Interview: Rehearsed vs Organic?

[Figritout]

Greetings, 

I am preparing for a few interviews I have in the near future and wanted to pose this question.  All the literature I have found says that I should prepare for my interview, that is, read possible questions, practice my answers, know what I am going to say before I get into the room, etc etc.... and, this just struck me as...odd?   

So my question is this:  Does prepare for your interview mean: Read all the practice questions I can, have an answer in mind, rehearse my answers, practice what I think I should say before hand etc. etc.  

 

Or does prepare for your interview mean: Look kid... you've had 4 hard years of school which you graduated with outstanding grades, you've worked hard in multiple settings and collected over 1000s of experience hours, you organically and honestly want to become a PA, all of these things have led me to this moment... so rely on my education, rely on my experience, and rely on my honest and organic drive to become an PA and simply answer the questions as truthfully and organically as possible... even if the answers are not the "right" answer? 

Or do the interviewers just want to hear the "right" answer, practiced, rehearsed, and articulated well?

idk just to me the real world is never rehearsed or practiced... its live, in the moment, and crazy... and you have to just trust yourself and rely on your eduction to do the right thing in that exact moment... why should a PA interview be any different? 

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

[Endeavor]

There is no "right" answer to most questions they ask. However, there are "bad" answers you should avoid  (Ex. saying you chose PA over MD/DO because PAs have better bedside manners). 

The last thing you want to do at the interview is fumble your words, stutter or just draw blank. So if you don't rehearse a little combined with some of the nerves you might get during an interview you're setting yourself up for failure. 

It's better to review questions and have an idea on what you want to say, and yes actually practice them. Don't memorize your answer verbatim instead memorize the main ideas ...I want to be a PA because of X, Y, Z, then build on those main ideas. Practice with a friend, have them ask you questions and try to organically come up with well articulated responses, if you find yourself having a difficult time responding to a particular question it'll be worth looking into more. Again, focus on the main ideas that you want to articulate for each question and the details will come naturally. 

Good luck!

[LadyNichiavelli]

2 hours ago, Figritout said:

Greetings, 

I am preparing for a few interviews I have in the near future and wanted to pose this question.  All the literature I have found says that I should prepare for my interview, that is, read possible questions, practice my answers, know what I am going to say before I get into the room, etc etc.... and, this just struck me as...odd?   

So my question is this:  Does prepare for your interview mean: Read all the practice questions I can, have an answer in mind, rehearse my answers, practice what I think I should say before hand etc. etc.  

 

Or does prepare for your interview mean: Look kid... you've had 4 hard years of school which you graduated with outstanding grades, you've worked hard in multiple settings and collected over 1000s of experience hours, you organically and honestly want to become a PA, all of these things have led me to this moment... so rely on my education, rely on my experience, and rely on my honest and organic drive to become an PA and simply answer the questions as truthfully and organically as possible... even if the answers are not the "right" answer? 

Or do the interviewers just want to hear the "right" answer, practiced, rehearsed, and articulated well?

idk just to me the real world is never rehearsed or practiced... its live, in the moment, and crazy... and you have to just trust yourself and rely on your eduction to do the right thing in that exact moment... why should a PA interview be any different? 

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Yes, yes, yes. You are on the right track. I'm a huge advocate for "honest and organic" answers, because in my experience, that is what has worked. Of course, you should have a good idea of why you want to be a PA, why that school, etc. But I wouldn't memorize your answers. Maybe if you're the type to freeze up a lot or get nervous when interviewing, practicing a bit more would ironically help you sound more natural.

I totally agree. There are so many resources for PA school interviews out there, that I fully believed I had to memorize the "right" answers to get accepted, but that totally backfired. But I will say that those resources are pretty good for a) getting you into the mind of an interviewer and b) avoiding the absolutely "wrong" answers.

[UGoLong]

You have lived your life and worked to meet the requirements for a PA program. You must have had a reason for doing all of that, which you should be prepared to describe. You should think about what your life experiences have meant to you. So some thinking up front to sketch out answers to questions like that isn't a bad idea.

On the other hand, there is nothing as off-putting to an interviewer as listening impatiently while someone gives canned answers to your questions. The interviewer has likely read your full CASPA application, your essay, your LORs, the description of your HCE, etc. What they want more than anything is to meet you as a human being and see what you're like. Don't miss that opportunity by shoveling up canned sentences that come out without any spontaneity or individuality.

If you're shy, practice talking to people and getting at ease with that; it's pretty much what you'll do every day as a PA, or as an adult for that matter.

Get some sleep, be early so you're not a nervous wreck, smile, and breathe. And don't keep telling yourself that this is a make-or-break moment in your life: it's not really.

The lights have been turned on, the audience is in his or her seat, and it's just time to be yourself. No one else can do a better job of that.

 

[JD2012]

Do not be able to recite your answers verbatim.

For each question have some bulleted topics you want to touch on. This way, you can just connect the dots as you go and more of your personality will shine through rather than reading from a script.  

For instance if they asked me "tell me about yourself", I had four or five main traits written down and that's it.  From those traits I knew what I wanted to say and describe each one.

PS- I forgot to mention all the preparation helps but each interview I had, there were about 2-3 questions that were out of left field and there was no way the internet could have prepared me for them. BUT thankfully I was able to fall back on the 2 years of HCE experience to answer them.