What was your most difficult/awkward interview question this cycle?

[timwatley]

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What was your most difficult/bizarre interview question this cycle? Every now and then someone gets caught off guard with a difficult question such as 'If you could be one piece of furniture what would it be and why?'

It would be interesting to hear some of these stories if they're out there. Or any awkward interview moments for that matter.

 

[Pelikanz]

At one of my interviews, I was asked what i would do if patients from a neighboring practice came to mine claiming "their dentist was a raging alcoholic" and wanted me to treat them. I had to laugh a little bit after this was asked

 

[timwatley]

At one of my interviews, I was asked what i would do if patients from a neighboring practice came to mine claiming "their dentist was a raging alcoholic" and wanted me to treat them. I had to laugh a little bit after this was asked

No way! That's definitely one of the more creative ones I've heard haha. I'm guessing it went well though.

I was having this conversation with a friend I met while traveling. When he interviewed at Cambridge he met someone who had been asked 'Does the moral character of an orgy change if the participants wear nazi uniforms?'

The things schools put us through..

 

[Pelikanz]

No way! That's definitely one of the more creative ones I've heard haha. I'm guessing it went well though.

I was having this conversation with a friend I met while traveling. When he interviewed at Cambridge he met someone who had been asked 'Does the moral character of an orgy change if the participants wear nazi uniforms?'

The things schools put us through..

Hahaha wow! That would definitely make for an awkward moment.

 

[omnipoDent]

Hmm, I'd have to say it was when I was asked, "You're sitting next to someone on the bench waiting for the bus. You only have a few seconds and time for one sentence before the bus comes and takes that person away. What is the sentence you would say to that person to change their life?"

I was like, um 😱

 

[Pelikanz]

Hmm, I'd have to say it was when I was asked, "You're sitting next to someone on the bench waiting for the bus. You only have a few seconds and time for one sentence before the bus comes and takes that person away. What is the sentence you would say to that person to change their life?"

I was like, um 😱

Mama always said, 'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'"

 

[Tootyfruity]

Hmm, I'd have to say it was when I was asked, "You're sitting next to someone on the bench waiting for the bus. You only have a few seconds and time for one sentence before the bus comes and takes that person away. What is the sentence you would say to that person to change their life?"

I was like, um 😱

umm... i really wanna be a dentist because...

 

[valkairon]

They asked me a lot of political questions. They were mostly about health care, and besides just playing devil's advocate, I'm sure they were on the polar opposite position on all of the issues...

Also, one of the schools was trying to frame the fact that I'm twenty as a bad thing. I think I was still nineteen at the time of the interview actually.

 

[timwatley]

Politics in an interview seems kind of unprofessional.

 

[OzGirl1985]

Politics in an interview seems kind of unprofessional.

This.

 

[UCF FINatic]

I called accidentally said PBR instead of PBL during a group interview hahaha.

 

[Junebug1665]

I had a ton of ethical questions in my one-on-one interview. One of the hardest ones I thought was about a young boy who you realized had an STD...im guessing one that is that is recognizable through a symptom in the mouth obviously.. and he asked you not to tell his parents because his father would beat him and that his father had beaten him before.....

 

[ta11geese3]

My sister got asked "how old were you in 1st grade?" in between the usual questions. Threw her off a bit lol

 

[ukrdon2006]

First question asked was " So you enjoy the outdoors and hunting, what type of gun do you use?" Followed up by " When does the hunting season start and end?"

Pretty weird but broke the ice for me real quick!!!

 

[timwatley]

I had a ton of ethical questions in my one-on-one interview. One of the hardest ones I thought was about a young boy who you realized had an STD...im guessing one that is that is recognizable through a symptom in the mouth obviously.. and he asked you not to tell his parents because his father would beat him and that his father had beaten him before.....

Wtf??

 

[Junebug1665]

Yeah I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was pretty ridiculous...

 

[Bereno]

Time for a picture story! YAY! This is a convo I had at one of my schools while interviewing (I will try and make this as accurate possible, but not verbatim). After a very friendly start to the interview, the questions start and the interviewer turns to a more serious tone...

