Shy Personality - Interviews

[tpwelie34]

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Hey guys, I have recently been interviewed for a hospital internship program. Coming out of the interview, I felt horrible because of my poor performance during the interview. This worries me because I can describe myself as being shy and introverted and I might do poorly in the future if I get any interviews for dental school. Were any of you guys in a similar position as me? If so, how did you fix it?

 

[Dusk]

Remind yourself to just relax.. be yourself! It's just an interview, the person across from you is the same as you.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hey guys, I have recently been interviewed for a hospital internship program. Coming out of the interview, I felt horrible because of my poor performance during the interview. This worries me because I can describe myself as being shy and introverted and I might do poorly in the future if I get any interviews for dental school. Were any of you guys in a similar position as me? If so, how did you fix it?

I've probably been involved with 400+ interviews over the past 10 years (between being both interviewer and interviewee)

The more interviews you go to, the better you get at it. The best way to practice interview skills is just keep going to interviews (job interviews, anything, if you see a local store or restaurant or local anything hiring, apply there just to get to the interview).

After 5-10 interviews, you'll quickly realize most of them are just trying to test out your personality and speaking skills, and I assure you, you'll get better at them.

 

[molar3]

oh i have the opposite problem. i need to learn to shut it......
just don't be nervous have confidence!! act like u deserve it and own it (its all mental). but i mean, how do u have a conversation with a shy person who has nothing to say? borrrrrrrringggggggggggggg yawnnnnnnnnnnn

 

[Teeth12345]

oh i have the opposite problem. i need to learn to shut it......
just don't be nervous have confidence!! act like u deserve it and own it (its all mental). but i mean, how do u have a conversation with a shy person who has nothing to say? borrrrrrrringggggggggggggg yawnnnnnnnnnnn

molar I totally understand! I'm actually very shy too but during interviews, I just can't shut up. I blabber on and on and it takes me forever to get to the point. I agree with DentalWorks though, the more you practice the better you get. And you still have time until those interviews!

My biggest fear? Shaking hands...I have cold sweaty hands a lot and it won't help that I'll be nervous!

 

[jeffity]

Practice. A lot. Practice with people who don't know you well or at all if you can. If your pre-health place does mock interviews, use em up. I've had a couple of mocks with students at a local dental school. They recorded them and gave me the vids. Those were the most helpful to see how ******ed I am. Just be aware of it and go out of your way to be more personable wherever you go. Force eye contact, get a few more sentences out you wouldn't normally say. It's not only helping you prep for the interviews, it'll help you in the future too. And...don't memorize questions, but think about about them so you're not more nervous than you need to be when the big day comes.

 

[mckenna87]

Practice, Practice, Practice! And Face Your Fears! I was super shy too but after I went to college I just got over it, so you can too! It will be hard at first but you can do it! Use your friends and family. A lot of the dental interviews will ask the same types of questions, like "why you want to be a dentist? what do you think your weakness is?". Practice your answers until you become a natural. Last summer, I was applying for jobs and doing a bunch of interviews really helped! These weren't really serious jobs, like target, restaurants, retail. My dentist even went over interview questions with me! If you can't relax during interviews then be prepared!

 

[molar3]

My biggest fear? Shaking hands...I have cold sweaty hands a lot and it won't help that I'll be nervous![/QUOTE]

haha im afraid to wear heels bc i feel like ill get so nervous that my feet will start sweating and ill trip and fall.........omg fmll these arent normal thoughtssss. so i normally opt for flats...errrr

 

[SoulPower]

My biggest fear? Shaking hands...I have cold sweaty hands a lot and it won't help that I'll be nervous!

haha im afraid to wear heels bc i feel like ill get so nervous that my feet will start sweating and ill trip and fall.........omg fmll these arent normal thoughtssss. so i normally opt for flats...errrr[/QUOTE]

Where flats anyway, you walk around way too much on interview day to not be comfortable.

 

[jeffity]

My biggest fear? Shaking hands...I have cold sweaty hands a lot and it won't help that I'll be nervous!

Solution: fist bump

 

[lovelyinpink11]

Hey guys, I have recently been interviewed for a hospital internship program. Coming out of the interview, I felt horrible because of my poor performance during the interview. This worries me because I can describe myself as being shy and introverted and I might do poorly in the future if I get any interviews for dental school. Were any of you guys in a similar position as me? If so, how did you fix it?

