Interview workshop fall 2011

Health Professional School Interview Workshop MSU Preprofessional Advising Team Janae Currington, M.Ed. Mo Gerhardt, M.S. Heidi Lang, M.A., L.P.C. Heidi Purdy, M.A.

Purpose of the Interview
To get to know you beyond the numbers
To assess your ability to interact with people
To evaluate your maturity and motivation
To set you apart from the rest
To assess your fit with the program
To answer your questions about the program
Remember: YOU are interviewing the schools as well!

Interviewing Styles
1:1
Panel
Blind
Partial Blind
Open
Behavior-Based
Multiple Mini Interview (U of Cincinnati Medical School & U of Michigan Dental School)

“ Typical” Interview Questions
Tell me about yourself.
Why do you want to be a _______?
Why is our school a good fit for you?
What are some concerns you have about this program?
Name three strengths and three weaknesses.

Healthcare Interview Questions
What are some of the issues presently confronting the field?
Choose any ethical topic (abortion, genetics, etc) and tell me what you think about it?
What do you hope to gain from your education?
What are some disadvantages to becoming a _________?
If you had a patient addicted to narcotics what would you do?
What about this profession does not agree with your personality?

Specific Questions to Application
Why this school, when you live in _____?
You don’t have a significant science background, how do you think you’ll handle pharmacy school?
How did you become interested in culinary arts/food and wine?
You have a busy life, what do you do to relax?
You’ve done a lot of volunteering, can you explain a difficult situation you encountered while volunteering at _____ hospital?
You were a restaurant manager, describe a particularly difficult customer encounter?
Do you see a connection between restaurant management and being an occupational therapist?
In your personal statement, you mentioned ________. Could you tell me more about that?

Non-Traditional Applicant Questions
You’ve been out of school for awhile, why physical therapy school now? How do you know?
How do you know you won’t grow bored with optometry as you have with other jobs?
What triggered the change of careers?

“ Random” Interview Questions
If someone came in to the ER with ______ condition, what would be the first steps you would consider taking?
What interests do you have outside of school?
How do you handle disappointment?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
If you could invite three people to dinner, (living or dead) who would they be?
If you don’t get in to your chosen field, what else would you do?
What does integrity mean to you?
What is the last non-academic book you read?

Behavior-Based Interview Questions
Give an example of a situation in which you have developed and maintained a relationship with someone else in spite of a differing point of view.
Tell me about a time when you set your sights too high, or too low.
Tell me about a time when you were creative in solving a problem.
Tell me about at time when you had to balance competing priorities and did so successfully.
Describe a time in which you were forced to make an unpopular decision.

Behavior-Based Interview Questions
Give an example of a time when you were unable to complete a project on time.
Describe a time when you may have been disappointed in your behavior.
Tell me about a goal that you set that took a long time to achieve, or one that you are still working towards.
Give an example of a time you anticipated potential problems and developed preventative measures.
Tell me about a situation where you had to be persuasive and sell your ideas to someone else.

Topics to Know “Something” About
Healthcare System (HMO, PPO, Single Payer, etc)
Current events related to healthcare
Government efforts/reforms of healthcare
Euthanasia
Abortion
AIDS
Stem cell transplants/research
Universal Healthcare
Current Healthcare Legislation
Current Events

Your Evaluation Criteria
Curriculum
Facilities
Student Body
Interdisciplinary/Extracurricular Activities
Financial Aid
Support & Administrative Services

Their Evaluation Criteria
Motivation
Professionalism
Knowledge of health care field
Adaptability
Maturity
Communication skills
Consistency
Your interview begins when you drive on campus & ends when you drive off!!

Proper Interview Attire
Men
Suit and tie
Dress shoes
Conservative colors
Well-groomed
Minimal or no cologne
Women
Suit (skirt or pants)
Pantyhose/stockings
Button-down shirt
Conservative dress shoes (not open-toed)
Appropriate Makeup/ Jewelry
Minimal or no cologne/perfume
Professional bag/coat

Reminders
Ask questions
Re-read your personal statement and supplemental application
Make eye contact
Turn your cell phone off
Take a minute to think about your answer
Answer the question that was asked
Be honest and upfront about your knowledge (or lack of knowledge)
Be yourself
Be on time, if not early
Write thank-you notes

Preparing for the Interview
Have “real” conversations with others
List your strengths & weaknesses on paper.
Get familiar with the school
Prepare a list of questions that are not blatantly obvious on the website

Day of Interview
Eat breakfast
Plan extra time to get to the school, have a campus map to be sure you get to the correct building
Aspects of the Day typically include:
Actual Interview
Financial Aid information
Campus Tour by current students

Day of Interview – MI Medical School Specifics
MSU COM – Typically NO interview, opportunity to come visit & attend financial aid presentation – GO if invited!
MSU CHM
*2 interviews – 30 minutes each
*1:1 with faculty member & med student
*Partial blind – Have access to personal statement, AMCAS experiences, and secondary essays but NO numbers.

Day of Interview – MI Medical School Specifics - continued
OU – William Beaumont
*2 interviews – 25-30 minutes each
*1:1 with faculty/staff member & a physician
*Partial blind – Have access to personal statement, AMCAS experiences, and secondary essays but NO numbers.

Day of Interview – MI Medical School Specifics - continued
U of M
*3 interviews – 30 minutes each
*1:1 with faculty members and med students
*Open – have access to entire file
WSU
*1interview – 30-60 minutes each
*1:1 with admission committee member, may also have med student participate

Day of Interview – MI Dental School Specifics
U of M
*Multiple Mini Interviews – 5 minutes at each of 10 stations
*Blind – no prior info available to interviewer
U of Detroit Mercy
*1 interview – 60 minutes
*1:1 – notified in advance who interviewer will be

Interview Tips for the Future
Budgeting, start saving now
Clothes, travel expenses
Schedule enough travel time
Be aware you might be missing classes to attend interviews, communicate with professors
Take advantage of orientation programs at schools

Other Considerations
Letter Writers – Keep them updated on your progress --- they WANT to know!
Oct 15 th – earliest acceptance date for MD schools
May 15 th – last date to hold multiple acceptances
Deposits – typically refundable but check deadline dates

Questions? Seek us out!
CNS Preprofessional Advisors
Janae Currington, M.Ed., [email_address]
Mo Gerhardt, M.S., [email_address]
Heidi Purdy, M.A., [email_address]
Lyman Briggs Preprofessional Advisor
Heidi Lang, M.A., L.P.C., [email_address]
Compliments to Candice Eisenhauer, University of Illinois –Chicago, for sharing the framework for this presentation at CAAHP Conference, April 2009.

Interview workshop fall 2011

by Michigan State University College of Natural Science on Sep 23, 2010

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Interview workshop fall 2011 — Presentation Transcript