When You Know You’re Bombing an Interview
Have you ever been in an interview when you knew you were progressing down the path of bombing it? I can think back to when I had interviewed for a coveted summer internship with Merck and I knew I had bombed the interview while I was still interviewing. A handful of interns were to be chosen nationally for a internship that included many benefits, including an opportunity to work on a special project at Merck, meeting the CEO, a summer in a different part of the country with flights, rental car, and hotel paid for, etc.
I had wanted the internship so badly. But the way the interview was going, I could feel myself kissing goodbye to the opportunity. It was as if I were a Stepford wife at times. Other times, I drew blank stares when asked some simple questions. I had also had 2 other interviews with two other Merck employees that went well, but this one was just plain embarrassing.
So what do you do when you’re in a similar situation? What do you do when you’re in a pharmacist job interview and you say something you knew you shouldn’t have said (or you wish you said it differently)?
Here is a simple solution to save the interview:
Shift your mindset right away: “Unclutch” from your mind starting to give yourself a hard time about why you’re bombing the interview. Observe your thoughts coming up and then let it go (“unclutch” from them). Otherwise, you may find yourself getting distracted from the rest of the interview questions. This can take you away from being completely focused and acing the rest of the interview. You are perfectly capable of saving the rest of the interview. The truth is
What to say to save that part of the interview: Bring up what you answered (the part you bombed) and clarify what your answer was. Elaborate on anything you meant to say but didn’t; explain what you said which you didn’t mean to say.that most interviewers know that people get nervous. As long as you regroup your thoughts, you can save the interview.
What if you are answering questions and can just tell that the interviewer isn’t impressed with your answers?
Acknowledge the interviewer’s reaction artfully. Depending on whether it’s appropriate in that moment or at the end of the interview, ask your interviewer “are there any concerns you have about me XXX [insert the topic during which you noticed the interviewer wasn’t impressed] or doing the job well?” Depending on what the interviewer says, then bring up examples that may help dissolve their concerns.
Stay tuned for a future article that will give you the answers to a few other interview questions I’m frequently asked (including “Should you acknowledge that you are messing up the interviewer?”). I will also share with you what happened with my bombed interview at Merck & whether I got the job there that summer, if you’re curious.
In the meantime, if you are looking for a job right now and don’t want to make easily preventable mistakes that make you lose out on a job you really want, here is my gift to you…Access your free gift: the 5 Biggest Mistakes Pharmacists Make in a Job Search. Put your name & email in the box after you click on the link above, and you will get valuable free tips that can help you stand out from everyone else. Good luck with your upcoming interviews and use the resources on this website to help you beat your competition.
Are cover letters good for online applying?
Q: Chen, are cover letters good for online applying?
A: Even if the online site just asks for your resume, if you are able effectively to capture a pharmacy hiring manager’s attention with a cover letter, by all means write one. Just make sure that the formatting will come thru properly with your resume underneath it.
Cover letters are good for online & offline applying only if they are truly targeted towards the specific job you are applying for, and ties in nicely to highlight your experience that makes you different from any other pharmacist. It is an introduction to you and is essentially a compelling statement marketing yourself and why you should be considered. It is also an opportunity for your personality to shine through that cannot necessarily be captured in a resume.
If it doesn’t convey anything special or extra from what you put in a resume, then it is a waste of space. This is a common mistake pharmacists make. I frequently see generic cover letters and it is such a turnoff to pharmacy employers. It may be interpreted that you don’t really care about the opportunity enough to put attention to it. Read more
Is it Aptitude or Attitude that Counts in an Interview?
Aptitude gets you in the door. Your resume is the place to show off your aptitude. Are you a pharmacist with relevant experience for the role that they are looking for? Do you appear to consistently be an overachiever who is loyal (and likely to be a good investment for the company, rather than a job hopper?)
During the interview, you will clarify your aptitude so that a potential pharmacy employer feels confident about your capabilities related to the job. Your employer is also looking for the right attitude.
I have seen pharmacists who may have been borderline in consideration when it comes to experience, but they were able to stand out from others in a resume and sell themselves so well in an interview that they get the job. The pharmacy director or hiring manager appreciates the attitude and enthusiasm of the pharmacist, finds it to be a good fit, and wants to offer him/her the job. That is how important crafting your resume to stand out & acing the interview is.
Be cautious about being overconfident without being able to back it up; it won’t do you much good. Saying that “I can learn quickly” is trite to the point that you might as well have not said it at all. However, if you back it up by examples & tie it in to the specific responsibilities of the job, it makes you stand out. Example: “My recent pharmacy manager asked me to start a pharmacy-run smoking cessation program. Although I didn’t have the experience, I participated in intensive training & created a program that helped 121 patients quit smoking in 6 months; X % of the patients continued to be non-smokers after 12 months.” See the difference?
This is something that my students in the Get the Edge program have practiced to get the edge over the competition during the application & interview process.
What do you think–is it aptitude or attitude? Share your thoughts or your own experience where aptitude or attitude seemed to have counted more—comment below.
What does Tiger Woods have to do with getting an interview for a pharmacist position?
Tiger Woods gets paid $100 million every year to endorse products, because having his name associated with products helps make billions in sales.
His image is no longer the same to those companies. The media now refers to him as “Cheetah”, rather than “Tiger”. It is still possible for him to make a lot of money from endorsements, but they will have to alter the way they promote Tiger Woods’s image with the products. His picture perfect image is no longer the same. I’m sure that when Tiger was not being a “better person and the husband and father that my family deserves”, he wasn’t thinking about the implications of his image if the media got on to him.
Even if you don’t care about Tiger Woods & his image, one lesson to learn from how the media is having a field day about it is to realize that everyone will judge whether you like it or not.
This is the same when you are wanting to get an interview for a pharmacist job you want.
Reputation matters. Impressions count.
Reputation matters. It’s amazing how fast word travels in the pharmacy world. I know someone who applied for a hospital position a few months ago. Someone at the hospital knew him & told the pharmacy director that he’s a bad apple. Now, just because someone doesn’t like you doesn’t mean you won’t get a job, but if someone known and trusted by a pharmacy director shares negative comments about you, those first impressions will hurt you, compared to the first impressions from someone else who doesn’t come with that information tied to them. Read more