Interviewer: "Is stealing a laptop from the school ok?"

Me: "Haha, of course not."

Interviewer: "Is stealing a stapler from the school ok?"

Me: (Hmm where is he going with this? I think I see this could get ugly, so I get more serious too) "uhhm no. Thats still stealing, and I still find that wrong at its basic level."

Interviewer: "So your saying that stealing from the school is always wrong no matter how big the item?"

Me: "Yeah, pretty much..." (phwew, glad we are done with that. Moving on?)



Interviewer: "So is stealing a Bic pen from the school ok?"

Me: (lol! Wait.... this must be a test of character! Quick Bereno! Say something funny) "Haha, if I'm going to be attending a school that is overly concerned with the theft of a single Bic pen, I would be worried that the school has some priority issues. I'm not sure I want to go to such a school." (in a joking tone attempting to make that feel funny)

Interviewer: "... So which is it? Do you think stealing is OK or do you think its not OK?"

Me: (****, this man serious?) "Uhhh...."

 

[timwatley]

Lol! I'm so sorry Bereno. Sounds like he had it out for you..

 

[woof44]

a difficult question for me was "what do you know about dentistry and insurance?" this was my first question at my first interview, soooooo THAT was sweet.

 

[Bereno]

Lol! I'm so sorry Bereno. Sounds like he had it out for you..

Lol, It seemed like it at the time! It did get better after that though lol

 

[kamepan]

The first question I was asked at one pretty good school was "What do you think of your school's football team?" He looked very serious and had his hands folded on the table.

Unfortunately, I have never been to any of my school's sports games, and my sports knowledge isn't that great. All I knew was that our team sucked this year. When I told him that, he nodded, and waited for me to go on. A very awkward 10 seconds proceeded.

I'm pretty sure that led me to becoming waitlisted 😛

 

[OUDent88]

Hmm, I'd have to say it was when I was asked, "You're sitting next to someone on the bench waiting for the bus. You only have a few seconds and time for one sentence before the bus comes and takes that person away. What is the sentence you would say to that person to change their life?"

I was like, um 😱

Does this napkin smell like chloroform?

 

[Msmouth]

Bereno, I love it! LOL!

 

[SoulPower]

.

 

[omnipoDent]

Does this napkin smell like chloroform?

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

Haha Bereno, I got the same type of question, but it was in reversed order.

"When you have your own practice, and you caught your office manager stealing a dime from the cash, would you fire her?"

No, I wouldn't fire her, but I would give her a warning. It might be a mistake.

"What if it was a quarter?"

Hmm.. it might have been a mistake, but as the office manager, I would assume she would know that patients never tip and putting a money in her pocket would look very suspicious. Again, I would give her a warning, but not fire her.

"What about a dollar?"

Okay, I know where you're going with this. At a dollar, I would fire her. This is because I can't have an office manager that is dishonest and also stealing larger amounts of cash. Also, if she was caught at one time stealing a dollar, how many other times was she not caught stealing larger amounts of money? She has now evolved to put bills in her pocket. If it was coins, I would be hesitant to fire her, but bills are another story.

If she was an efficient office manager, then the lost coins would be worth it. She can steal all of my dimes and quarters, and I wouldn't be able to notice. Maybe I'll get a couple of roll of dimes and quarters and let her steal her heart out for a few weeks. I'll just restock when we run out. I'll just think of it as a small bonus.

 

[Pandoo]

Who are 3 people in history you would have dinner with and why? [MWAZ]

 

[MowgliR]

does this napkin smell like chloroform?

hahaha

 

[MowgliR]

Who are 3 people in history you would have dinner with and why? [MWAZ]

Dean of Admissions--so I can get admitted.

President of the university--so I can go to a different program if not DMD.

You're wife.--if all else fails.


My interviewer laughed, and I got in!

 

[tmirchel]

AT STILL- Have you ever not lived with your parents? (Student interviewer)

Western- Some paragraph long question about ethic problems dentist face within a community and how the community views dentist. It was so confusing I asked for her to say it again and she did. Then I answer and she said that my answer was not what she was looking for...

