What if you don't have an experience to tell for an interview question?

[winddolphin]

I knew for a long time that interview will be my biggest obstacle getting into vet school.....but I still got very upset when I read UI's sample/past interview questions.

Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult person.
I am sure I have met more than 2 or 3 difficult people, but I cannot remember any incident. Maybe it's because they were not difficult enought. Maybe I wanted to throw them out of my memory as quickly as possible. I just can't think of anyone other than my boss....

When was the last time you solved a difficult problem with classmates or friends?
.....I apologize my life has been running too smoothly.

etc., etc. My answers would either be unimaginative and plain or simply blank. I don't want to make up stories because I feel like that's lying, and lying during interviews would be against my principles. Even if I do make up stories, I doubt they'd be intriguing as real life.

I am feeling pretty sad and down now. Maybe I should not go to UI's interview at all and save the traveling expenses.

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[HopefulAg]

In short, I lied. I figured it would be better to do so than to say "I've never had that problem". They just want to see how you handle conflict anyhow so I took a situation that could have plausibly occurred at work, extrapolated, and told them the steps I would've taken to resolve the issue.

 

[LVT2DVM]

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[Fairyblastt]

If you're going to lie, IMO you should at least make it interesting. As for the 'difficult situation where I showed my leadership abilities', I would personally talk about how I once talked a man down at gunpoint during a bomb scare at the local bank while I was there depositing a check during lunch. That actually could also work for the 'when you creatively solved a difficult situation', if I choose to mention how I figured out whether to pick the green or red wire when the bomb squad was unable to enter the bank.

Honestly, I suck at these 'behavior interviews' as well, but I would be too afraid to just lie at the risk of seeming insincere or fake. And I don't lie very well (obviously), so I'd just be more nervous. So if I find myself in a situation where I can't think up an example of how I've handled a problem or situation before, I'd say so and then try to bring up a similar situation (or someone else's problem), or offer a hypothetical example and then explain how I'd go about solving it and why. They want to see your thought process, so that's the direction I'd go.

If I was starting this whole thing over again, I should have kept some sort of 'experience journal' while I was doing my clinical experience hours... I know I've had to make 'difficult decisions' before, but how am I supposed to remember them when prompted with such a vague question?

Going forward, once I finally get into vet school (this cycle I hope, lol), I am totally going to keep an experience journal so that I can keep tabs on everything I'm learning... not just the factual information they throw at you in chunks...

 

[DollyyLlama]

i'm going to a behavioral interview next week, and my strategy is going to be to brainstorm a lot beforehand. i'll try to come up with a list of anecdotes that might be useful, probably based on typical behavioral questions (there are lists online- like http://www.emurse.com/blog/2007/05/21/complete-list-of-behavioral-interview-questions/ although that has many more than will be applicable, i'm sure). i will likely re-write history a bit, to make myself look better. then if there's a question that doesn't quite match a response, i can pull a sarah palin and steer the question in the direction i want to discuss. i haven't done this kind of interview before, though -- does this sound reasonable?

 

[VAgirl]

then if there's a question that doesn't quite match a response, i can pull a sarah palin and steer the question in the direction i want to discuss. i haven't done this kind of interview before, though -- does this sound reasonable?

Totally.

I think lying is a bad idea...I think that can only backfire in a number of unpleasant ways. But I think it's also completely okay to stretch their question a bit. In otherwords, use an example that only kind of fits their question. I would, obviously, tell them that the closest situation you can think of is XYZ and then explain it and walk them through how you handled it, etc. (STAR approach--Situation or Task, Action, Result--is best).

My personal example is that I was asked at ISU "Tell me about a time when you had to think outside the box." I thought for about 3 minutes and couldn't come up with anything, so finally settled on telling them about a time when I had to approch something in a way that, while perhaps not out of the box for other people, was out of my comfort zone. Another one was "Tell me about a time when you had to break a promise to someone and how did you handle it." I couldn't think of a tangible promise I'd broken (aside from something like told my parents etc. I'd do something mundane and hadn't done it) so I reinterpreted the question. I told them about a time when I'd broken what I considered to be an unspoken promise, the promise to be a good friend. I explained the situation, what happened, and why. I'm sure there were follow up questions, but I can't recall.

