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Applying to jobs I don't want for interview practice?


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I'll be graduating in a couple of months and am beginning my job search. I've received mixed messages about whether applying to fields/jobs you absolutely don't want to work in (for interview practice) is a good idea or a waste of time.

On one hand, I have no experience applying to "career jobs", involving multiple interviews and extensive contract negotiation, so having a low-pressure interview certainly sounds helpful. Others have mentioned it's good to cast a wide net in the event I don't receive offers from jobs I want. In that case, I'd at least have a job and could change fields later on.

On the other hand, I'm interested in 5 different fields, general and specialty, which I believe is a good number of options. I don't know if applying/interviewing for jobs I don't intend on accepting will take up time while I'm also busy with rotations, applying to desired jobs, and preparing for the PANCE. One of the faculty members in my program, who gave our job search lecture, specifically advised against applying to jobs just for interview practice. They said it's a waste of time for you and the interviewing team. I'd also most certainly have to lie/fib on my cover letter and during my interview about how passionate I am about a field that I actually have no interest in, which the faculty member said wasn't a good idea either.

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Throughout your life, you will get better with interviews. At some point, you probably will have been an interviewer more than you were an interviewee.

I would not recommend wasting people's time by interviewing for jobs that you wouldn't take.  You never know where those disappointed interviewers will end up, who they might talk to, or how long they would remember your behavior.

Just start going to interviews in your 5 target fields and do your best.

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I think attending job interviews that you are not intending to accept the offer would be a waste of employers' time and more importantly your time, especially around this time. I really think that PA job interviews are not tricky; employers really just want to know you as a person and to find out that if you are a good fit for their team and if you are really interested in this job. 

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