How to Prepare for Zoom Interviews - Chris T.

Hi everyone! My name is Chris, and I’m an upcoming second year transfer (senior) at UCSD. I recently applied this past cycle and attended my first interview for a program in Boston. With Zoom being utilized for PA school interviews now, there are minor nuances to interviewing virtually in comparison to in person interviews.

To prepare for interviews, I created a google doc of the questions from the Physician Assistant School Interview Guide by Savanna Perry, PA-C. From there, I made bullet points consisting of what I wanted to talk about and how to draw specific situations into the answer. It is important to not type down sentences or practice answers verbatim because it can come off as rehearsed, which is easily identifiable. After that, I began to practice my answer out loud with the master question list towards the end of the book. There are going to be some questions that will be asked that may not be within the book, but the book gives great pointers on certain questions and essentially gets your mind churning to answer various questions. In addition to Savanna Perry’s book, I did a mock interview with my friend over zoom with a full dress rehearsal as a practice run to see what I needed to improve on. Now that Zoom is used for interviews, I would recommend recording yourself talking to your camera throughout interviews and making sure to look at the camera rather than the screen. Additionally, if you have any loud pets, I would recommend leaving them at a friend or family member's house during the interview to avoid any additional noise. It is easier said than done, but don’t overthink the interview! Some messages that I left myself on a sticky note on my computer was that the program is genuinely trying to get to know who you are, and that I was fully capable of becoming a PA. During the interview, it is common for nerves to come up which is completely normal. After the interview, do not beat yourself up overthinking the interview and what you could’ve done better, but know that you did your best in that very moment. It is all a matter of when you get into a PA program rather than if you get into a program. Overall, your program is trying to get to know who you are and how you would fit into their program during interviews, so be sure to show your personality, passions, and your intentions towards becoming a PA. Lastly, make sure you triple check the date and time of your interview and adjust the time zones to PST if interviewing at a program in another part of the country. If you have any further questions feel free to reach out to me at cktran@ucsd.edu. I’d be happy to help and answer any questions you may have!