Interview Questions and Answers
1. What kind of work do you enjoy the most?
The kind of work that I enjoy the most is work where I get to interact with other people, whether that be coworkers or patients. I've always been an outgoing person, and I love talking and spending time with others, so being able to do that in a job would be very enjoyable for me. Also, being able to help others and actually make a difference in their lives would be such an incredible opportunity, which is why I want to work with patients as a physician assistant. Although I think I would do fine in a job that doesn't have a lot of human interaction, it definitely wouldn't be very fun, and I don't think I would be able to express my best qualities in a job like that.
2. Tell me how you handled a difficult situation.
When I was younger (up until 5th grade), I struggled with severe anxiety. Some of my fears were fairly rational (like being afraid of being kidnapped), and others were completely ridiculous (like being scared to go anywhere without my mom). I used to see a therapist, and she told me that I would outgrow some of my fears as I got older, but I was going to have to work on conquering other fears myself. Something that I learned to do was channel my anxiety into my schoolwork, rather than into pointless fears that were holding me back from living my life to the fullest. This made me nervous to not do my homework, to not study, to skip school, and to not try my hardest to learn. Because of these nerves, I worked extremely hard and therefore got straight A's all through school. Ultimately, something that used to be a huge weakness of mine actually benefited me in the end, and I couldn't be more thankful.
3. What kind of person would you refuse to work with?
First of all, no matter how despicable a person is, I don't think I would refuse to work with anyone. You're going to have to work with people who you don't get along with, and I think it's just about being the mature, bigger person and trying to make the best out of the situation. But, if I had to choose, someone who I just could not work with would be someone who puts themselves before their patients (assuming we're talking about the medical field). Unfortunately, some doctors aren't in it for the sake of saving lives and helping the sick; they're there for the money, the reputation, or the possibility of fame. It's so sad that these poor, sick individuals and their families, who are already dealing with enough, have to go through this with a doctor who doesn't put them first or care how they feel. People like this disgust me, and it would be very difficult to bring myself to work with him/her.
4. Tell me about a time that you participated in a team, what was your role?
During my junior year of high school, I was JV captain of the girl's lacrosse team. Lacrosse is not an easy sport; you have to be tough, patient, strategic, and able to work well with others. Because lacrosse is not an individual-based sport where you can just worry about yourself, it is CRUCIAL to have a close team that works well together and has a good attitude. This is something that myself and my three co-captains worked towards for our team all season; every practice was team oriented and meant to help us coordinate with each other better on the field, team meetings were held regularly, and team bonding exercises (movie nights, game nights, etc.) were scheduled all throughout the season. This experience has taught me a lot on what it takes to be a leader. Not only do you have to focus on people's individual needs, but you also have to take care of the team as a whole, and it takes a lot of creativity and persistence to do this.
5. Who do you look up to/who is your mentor?
The person I look up to the most is my dad. From all the people I've met during my 17 years on this Earth, I've never met a more hard-working, determined, supportive person. My dad didn't have a lot of money growing up, but he still got himself to college (Albion College, where I'm going), started his own business, recently purchased another business, and overall made himself a successful businessman. If all this wasn't enough already, the thing that inspires me the most about him is why he works as hard as he does - to support his family. He always talks about how he would do anything for myself and my family, and I think it's crazy that all those late nights at work and extra stress are for us. I think that most of my best qualities that have helped me be successful in school came from him, and I hope that I grow up to be half the person he is.
6. What are your weaknesses?
I think my biggest weakness would have to be the fact that I tend to "overdo" things when it comes to school assignments. I've had multiple teachers tell me that I could have done half of the work and still have gotten an A, so really I worked harder than I needed to. That may not sound like that bad of a weakness, and right now is really isn't, but I think it may cause problems for me in the future. In college and eventually at work, I'm going to be on a pretty tight schedule, so I'm not going to have the luxury of taking lots of time and dedicating it towards overdoing one thing. I'm going to have to learn to divide my time up better so that all of my assignments get the attention they deserve and are done well. This is something that I have been working on this past year, and I've actually seen some improvement, and I hope that trend continues as I head off to college.
7. What are your strengths?
I think by biggest strength is how determined I am to learn. I'm not the kind of person who just "rides the curve" or thinks that they're good "as long as they pass the class." I don't know if it's my anxiety kicking in or if it's just pure determination, but I need to fully understand what I am being expected to learn. If I don't get a topic, I reread the chapter, look up YouTube videos that might help explain in, ask lots of questions, and stay after school as much as I need to until I understand. This might come across as a bit much, but it's my determination to learn that has caused my academic success thus far, and what I predict will help me do well in the future. Any future professor or boss will never have to worry about me slacking off; I will go above and beyond to learn/do whatever is being asked of me, and I won't ever take the easy way out by just barely completing my task.
8. Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I see myself in my first year of PA school. I graduated Albion College with a Biology Degree, and got into my dream PA school out of state (I don't know which school for sure yet, but I know it's going to be out of state). I'm looking at potential places to work full-time once I graduate PA school, and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital seems like the perfect fit. Since the first year of PA school is usually the one where you're still learning the curriculum with assignments and tests just like you would in college, I spend most of my time studying with my classmates at the library or in my cozy apartment. In my free time, I hang out with friends from school, spend time with my boyfriend who I met at Albion, call my family, go shopping, workout, and work on my cooking skills. Life is finally starting to be like what I dreamed it would be, and I'm happy.
9. What gets you up in the morning?
The main thing that gets me up in the morning is the fact that I have a fresh start. I love the idea of having a day full of opportunities ahead of me, and having endless possibilities for making new memories and relationships. I think most people can agree that there aren't enough hours in the day because of how there's never enough time to get things done, but a brand new day allows for a full day to finish what didn't get finished the day before. This is what I look forward to every morning when I wake up.
10. What keeps you up at night?
There is not a lot that prevents me from falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, but the one thing that keeps me up at night is the idea that none of my future plans will actually come true. I worry that I won't be able to become a physician assistant, get into PA school, meet someone and get married, be able to have kids, etc. All of these worries are pretty dumb in the sense that it's highly unlikely they'll ever happen, but nevertheless, I still worry. However, it is these worries that make me work as hard as I do; I can't imagine how terrible it would be for all these things to go wrong in my life, so I work hard to make sure they don't. In this way, these worries act as my motivation to succeed.