"Tell me about yourself"

[eddie269]

Hi guys. I have an interview in a few weeks and I hear this is one common question they ask you. Now, I have a feeling this is one of those "easy-hard" questions they ask you to test you.

I am assuming I should take no longer than 1-2 minutes to totally answer this but I am stuck. Realistically, I have a million things to say but when I think of specific-right-to-the-point responses, I know they want to hear key points.

I doubt they want to hear "Hi, I am a first generation Asian American who is a single child."

Any suggestions?

Only thing I see is probably what my undergrad background is along with the type of person you are, why I am interested in pharmacy or what in my life has made me the person I am. See, I am rambling again.

I know there isn't a "right" answer for this but I sure believe there is a WRONG answer.

AHHH, its 230am, I need to stop worrying about this interview and get some sleep.

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[Glycerin]

Hi guys. I have an interview in a few weeks and I hear this is one common question they ask you. Now, I have a feeling this is one of those "easy-hard" questions they ask you to test you.

I am assuming I should take no longer than 1-2 minutes to totally answer this but I am stuck. Realistically, I have a million things to say but when I think of specific-right-to-the-point responses, I know they want to hear key points.

I doubt they want to hear "Hi, I am a first generation Asian American who is a single child."

Any suggestions?

Only thing I see is probably what my undergrad background is along with the type of person you are, why I am interested in pharmacy or what in my life has made me the person I am. See, I am rambling again.

I know there isn't a "right" answer for this but I sure believe there is a WRONG answer.

AHHH, its 230am, I need to stop worrying about this interview and get some sleep.

Believe it or not, interviewers do want to know more about who you are when they ask that question. When prompted with that question in one of my interviews, I told them stats like age and where I work and how often, but I also told them about having 3 cats, a dog, loving anything to do with music, playing guitar, etc. It was obviously okay.

They ask this question to also break the silence and help you to feel more relaxed, so don't be afraid to expound on anything that doesn't have to do with pharmacy if you are asked this.

 

[cangara]

I've been interviewed three times, and no one ask me that question. I was kinda of dissapointed because I practice that question over and over. But, you want to make sure that you will come out strong. This is usually the first question that they will ask you, so definitely tell strong points about yourself. For me, I was thinking of starting about the reason why my parents sacrificed their careers just for me and my siblings to have a good future. Then, I would reflect what I have done to make my parents proud. I think that its nice to hear a story. I think you starting with "Hi, I am a first generation Asian American who is a single child," is not a good idea since there are a lot of asian americans applying in pharmacy school. THis is what I prepared for the interview, "Ten years ago, I came to the US with my whole family because my parents believe that this is a great country of opportunities. They sacrificed their great careers back home for their children to have a good education and future, which I am very greatefull. Unfortunately, they were unable to support with my education. So I supported myself by utilizing my financial aid and students loans, and by working. This is during time when i was taking an average of fifteen unit/semester, working 20hrs/week, and volunteering for 13hrs/week in different research laboratories..."

Regarding the time limit, I think less than minutes is ok. But, they will interupt you if it's way too long for them.

Good luck!

Hi guys. I have an interview in a few weeks and I hear this is one common question they ask you. Now, I have a feeling this is one of those "easy-hard" questions they ask you to test you.

I am assuming I should take no longer than 1-2 minutes to totally answer this but I am stuck. Realistically, I have a million things to say but when I think of specific-right-to-the-point responses, I know they want to hear key points.

I doubt they want to hear

Any suggestions?

Only thing I see is probably what my undergrad background is along with the type of person you are, why I am interested in pharmacy or what in my life has made me the person I am. See, I am rambling again.

I know there isn't a "right" answer for this but I sure believe there is a WRONG answer.

AHHH, its 230am, I need to stop worrying about this interview and get some sleep.

 

[afablej]

I went on a mock interview and the guy coached me pretty well on this question....he said to list 5/6 things about yourself and practice them. the firs thing should introduce yourself like "Well, I was born and raised in NJ..etc" Then something about school "I am currently a junior at Rutgers University as a Biochemistry Major" Then a few things about your resume...I am currently working at Pfizer as an Intellectual Property Personnel, and on the weekends, I volunteer at Columbus Hospital as a pharm tech"...Then something about your hobbies/personal life "I'm an avid tennis player, and I am currently learning how to play guitar" and then finish it off with something like "I'm really excited to be here....I'm really interested in pharmacy as a career..etc" if you finish it off with something about the school, they might ask you why you like the school as the next quesiton. If you mention pharmacy at the end, then it's a good transition of "why pharmacy" as the next question as well...good luck, you'll do fine

Hi guys. I have an interview in a few weeks and I hear this is one common question they ask you. Now, I have a feeling this is one of those "easy-hard" questions they ask you to test you.