Western- tell me about a time you faced diversity, you are from a diverse place...
I am from Washington State, I do my best diversity answer then she looks at me and says what about all those embassy's... The lady had no idea I was from Washington State and thought I was from DC 😱.... That was the most awkward momentum of my interview career.

 

[MowgliR]

Western- tell me about a time you faced diversity, you are from a diverse place...
I am from Washington State, I do my best diversity answer then she looks at me and says what about all those embassy's... The lady had no idea I was from Washington State and thought I was from DC 😱.... That was the most awkward momentum of my interview career.

hahaha I remember you telling me about this before.

 

[TalkingTom]

i sat down to an interview and the first thing that was said to me was "tell me a joke". not what i was expecting at all

 

[jdrummerjd]

At UNLV.
Student, "If you could be an animal what would you be and why?"
Me, "Umm....uh" trying to think of some bs to say
Student, "Dude, I'm totally kidding with you."
It was cool he had a sense of humor it was a good ice breaker.

 

[MowgliR]

i sat down to an interview and the first thing that was said to me was "tell me a joke". not what i was expecting at all

When's the prefect time to make an appointment with the dentist?..Tooth-hurty (2:30)

 

[uldental]

At NYU:
prof: Why does it only take 3 minutes for fluoride to come off after you apply it?
me: uh... saliva? I don't honestly know.
prof: BC it only takes 3 minutes for the doc to go out and have a smoke.
me: ....excuse me?
---------------------30 sec of silence----------------
prof: you are a very intense and serious person.

-got waitlisted.

 

[timwatley]

At NYU:
prof: Why does it only take 3 minutes for fluoride to come off after you apply it?
me: uh... saliva? I don't honestly know.
prof: BC it only takes 3 minutes for the doc to go out and have a smoke.
me: ....excuse me?
---------------------30 sec of silence----------------
prof: you are a very intense and serious person.

-got waitlisted.

Lol that's painful to hear about. I probably would have thrown a fake laugh in there but it's a pretty horrible joke.

 

[dreamerndoer]

Dean of Admissions--so I can get admitted.

President of the university--so I can go to a different program if not DMD.

You're wife.--if all else fails.


My interviewer laughed, and I got in!

that was a risky one

 

[timwatley]

that was a risky one

I'm not sure if I believe it

 

[MowgliR]

I'm not sure if I believe it

Of course I wouldn't say that in an interview...

 

[DrHygienist13]

I looked in this thread to help prepare myself for my interview coming up... sounds like the interviews are less about asking appropriate questions about how and why you want to be a dentist, and more about faking you out, surprising you, and seeing how you react. Nice. 😱

 

[diene]

I looked in this thread to help prepare myself for my interview coming up... sounds like the interviews are less about asking appropriate questions about how and why you want to be a dentist, and more about faking you out, surprising you, and seeing how you react. Nice. 😱

My exact reaction 😱 I was trying to prepare for the why you want to be a dentist sort of questions...I guess you really can't prepare much for these ridiculous random questions

 

[cluckyducky]

When's the perfect time to make an appointment with the dentist?..Tooth-hurty (2:30)

Hahaha love it! 👍

 

[wo5678]

Hmm, I'd have to say it was when I was asked, "You're sitting next to someone on the bench waiting for the bus. You only have a few seconds and time for one sentence before the bus comes and takes that person away. What is the sentence you would say to that person to change their life?"

I was like, um 😱

I would say, "You may not know me, but I love you."

 

[RSalha17]

Hmm, I'd have to say it was when I was asked, "You're sitting next to someone on the bench waiting for the bus. You only have a few seconds and time for one sentence before the bus comes and takes that person away. What is the sentence you would say to that person to change their life?"

I was like, um 😱

Watch out for the bus!!!

 

[Smurf12]

Hmm, I'd have to say it was when I was asked, "You're sitting next to someone on the bench waiting for the bus. You only have a few seconds and time for one sentence before the bus comes and takes that person away. What is the sentence you would say to that person to change their life?"

I was like, um 😱

Excuse me ma'am, this is Publishers Clearing Bus Bench and you've just won $10,000 a week for life!

 

[RSalha17]

bump