THEPHILOSOPHYBEHINDINTERVIEWS

WHATEXACTLYISANINTERVIEW,ANYWAY?
An interview is a method of gaining an insight into the personality, attitudes, behaviour, motivations,
thoughts and feelings of a candidate through a number of questions. There are many different styles of
interview,butwithinthehealthsciencesentryfield,therearetwomaintypes:
1.

Thestructuredinterview

2.

Thesemistructuredinterview

Thestructuredinterview
Thisstyle ofinterview involvesthe interviewersaskingeachcandidate the same set ofspecific, focussed
questions.Thereareveryfewfollowupquestions,andinterviewersgenerallysticktothescript.
Forexample,UWAmedicineinterviewshaveaveryrigid,structuredformat.
Such interviews are generally considered very fair because every candidate gets the same or similar
questionsandtheelementofsubjectivity/biasonthepartoftheinterviewersisminimised.However,itcan
leavelittleflexibilityforexploringanindividualsachievementsandviews.

Thesemistructuredinterview
Inthisstyleofinterview,theinterviewersstillusuallyhaveasetofquestions,butallowforflexibility,suchas
theuseoffollowupquestions.Theinterviewershavesomedegreeofdiscretiontoaskotherquestionsand
discussmattersthattheyconsiderusefulinassessingthecandidate.Primarily,theybuildupontheanswersof
theintervieweeandleadintorelevantandinterestingaspectsoftheintervieweescharacter.
Forexample,theAucklandmedicineinterviewissemistructured,somemightevencallitunstructured!

WHYHAVEANINTERVIEW?
Healthsciencecoursesareuniqueinthatgraduateswillbeinapositionofsignificantresponsibilitytheywill
makedecisionsandtakeactionsthatwillhaveadramaticimpactuponpeopleslivesandtheywillbedealing
withpeople attheirmostvulnerable. Inordertoensure the quality ofcandidates, mostuniversitieshave
adoptedawiderangeofselectioncriteria:year12scores,UMAT,interviewsandapplications.
Interviews are the only forum in which admissions committees are able to meet and assess a person
facetoface.Itallowsthemtoevaluateinterpersonalskillsandqualitiesthatcannotbedeterminedviaother
criteria.
Rememberthattheinterviewersalreadyknowthatyouareintelligentandmotivatedyoumusthavebeen
togaintheUMATand/oryear12scorethatgotyouaninterview.Nowtheyarenotinterestedinhowhard
youworkedorwhatgradesyougot.Theyareinterestedinwhoyouareasaperson,yourpersonality,your
attitudes,yourexperiencesandyourbeliefs.

WHATINTERVIEWERSARELOOKINGFOR
Thespecificqualitiesinterviewersarelookingforwilldependontheuniversity,andthesearediscussedin
moredetaillaterinthisguide.However,itisusefultounderstandthegeneralqualitiesthatallinterviewers

arelookingfor.
Keyqualitiesinclude:

Maturity

Apositive,enthusiasticandoptimisticcharacter

Effectivecommunicationskills

Motivationanddedicationtoyourchosenprofession

Deepandperceptivethinking

Emotionalstabilityandsensitivity

Selfconfidenceandperformanceunderpressure

Decisionmakingability

Flexibility

Resilience

MARKINGSCHEMES
Themarkingschemeusedwilldifferaccordingtotheuniversity,butgenerallyeachuniversitywillhaveaset
ofcriteria.Youwillbegivenascoreonascale(sayfrom1to5or10)foreachofthesecriteria.Generally,
eachpanellistwillgiveyouascoreforeachsectionoftheinterview,andanoverallscore.Thenthepanelwill
trytocometosomesortofconsensusattheend.

THEINTERVIEWERSPERSPECTIVE
Inattemptingtodiscoverwhatinterviewsareallabout,itisusefultoconsidertheinterviewfromtheother
sidetheinterviewpanel.
Panels are generally composed of two or three people, depending on the university and course. The
interviewersaregenerallydrawnfromdifferentbackgrounds,suchasamemberoftheacademicstaffatthe
university, a GP and a member of the community (layperson). This is to ensure there are a variety of
perspectivesinassessingyouandthatthescoreyouaregivenfortheinterviewisbalanced.
Ofteninterviewpanelswillhaveachairperson,whoisusuallythepersonwhointroducesthepaneltoyouat
thestartandisoftenanacademic.Theywilloftenbemoreexperiencedthanotherinterviewers,andmay
havemoreinfluenceovertheresulteitherexplicitlyorimplicitly.
Rememberthattheinterviewerswenttoschoolgenerationsbeforeyoudid.Theymaynotbefamiliarwith
whatHousesportsareorwhatanSRCis.Ifyouheldaparticularpositioninschool,explainwhatitisand
whatitinvolved.Dontassumetheinterviewerswillknowwhatyoumean.
Interviewers usually have to undergo some sort of training. They are generally advised to act in an
encouragingmanner.Theyarecertainlynottheretotrickyou,buttogiveyouthebestchanceofshowingthe
panelwhoyoureallyare.
Itisimportanttorealisethattheinterviewersarehumanbeings,notcomputers.Theywillsubjectively(not

