questions for interviewers?

[Muguff15]

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First off, I just wanted to say hello to all on this forum and good luck to current applicants. I am brand new to this group as of today!

I am oh-so anxiously waiting to hear from my school of choice in regards to an interview, so, in prep I was thinking of suitable questions to ask my interviewers in the event I am selected for one. Also, approx. how many questions should one ask? Any thoughts?

 

[Smashley224]

Hello! I am brand new as of today as well. I have interviewed at one school (OSU) and they did not give me any time to ask questions as they were on a strict 30 minutes schedule. I did plan on asking questions such as if they have a shelter program as it is important to me to learn about shelter medicine. You can also look at the research your choice school does and ask them questions about that. You could also talk about current events and ask the interviewers' opinions on them. That is what I could think of as of now. Good luck and I hope you get an interview at your choice school.

 

[david594]

I did plan on asking questions such as if they have a shelter program as it is important to me to learn about shelter medicine.

They do offer a shelter medicine rotation. I had actually asked them if flank spays were something ever taught as part of the rotation.(it's not).

I asked the large animal vet who interviewed me if he felt there was less emotion involved in food animal medicine compared to companion animal medicine. (he seemed to suggest its different but definitely still there)

Then lastly I finished up by asking my small animal interviewer what is the best stain to use when looking for giardia doing direct fecal smears.(lugols iodine apparently)

 

[TurtleLover]

This is a great thread! I'd be interested to know too because I have a hard time coming up with questions of substance at job interviews, for instance. I usually do my research pretty well, but I guess I need to just ask something I may know the answer to anyways.

 

[KKibo]

Hypothetically, in your interview you say you plan to specialize small animal eventually owning your own practice. Ask questions that pertain to your future situation.

Ask things along the lines of if any veterinary business courses exsist. You could ask if the school has a strong ethics program. Asking about shelter medicine is probably a pretty popular question, and a good one I'd say.

You could ask about equipment, hydrotherapy, or hyberbaric oxygen therapy. Also, ask if the school is associated with any local rescues/zoo's/aquariums and what their programs are with those associations.

OR, if you know the school does or has anything you are interested in, say something along the lines of..."When I was doing some research about the college, I found that you have "x" piece of equipment or work with "x" organization...How often will students get hands on work with the _____?"

Showing that you have taken the intiative to look into the school will look good to the interviewers.

 

[athane960]

Research the school and ask questions about some programs they have or about some of the research they are doing. It gives you a good insight into the school's current activities and it shows them you are interested enough in that school that you have learned about what it has accomplished.

 

[DVMorBust]

All good advice. Just wanted to toss something in - when it comes to the actual interview, if they ask you what your questions are and you have nothing, DON'T PANIC.

EVERYONE had told me that it's the kiss of interview death to not have questions, which a while ago may have been true - but they can tell if you're asking because you really want to know versus asking because you were told to ask questions! I had a VERY awkward five minutes, and then a week thinking I'd completely blown my Tufts interview because when they asked what questions I had, I realized every one had been answered in the interview or by a student or another faculty member beforehand.

Instead of just saying 'no', I elaborated and told them that while I came with a list of questions, they had already either answered them or other people had, and that I loved how helpful everyone on campus was...I finished up with 'I really wish I had more, but everyone's been too helpful!' and one of the interviewers chuckled and said something along the lines of 'well, we'd rather you be honest than make something up just to have a question'.

So, definitely go with a list of questions (and this is a great thread to help come up with some) - but if you get stuck in the interview without them, breath! It's not a make-or-break situation.

 

[bmichs75DVM]

At my OSU interview, I was asked if I had any questions at the end. I did not have any certain question to ask, but I did ask them a little about what they did as part of the OSU curriculum. They seemed very pleased with this question as both of them separately answered it, taking about 3-4 minutes each to explain.

 

[Skillet9886]

I knew I would forget any questions I came up with, so I wrote questions I wanted to ask in a little notebook that I brought into my OSU interview. They asked if I had questions, and, of course having forgotten them, I opened up the notebook (it didn't play out as awkwardly as I think it sounds when I'm talking about it now). I think I asked what they felt the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the program were, and whether they would say that most of their graduates feel prepared for their careers after vet school. I had also planned on asking about student organizations, but similarly to DVMorBust, that had been answered several times over throughout the morning.

As far as how many questions to ask, I'd say 2-3 is pretty good. It shows thought and interest, but doesn't take too long. My interviewers took a few minutes to answer each of my questions.