Navigating an Interview with Confidence
You have received an interview for vet school. This is what you have dreamed about for years. The next step on your journey to becoming a veterinarian is right in front of you. Suddenly you realize that you don’t know what to expect from that next step. You start to panic a bit at the thought of being judged in person (or virtually) by strangers. The thought of carrying on a conversation about yourself or vet medicine is terrifying.
The fear around interviewing is common and natural. It is different from all the preparation and rewriting that you did while putting together your VMCAS application. Interviews are ‘a different situation entirely where you must respond readily to a variety of questions and think on your feet in the moment. What if you don’t know how to answer a question? What if there is no response when I give an answer? What if they don’t think that I am good enough for their program? Imposter syndrome and anxiety sink in a bit.
Let’s celebrate for a moment the fact that you received an interview. What you presented on your application was something that interested the admissions committee at the school to learn more about you as a person who would be an asset to their community. This is good news. Just like with your written application, there are things that you can do to prepare for your interview. Interviews are not Pass/Fail,
Establish a Framework for you to prepare for your interview:
Understand the format that the school uses so that you can learn a bit more about how to engage with the interviewers. Texas Tech includes a welcome session, 2 semi-structured interviews, an essay section, a student panel for Q&A, and student-led tours. University of Illinois conducts virtual interviews that last 15-30 minutes with a panel of 1-3 people.
Demonstrate your commitment by learning about the school beforehand and formulating thoughtful questions. Schools have a variety of information on their websites, from their mission statement to their curriculum and the demographics of the current student population. Visit their site, connect with current students, and go into your interview with a question or two about the school.
Expand your understanding of the Veterinary profession and its challenges. What do you understand about the current topics in veterinary medicine? You do not need to know everything going on in veterinary medicine but having some thoughts on the major issues like student debt, veterinary burn-out, and one health can show that you understand veterinary medicine is a complex profession.
Practice critical thinking and behavioral questions by understanding what differentiates an average answer from an excellent answer. This assessment is more than just using the STAR method to answer a question. These situation judgement scenarios are about knowing what question to answer and how to express yourself in an authentic and professional manner.
Reflect on your own experiences and develop a technique for calming yourself in the midst of an interview. Box breathing, calming cues, or deep breath before speaking can all help balance your thought process before you respond to any question. People like Elon Musk and other prominent innovators are known for taking longer pauses before they answer questions to collect their thoughts. Taking a moment to think about a question demonstrates emotional intelligence and confidence. It is a good approach to not always answer immediately.
Congratulations on receiving an interview from a vet school. If you haven’t heard from any of your schools, check to see when they have interviews, or if they have them at all. Some schools like the University of Georgia and Iowa State University do not interview while other schools’ interview timeframe is anywhere from mid-October (LMU) to early February (UofI). Let us know if you have any questions that we can answer about interviews, vet schools, or the profession of veterinary medicine.
