize the answers, and yeah, they came out really rehearsed, especially when I get nervous.

Feel kinda hopeless... BTW, how long/short should I keep an answer to a question to? 1 minute?

 

[docss26]

Thanks for the advice guys. I have another kind of dumb question. How do I prepare for interviews without making it sound scripted? I mean, I never write down the answers for the interview questions, but just repeat them several times till they sound right. But by then, I usually memorize the answers, and yeah, they came out really rehearsed, especially when I get nervous.

Feel kinda hopeless... BTW, how long/short should I keep an answer to a question to? 1 minute?

When I had my list of interview questions, I had written down 2-3 words next to the question on what my response would consist of. For example, "Describe a time you had to deal with a difficult customer and how did you deal with the situation?" Next to that I wrote, "Joe Schmo,CII Rx,Composure,3 solutions"

I thought about the scenario and those words and came up with a great response. Everything flowed very well during my interviews. I didn't feel bad about a single one. Then again, I have always been really good with interviewing.

If you dont want it to sound scripted, then dont memorize it. If I had something scripted and they asked me a question, I would pause as if I was thinking of a response and tried to make it seem as spontaneous as possible.

The length of a response should be short and concise. You only need important information, leave the fluff out. Make sure to ANSWER the question, I have seen a couple students babble about something and completely lose the scope of the question. Also, they usually have water there. Make sure to take it. It was so weird to me that I was the only one that filled up my cup of water infront of the interviewers. I had a lot to say and needed to stay hydrated 😀

 

[aboveliquidice]

Check the interview feedbacks?

Yup...

 

[RaneyNi]

When going into the interviewing room, do ya'll recommending in bringing a piece of paper and pen? Or nothing at all? One friend recommends that I bring a folder with a piece of paper of questions to ask the ad coms.

 

[docss26]

When going into the interviewing room, do ya'll recommending in bringing a piece of paper and pen? Or nothing at all? One friend recommends that I bring a folder with a piece of paper of questions to ask the ad coms.

I had questions in my head, nonetheless I had a business style folder/pad, about the size of traditional sheet of paper. I used it to keep all my flight and hotel itineraries and my interview notes for the preparation.

 

[koercive]

When I had my list of interview questions, I had written down 2-3 words next to the question on what my response would consist of. For example, "Describe a time you had to deal with a difficult customer and how did you deal with the situation?" Next to that I wrote, "Joe Schmo,CII Rx,Composure,3 solutions"

I thought about the scenario and those words and came up with a great response. Everything flowed very well during my interviews. I didn't feel bad about a single one. Then again, I have always been really good with interviewing.

If you dont want it to sound scripted, then dont memorize it. If I had something scripted and they asked me a question, I would pause as if I was thinking of a response and tried to make it seem as spontaneous as possible.

The length of a response should be short and concise. You only need important information, leave the fluff out. Make sure to ANSWER the question, I have seen a couple students babble about something and completely lose the scope of the question. Also, they usually have water there. Make sure to take it. It was so weird to me that I was the only one that filled up my cup of water infront of the interviewers. I had a lot to say and needed to stay hydrated 😀

that's good advice, for one of my interviews I made the mistake of writing a transcript of what I would say to certain questions.. my answers came out too rehearsed and I didn't perform as well.

 

[siltears]

If you are having trouble answering questions like, what are you strong suites and stuff, you should ask a friend what they think your strong points are. That usually gets you somewhere to start. If they ask you about your volunteering experiences, I agree that a story is the best way to go. As for sounding too memorized. Come up with two ways of saying what you want to say, that way its not just you practicing and memorizing, but actually organizing your thoughts and ideas for answers in multiple way, practice with friends and get them to give you real feed back , not just its good. As for paper. Don't bring a huge pad of paper, bring a mini notebook, the kind from dollar tree, and tuck it in the inside pocket of your tux or suit, and ask them if you are allowed to ask them questions at the end in the beginning of the interview, that way you know whether or not you should keep notes. Always remember to think up of at least 2 questions that you can ask the interviews at the end. Preferably something that has to do with their particular program.