For the most part, the interviewer read every detailed part of my application. The whole time, my interviewer knew who I was on paper but wanted to know what type of personality I had. He was a great listener and took down notes while I was talking for 35-40 minutes. Most one-on-one interviews last about 20-30 minutes. They will ask a few of the basic interview questions: why dentistry? What are your hobbies? who inspired you to be a dentist?
What made my interview successful was:
1. After the basic interview questions, I did
NOT continue the conversation in a Q n' A format. I changed the atmosphere/attitude of the conversation to more casual. You do not want to talk about academics, because you have limited time in expressing
who you are as an unique individual. The ADCOMS and interviewer already know you are smart and/or hard working.
2. The ability to take over the conversation, not interrupt the interview when he speaks, is an important aspect of communication. You want to show you are comfortable in starting a new idea or building upon an existing one. It will also show your maturity as a leader.
3. Ask questions about the program that was not previously mentioned in the tour, impressions day, and open house. Maybe you did your research and you found an obscure document on the school's website. However, you still have questions pertaining to what the document stated.
4. I wore the same outfit as my interviewer? The interviewer pointed that out and I said great minds think alike and he chuckled. Make the interviewer laugh/cry like how you would in a conversation with a friend.
Good Luck on your interview,
DOC YANKEM
Edit: Always send a short thank you letter to your interviewer. If the interviewer did not provide his or her email address, then you can send it to
[email protected] and put your interviewer's name in the subject line.
it's going to be very close to the school and I'll give you my contact so we can work out the details!