objectively)interpretwhatyousay.Oftentheirtrainingwillhelpthemrecognisetheirownassumptionsand
biases, and they will try to be as objective as possible, but occasionally they will make subconscious
judgementsaboutyou.Iftheylikeyou,theyarelikelytoviewyouranswersinamorepositivelight.Itmay
notbe fair, butthatshumannature. The bestyoucandoistotry tomake them like you. Thiscanbe
difficult, because differentpeople willreacttoyouindifferentways, buttherearestrategiesyoucanuse
(discussedlaterinthisguide).
Itisimportanttorealisethatyouwillmostlikelynotbethefirstpersonthepanelisinterviewing.Theymay
havebeeninterviewingalldayorallweek,andmaybesickofit,boredortired. Althoughtheinterviewers
understandhowimportanttheinterviewsaretoyou,theymayfindthemselvesgetting distracted,thinking
aboutwhattheyhavetodobeforetheygohome,orwheretheywouldratherbe.Atsomepointstheymay
onlybelisteningwith10%concentration.Thisisnatural.Itisthereforeimportantthatyouengagethemand
keeptheminterestedforthewholeinterview.
Furthermore,youwillnotbe the onlypersonthe panelisinterviewing.They willconstantly becomparing
your responses to those they have heard before, and those they will hear in the future. It is therefore
importanttomakeyouranswersstandoutsaysomethingthattheywillrememberafterinterviewingten,
twentyorevenfiftypeople.
Togetintothemindsetoftheinterviewer,itmaybehelpfultotryinterviewingafamilymemberorfriend.
This will give you an idea of what it is like from the other side and can help you identify what the
interviewersarelookingfor.
1.1

RURALANDSOCIOECONOMICCHARACTERISTICS

Inthemediawehearconstantlyabouttheshortageofdoctorsinruralareas,andmedicalschoolsareunder
pressuretoproducegraduateswillingtoworkinthoseareas.Variousscholarshipschemeshavebeensetup
toencouragethis.Ifyouarefromaruralareaorhaveeverlivedinaruralareaorbeenexposedtorural/
Indigenouscommunities,youshouldmentionthisinyourinterview.Youmightliketoincludethisinthewhy
doyouwanttobeadoctorquestionthatinevitablypopsupineveryinterview.Forexample,youmightsay
somethinglike,Iveexperiencedfirsthandwhatitmeanstohavelittleaccesstodoctors/dentistsinrural
areasandIwanttogosomewaytoredressingthisimbalance.
Medical schools also want a diversity of students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. It is a
wellknownfactthatmanymedicalstudentsattendedprivateschoolsandhaveparentswhoarewelloff.If
thisistrueforyou,itisprobablynotthebestideatovolunteerthisinformation,forexample,bymentioning
thenameofyourschool.
Ifyourparentsaredoctors,becarefulaboutdiscussingthisintheinterview.Make sureyoudontgivethe
impressionthatyouaredoingmedicinejusttokeepthefamilytradition.However, ifthetopicdoescome
up,useyourpersonalexperienceofwhatyourparentsdotoexplainwhyyouwanttobeadoctor.Remember
tocoverthebadpointsaswellasthegood.