I am assuming I should take no longer than 1-2 minutes to totally answer this but I am stuck. Realistically, I have a million things to say but when I think of specific-right-to-the-point responses, I know they want to hear key points.

I doubt they want to hear "Hi, I am a first generation Asian American who is a single child."

Any suggestions?

Only thing I see is probably what my undergrad background is along with the type of person you are, why I am interested in pharmacy or what in my life has made me the person I am. See, I am rambling again.

I know there isn't a "right" answer for this but I sure believe there is a WRONG answer.

AHHH, its 230am, I need to stop worrying about this interview and get some sleep.

 

[TCB]

thanks afablej that was helpful.. I wish I could go to one of those mock interviews... too bad my school doesn't offer it.

 

[eddie269]

thanks guys, very helpful indeed. I wasn't necessarily looking for a formula to answer with but I guess it helped. Again, mock interviews sound great. It's just too bad they don't offer it here at my school either.

 

[luv2BPharmD]

What if you asked a friend to ask you some mock interview questions? While they may not be able to coach you on your answers, they can critique you on things like presentation, if you fidget, etc.- things that you might not even be aware that you do. Or at best practice your answers in the mirror to see what you look like?

 

[afablej]

No problem guys....just make sure you don't go into too much detail..it should be under 2 min max and don't go into anything really about pharmacy yet and why you wanted to do it..., that's the mistake i made with my mock interview. The interviewer said that this question is the hardest, and people usually get stumped on it....so..I think preparing an answer is the best way or else it is really easy to go on a tangent. gLuck!

thanks guys, very helpful indeed. I wasn't necessarily looking for a formula to answer with but I guess it helped. Again, mock interviews sound great. It's just too bad they don't offer it here at my school either.

 

[Tuck]

Personally, I think it is far better to prepare to be upbeat and earnest in your interview than anything else. I did not even attempt to guess what questions would be asked. I essentially went in and answered whatever they asked as well as I could and it worked out great. I think we essentially talked about basketball and the final four for about half the interview. While part of the interview will address your suitability to be a pharmacist, the rest may just be the interview wanting to get to know you as a person. Practicing a prepared statement will more than likely hurt you than help you!

 

[endlesslove]

If you mention pharmacy at the end, then it's a good transition of "why pharmacy" as the next question as well...good luck, you'll do fine

hey i did something similar. where born and raised, major/school, what i like to do in my spare time: hobby 1 (came with a story ab my past), hobby 2, and finally hobby 3 (i linked this hobby to "and this helped me decide on pharmacy")

 

[afablej]

I thought about winging it too ...but..the interview I went on had a time limit because we were scheduled for a timed essay right after...so some interviews might want to get just right to the point and are not interested in small talk or what's going on in the news...I personally think that someone should be prepared for it just in case, but if you go there and it's more laid-back then you dont have to cut to the chase and you could talk about other things. I wish my interview was like yours where they got to know me more but, they have an agenda that is a priority over you, which is "can this student last 4 years at this school", at least that's the impression I got. If you're lucky you don't get stuck in that situation, and your interviewer will actually become a real person by the end of the interview and you would talk about normal stuff

Personally, I think it is far better to prepare to be upbeat and earnest in your interview than anything else. I did not even attempt to guess what questions would be asked. I essentially went in and answered whatever they asked as well as I could and it worked out great. I think we essentially talked about basketball and the final four for about half the interview. While part of the interview will address your suitability to be a pharmacist, the rest may just be the interview wanting to get to know you as a person. Practicing a prepared statement will more than likely hurt you than help you!

 

[Requiem]

I drink coffee and tea. I don't take any hard drugs for study, such as amphetamines or ephedrine. So basically caffeine I guess, I know people who pop caffeine pills and ampethamines to study, it's how it goes.

And to be honest, taking any of those above substances in a controlled dose sporadically will have a very miniscule effect on your body, let alone create addiction. If you have the state of mind to control how often to take it and minimize the consumption, you won't become addicted. If you feel you have no control and "need" this substance so you can study, that's a problem.

 

[Asnchic]

Right now, I have a bottle of green tea in the fridge. Coke burns.

I can't even do well on tests pulling all nighters so the idea of going under drugs to do well doesn't make any sense to me. I'd rather be calm and well rested then stressed and full of anxiety while taking a test, especially anything to do with Chemistry.