Regardless of the position to which you apply, if there is an interview, you need to prepare. Well, you don’t NEED to prepare. But others who are interviewing WILL prepare. Do you want to be competitive with those who are preparing? Then you need to prepare, as well. Failing to prep is prepping to fail. So let’s assume you actually want the position for which you are interviewing and discuss what you need to do to prepare.
First, you have to know about the position to which you are applying. If it is a job, get the job description down cold. If it is for vet school, talk to every veterinarian you can about what it is like. If it is for an internship or residency, read the position description and talk to your mentors about the position in detail. I advised an anesthesia residency applicant this year by giving them a 2-3 sentence assessment of each program in which they were interested. If possible, talk to people currently in the program to get an insider’s look.
The website for the institution to which you are applying may be incredibly detailed and helpful or not so much. You should at least know their mission statement, what the program is like based on the official materials, and any other data you can find (e.g. applicant numbers or expectations). This should take at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours, depending on how much data they have online. Mine that data. You won’t actually know what the position entails until you have done it, but you should know as much as possible so you can interact intelligently with the interviewers.
Second, you need to practice. You wouldn’t walk into an ice skating competition and expect to do well without practice, would you? Unless you have been going on interviews every week for the past few months, there is no life experience that has prepared you for an interview. So, practice. Get friends to ask you questions in a simulated setting. Studies have shown visualization activates similar pathways to actual practice, so run through questions and scenarios in your mind. The more you practice this unique skill, the better.
Third, you need to study. Watch TED videos about effective interviews and discussion skills (the body language talk is revolutionary). Read forum posts about interviews. Read this blog from beginning to end, taking notes all along. Research potential interview questions and write down possible responses. You would study for months for the NAVLE, wouldn’t you? How is an interview dictating the next step of your professional life any less important?
I cannot impress this upon you enough: just waltzing into an interview isn’t going to impress anyone, and it will significantly harm your chances of a positive outcome. You’re a veterinary professional, for god’s sake; you’ve spent countless hours studying for classes and applying to programs and everything else involved in this demanding field! Don’t tell me for one second you can’t do interview prep. If every applicant did good interview prep, I would be over-the-moon happy. Please help make that happen.