INITIALEXERCISES
Resume
Atsomepointinyourlife,youhaveprobablydevelopedaCVorresume.Youwillneedtodeveloponeforthe
interview,nottohandin,buttocreatearesourceoffactualmaterialforyourownuse.Preparingthisresume
willhelpyourememberthoseachievements,experiencesandsignificanteventsthatyouhaveforgottenover
theyears.Itwillenableyoutohaveatyourfingertipstheanswerstomanyofthequestionsintheinterview.
Makeyourresumeunderthefollowingheadings:

Education

Extracurricularactivities(includingclubsorgroups)
Positionsofresponsibility

Hobbiesandinterests

Honours,certificatesandawards
Employment(includingworkexperience)

Volunteer/communitywork

Trainingreceived(eg.firstaidcertificates)
Accomplishmentsandachievements

Specialskills(eg.languagesspoken)

Travelandholidays
Significanteventsinyourlifebothgoodandbad

Startby writingdown everything youcanremember,nomatterhowminor.Youcancutthese outlaterif

necessary.Tryworkingsystematicallythrougheachyearinyourlifefrom,say,year 9.Includethingsfrom
bothinschoolandoutofschool.

AnalysingYourself
Interviews,especiallythoseinthehealthsciencesfield,areaboutexploringwhoyouareasaperson.We
veryrarelygetthechancetoanalyseourselves,evaluatewhoweare,howwegotthisway,andwherewe
wanttogo. Thatiswhyinterviewsare oftendifferent,daunting,andultimately learningexperiences. For
example,manypeoplehavereportedlearningalotaboutthemselvesfromtheUNSWmedicineinterview.
Ifyouwanttodowellininterviews, itisvitalthatyoube willingtoexplore and reflectonyourselfasa
humanbeinginanopenandhonestway.Ofcourse,intheinterviewyouwillwanttopresentyourselfina
positivelight,butwhencompletingthefollowingexercise,donotbetoofocussedonwhatisagoodanswer.
Ifyouhaveasolidunderstandingofwho youare,itwillmakemanyofthequestionseasiertotackle.For
example, ifsomeone said, Tell me about yourself, whatwould yousay? Itseems like aneasy enough
question,butformostpeople,itisverydifficulttoanswer.Thefollowingexercisewillhelpyouanswersuch
questions.
WhoamI?
Writethisonthetopofablankpage,andtrytofillthepagewithinformationaboutyourself.Dontworry
aboutorganisingit, justletthe thoughtsflow doa brainstorm.Youare writingthisfor yourself, notfor
anyoneelsesbenefit,sodontchangeoramendthingstomakeyouseemmoreappealing.Dontthinkabout
how thesequestionsrelatetothe interviewyet.Thinkaboutthisasa selfdevelopmentexerciseremoved
fromtheinterviewandselectionprocess.Trytobeashonest,yetnotoverlycritical,asyoupossiblycan.
Whatisyourpurposeinlife?
Thisquestionwillhelpyouputyourdesiretobeadoctor/dentistintoperspective.Itmayhelpadddepthto
your answersinthe interview, and convince the interviewers thatyouwillbe committedtoyour chosen
professionsinceitfitsintoyourviewonlife.
Whatarethefivethingsyouvaluemostinyourlife?
Ifatotalstrangerweretospendanhourwithyou,howwouldtheydescribeyou?
Whatqualitiesdoyouvaluemostinotherpeople?

PresentingYourselfPositively

Obviously,whenthestakesaresohigh,wewillwanttopresentourselvesinapositivelight,andsomemay
be tempted to modify the truth. We do not endorse this inany way, in fact, we believe that it can be
dangerousandcounterproductivetodoso.Anyhintofinsincerityoraliemayjeopardiseyourplaceinthe
course.
However,realisticallyweknowthatsomeofyouwillbetemptedtotwistthetruthtovaryingdegreesinthe
interviewtopresentyourselvespositively.Ifyouareconsideringthis,keepthefollowingpointersinmindas
aguidetoenhancingthegenuinenessofwhatyouaresaying:

Truly believe whatyouare saying. Dontleave any lingeringdoubtsinyour mind. Behave and
speakasifyoureallydiddothat/feelthat/thinkthat/behaveinthatmanner.

Dosomethingsimilar.ItismucheasiertotalkaboutworkexperiencewithaGPifyouhavedone
so. Ifyouhave not,dosomethingsimilar(eg.talk toaGP,talk tosomeonewhohasdone work
experiencewithaGP).

Bringin anecdotes.Anecdotesofteninvolvegraphicdetail(includingsmalldetail)thatgenerally
onlythosewhohavedonesomethingareabletoprovide.

Bepreparedforfollowupquestions.Dontjustlearnastoryandparrotitoutintheinterview.You
shouldprepareyourselfsoyouareabletotackleanyfollowupquestionsinagenuinemanner.

Beconsistent.Sometimestheinterviewerswillasksimilarquestions,andyoumustbeconsistent
inyourresponses.