Interview Tips from Our Current Students
We asked our current students to share some of their favorite interview tips for our applicants and this what they shared!
- Use a story or examples to describe activities or address questions. It’s much better to demonstrate your answer and show that you have learned something or experienced something than to just tell your interviewer what you would do or talk about a topic in non- specific terms.
- During your 1:1 interviews, identify 3 of your personal strengths and try to incorporate those 3 strengths into the questions that the interviewer asks, where applicable. These strengths are what you want the interviewer to walk away knowing about you. This will also help prevent you from going on tangents that can confuse interviewers.
- Use personal examples that demonstrate character rather than talking about abstract ideas.
- Don’t memorize interview responses, be authentic.
- Speak about the things that make you happy!
- Be authentically yourself. Interviewers don’t want to hear you talk about what you think they want to hear; they want to know more about who you are. This is a chance for you to shine just by being yourself.
- Try not to compare yourself to others. And if you did not like the way you answered one question or handled one interview, take the time to breathe, reset, and remain in the present for the rest of the interview day and be yourself!
- If I am struggling with the question, I take a few seconds to collect myself.
- Be confident and be honest! Do not try to exaggerate your experiences or stories, because the interviewers can tell when you are doing that. Confidence really shines through, and so believe in yourself! Also, remember that it is okay to take pauses before answering a question to formulate in your head what you are going to say. It is better to have a concise, strong answer that took 30 seconds to formulate than to have a confusing, vague answer that you said right away.
- If you ever get nervous, make small talk with the other applicants. Just talking and getting to know other people is a great way to calm the nerves and also learn who could be your potential classmates.
- Show who YOU are and what YOU have to offer the class!
- Pay attention to your Zoom camera angle and lighting if possible. Watch YouTube videos on tips for how to
present yourself best in the virtual Zoom interview world.
Questions?
Contact the Office of Student Experience at medicine.admissions@wsu.edu.