In this Blog, Interview Tips for SLPs will be discussed
What to wear
- Whatever makes you feel comfortable and confident!
- If you’re having trouble deciding some options are:
- skirt or pant-suit with a nice blouse
- Personal tip: Wear either flat shoes or comfortable heels, I was so nervous when I interviewed the last thing I wanted to have on my mind was my feet hurting
- TIP: if you wear a jacket–on the back of jackets there is sometimes a little “x” that is usually made out of thread…cut this off so your jacket will be able to move around a bit more!
How to style your hair
- Any style you feel most comfortable with
- I did some loose curls, I have long hair and knew a ponytail or bun would be too difficult to keep nice and neat–also I didn’t want to give myself a headache
Make-up + jewelry
- Be yourself; you want to feel confident!
- I wore my normal jewelry (necklace, rings, earrings-I have 3 piercings in each ear and I left them all in)
Things you can do beforehand to prepare
- Get plenty of sleep
- Eat a good meal
- Drink water, talking a lot sometimes makes your throat dry
- Look up exactly where you need to go and leave early just in case
- Keep in mind you have to find parking and the building
- Print out copies of your resume
- Prepare questions to ask them
- This means you need to take time before your interview to look up that program so you can ask anything you’re interested in or have concerns about
- What I did for grad school interviews was that I thought of 2 questions that were important to me that I asked at every interview and then had specific questions for programs after doing research.
Commonly asked questions
- Why do you want to go here?
- What are your research/clinical interests?
- How will you contribute to our program?
- What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
- What do you see as the major trends in your field of study?
- Tell me about a time you achieved a significant accomplishment?
- Lists some of your strengths and weaknesses.
- Tell me about your hobbies and interests.
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why did you choose our program?
- What experiences have you had to prepare you for this program?
- If you are accepted to another program, how will you decide between programs?
- Tell me about a recent volunteer experience.
- What questions do you have for me?
Useful websites and youtube videos to prepare
- https://www.thoughtco.com/grad-school-interview-frequent-questions-1686244
- https://bemoacademicconsulting.com/blog/graduate-school-interview-questions
- https://www.masmedicalstaffing.com/2017/05/02/speech-language-pathology-interview-questions/
- https://www.mockquestions.com/graduateschool/Boston+University/Speech+Pathology/
- http://www.letstalkspeechlanguage.com/2013/03/slp-interview-prep.html
- https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/87487-interview-questions/
- You can look up specific schools
- Warning: grad cafe can get really overwhelming, so if you are going to use this please limit the time you are on it!
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr82jjZHodI&t=1029s
- I liked listening to this guy’s videos when I was driving so I could practice
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HArl8nZJyKM&t=749s
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqlWoywqC04&t=983s
Things to bring to an interview
- Copies of your resume
- Pen/pencil
- Paper to write on
- Purse I took:
- Padfolio I took:
Random tips
- Be yourself, don’t be too nervous cause this might mess you up!
- Answer honestly, if you don’t know how to respond to something ask them for a second to think and then get back to them.
- Try your best to not compare yourself to others.
- If you’re doing a group interview don’t always be the first to answer but also don’t always be the last, mix it up!
- Remember your why–in moments where you feel very nervous or overwhelmed it might help to remind yourself why you are going through all of this.
YOU GOT THIS!