Bottom line, they're just trying to get to know you and how you think. So stretch their question to make it fit a situation you have experienced. Or the idea about confessing not having been in one of those situations but having witnessed others and hypothesizing how you'd react...all of these sound like good approaches.

I would also add that I don't really believe that anyone has never dealt with a difficult person or had to solve a difficult situation. I think perhaps you're just looking at the magnitude of it wrong. It doesn't have to be a person or a situation that is life altering. Merely annoying is ok, too. Ever had a professor whose teaching style was tough for you? A group project that didn't run smoothly? A boss or coworker that was a pill? An animal or client that pushed your patience to the max? Even a little brother/sister that sometimes drives you nuts? Any of those would be fine to talk about. Much better than deciding you just can't answer their question. Just try to model your answer such that you're giving them a sense of how you troubleshoot and handle sticky situations.

Hm...sorry, long post. Procrastinating studying. Good luck!

 

[sumstorm]

In a behavioral interview, the questions are aimed at seeing how you have/will handle a given issue. So, maybe you haven't had to deal with a conflict with a client, the real concern is can you handle a conflict where there are varying interests, shifting priorities, and multiple stake holders? Are there differences in these situations that you can identify and respond to? A conflict with an instructor or co-worker or employer might apply. Thinking outside the box is simply responding to a situation with an unconventional solution, or perhaps, working through issues to arrive at the conventional solution, or maybe even putting the extra effort into reaching the solution.

Think through all the stuff you have done and identify instances where you created or managed solutions, handled conflict and discomfort, where you failed and recovered, dealt with diverse individuals, balanced life and work, and where you took risks.

If you haven't ever encountered conflict, an interviewer is just as likely to consider that you weren't aware of such conflicts going on around you, as they are to think you have had a dream life. Consider, perhaps, that your methods of handling such issues are so well-rehearsed for you, that you aren't even aware of them. Perhaps you divert tensions before they erupt, perhaps you smile and create space.

Good luck!

 

[winddolphin]

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions and advice! I have never thought of the above approaches (don't know why...), and they all sound great. I will try using these approaches and see if I can figure out some more behavior-type questions. It makes me feel so much better, knowing that I am not the only one having this issue.

 

[littlelisa]

Just a few more pointers that helped me out with this problem before my Iowa interview:

Ask friends/family if they can help you think of something. Personally, my mom remembered some significant things in my past that I had totally forgotten about.

Also, when I was in my interview and I was having trouble thinking of a situation to talk about I asked if they could rephrase the question or give me another approach to the problem. That helped a lot and I immediately came up with something to talk about. If the interviewers feel as though you haven't given them enough info they will ask follow up questions that are directly related to what you were talking about to really get a feel for what kind of person you are. I liked this because it gave me a chance to better show my strengths in the situation. I guess that could be another reason not to lie about an experience.

Don't be afraid to talk about little experiences that weren't very significant. If they meant something to you and you learned something, that's all they're looking for.

Good luck!

 

[spidermonkey]

I truly want to thank Winddolphin for starting this thread! I have felt that this has been and will be my biggest hurtle of vet school interviews. I feel that my life has been quite devoid of difficult situations where analytical thinking, and problem solving hasn't been applicable. I also want to thank the other posters so far because aside from lying (which I don't want to do) there have been some great suggestions. I myself was planning to sit down with my dad to think of any situation that I have been through for a broad range of behavioral questions. This way depending on what is asked I will have a list of situations running in my head during interview time. Thanks again everyone and good luck!!!!

 

[littlelisa]

Another thing I thought of that helped me, write down and take with you your list of experiences that you want to keep on hand for your interview. Right before you go in take a peek at them just as a refresher. For me as I was being asked questions I was visualizing my list of situations and this really helped keep them fresh in my mind so I didn't draw a blank.