Honestly being more extroverted helped me. Try to be as personable as possible because ideally that is something you will need to be able to be when you have patients. Practice by doing more interviews, like the poster above me recommended, and also just talking to more people around you. The more you talk to people that you don't know very well (classmates, coworkers, professors) you will naturally become more personable, it will become easier. And really know yourself. The better you know yourself and your intentions, the questions they ask you will be easier. Oh and remember to ask questions in your interviews, so do research and write down any questions you may have about the school/program, etc. They like questions.

 

[Teeth12345]

solution: Fist bump

lmao

 

[amalgamgrillz]

Remind yourself to just relax.. be yourself! It's just an interview, the person across from you is the same as you.

If your shyness hinders your interviewing skills, then don't be yourself. Fake it and be who they want you to be.

 

[jeffity]

If your shyness hinders your interviewing skills, then don't be yourself. Fake it and be who they want you to be.

Just be good at it. They can see through the fake. And trying to keep the Guy Smiley face going for some of those all-day things might be rough.

You could always take a little something form your hotel mini-bar on the way out the door or just bring your trusty pocket-flask. (If you're applying to Arizona, skip this step or you'll screw up the dexterity exercise).

 

[memoriax]

You don't always have to be extroverted to interview well. One of the things that helped me was asking the interviewer questions about the school which made me feel like there was less heat on me. Granted you will still have to answer questions about yourself (why dentistry and whatnot), so you should still practice but don't sound as if you've memorized a script.

And remember that the school is trying to sell their program to you just as much as you're trying to sell yourself as an applicant. At a lot of my interviews I usually spent less time answering questions about myself and more time asking questions and listening to what the interviewer had to say about the school, the field of dentistry, and even stuff about themselves, where they've traveled, how they got to where they are now, etc. And if you're interested in volunteering, teaching, research, or specialties and your interviewer happens to be involved in any of those, this is a great opportunity to ask how they got into that field. Being extroverted and personable can be a huge advantage for interviews, but if you're introverted you can also make being a good listener work in your favor.

 

[reely989]

You don't always have to be extroverted to interview well. One of the things that helped me was asking the interviewer questions about the school which made me feel like there was less heat on me. Granted you will still have to answer questions about yourself (why dentistry and whatnot), so you should still practice but don't sound as if you've memorized a script.

And remember that the school is trying to sell their program to you just as much as you're trying to sell yourself as an applicant. At a lot of my interviews I usually spent less time answering questions about myself and more time asking questions and listening to what the interviewer had to say about the school, the field of dentistry, and even stuff about themselves, where they've traveled, how they got to where they are now, etc. And if you're interested in volunteering, teaching, research, or specialties and your interviewer happens to be involved in any of those, this is a great opportunity to ask how they got into that field. Being extroverted and personable can be a huge advantage for interviews, but if you're introverted you can also make being a good listener work in your favor.

Boom. Nail on the head. I had an interview with my pre-health advisor, and I asked her for a critique because I don't do a lot of interviews, and she told me that I did well because I was one of the few people went in with the intent to be genuine, and not have a robotic answer for everything. No one wants to hear pre-scripted answers. Try to make it conversational if possible. If they ask you a question you aren't sure of, think about it a moment, it doesn't have to be a shotgun response. I'd rather slow the pace down and give a thoughtful answer than give either A). a scripted answer, or B). an ignorant one.

This isn't to say you should go in totally blind. You should know that there are some questions that are going to be asked, but don't go in every interview with the intent of giving the exact same answer to the questions.

 

[sdsterkid]

If bad interviews have got you down, try reading this thread or this thread, but this one really takes the cake

Don't sweat it if you had one horrible interview, it happens to all of us. With more experience and practice you'll be acing those interviews soon enough 👍

 

[sacapuntas]

Slug 3 beers before the interview.

OR

Start talking to strangers wherever you go, especially at parties and social functions. Learning to be professionally conversational is an acquired skill that few are naturally born with. As a former sales professional, the skill that took me the longest to learn was having a mutually interesting conversation. The more practice you have the more you will be able to read the interviewer and begin to steer conversations towards topics they find interesting or need clarification of. As you talk, watch for cues that what you have said has hit the mark with the interviewer, and if it has feel free to expand on that.

Practice is all you can do, and just remind yourself that learning to be confidently conversational is a skill you can practice anywhere there are other people, it doesn't have to be mock interviews. I personally hate mock interviews.