Posted by Amy Carbone on Jul 27, 2022 9:00:00 AM
As a dental student getting close to graduation, you’re likely preparing for a number of interviews in the upcoming months.
While you’ve been focused on the technical aspects of dentistry, it’s time to become comfortable speaking about your skills and abilities, who you are, and what you would like your career to look like.
There are four ways to prepare for these interviews, including:
1. Research the Practice
Prior to the interview, you’ll want to research the practice and learn all that you can about the place where you're applying.
You’ll want to find a practice that's going to be a good fit for you and your career. By researching the practices you’re applying to, you can examine each of them and carefully think about why you want to work at this specific dental practice.
In addition, it’s important to think about what you can bring to that specific practice, why you'll fit in well, and why they should hire you. Of course you'll bring dental skills to the practice, but that's not your only contribution. You may have a background that will benefit the practice in other ways — soft skills such as client or people management experience — that you'll want to highlight during your interview.
2. Take Notes During the Interview
By taking notes during the interview, you can keep track of questions you were asked, a topic you want to ask a question about at the end of the interview, and more.
For example, if you're not sure how to respond to some of the questions you're asked, it’s critical for you to write them down and practice that question later, as it may appear in another interview.
Following the interview, you can send a follow-up email to thank the interviewer for meeting with you and to address any outstanding items, such as an answer that you didn't get the opportunity to expand on during the interview. This can also be an opportunity for you to include a few specific items you spoke about during the interview so the interviewer knows you were interested and engaged.
3. Begin Building Your Network
By networking with other recent graduates, experienced dentists, and other professionals, you can make beneficial connections that may be helpful to your success.
You can connect in a number of ways, including through social media and at local conferences. This can be especially effective if you reach out to dentists in the area where you’d like to work to ask them questions, build relationships, and even pursue employment with them.
4. Be Proactive with Important Decisions About Your Career
While making important decisions about your career can be overwhelming right out of dental school, it helps put your career on a successful trajectory from the beginning.
Before you even begin the application for a role at a dental practice, you should take a moment to think about what you want your career to look like in the long and short term. In doing this, you’ll have the ability to ask questions about what your day-to-day responsibilities will look like during the interview and know if a certain job would be a good fit for you.
A Guide to Life After Dental School
Life after dental school can be a challenge. All of the sudden, you have a number of decisions to make, interviews to prepare for, and more — but we’re here to help.
Our post-dental school survival guide provides you with answers to many of the questions you have and more information about life after dental school to help you begin a successful career.
About Treloar & Heisel
Treloar & Heisel is a financial services provider to dental and medical professionals across the country. Our insurance and wealth management divisions assist thousands of clients from residency through retirement. We strive to deliver the highest level of service with custom-tailored advice and a strong national network.
