Final Thoughts Interview Tips
Nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, teacher these titles are not merely jobs you can have. They are something more. Anytime you speak about your work, your patients, your daily duties, and things you try to achieve with your work, speak about them with enthusiasm and love.
Show your interviewers that you care, that you do not apply for a job only because you need money to live, or because you have graduated from the field. Positive attitude, and understanding of the meaningful purpose of your work, will take you a long way in this interview. Keep it on your mind while preparing to meet the hiring managers
To sum it up, interview for a job of an occupational therapist belongs to easier interviews. You wont compete with many other people for the job, unless you apply at a prestigious clinic, or a nursing home that pays exceptionally well. Still, you have to demonstrate your readiness for the job, right attitude to work, and your motivation to do the most for the patients.
Practice your interview answers, do a good research about your new place of work, and do not forget to check also the following articles:
* You can also , and practice your answers anytime later:
Share With Us Your Greatest Achievement
This is a general question asked in interviews to help the interviewer know more about you by shedding more light on some of the most significant accomplishments in either your life or career. Mention an experience or time in your career that you think highly about. Remember, the interviewer will also use your answer to tell your definition of success.
Sample Answer
My most outstanding achievement in this career was helping a war veteran injured in Afghanistan recover, develop and acquire skills that would help him in his daily life. This was the first time I ever dealt with a war veteran, and I even considered it an honor. I did a pretty good job and got positive feedback. I once bumped into him and was pleased that he could remember me.
What Makes A Good Occupational Therapist
This question contains many aspects, as a good occupational therapist is not just someone who knows their field. An interviewer would most probably like you to touch on the various aspects of the job in your answer, such as:
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Teamwork: Employers want to know whether you can work with other people in a multidisciplinary environment. Being able to work effectively within a team is, to a large extend, just as valuable as job-specific skills. You should show that youre a good listener and that you communicate well.
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Management of stress levels and challenging situations: Apart from demonstrating how you would approach, for instance, difficult clients from a theoretical or clinical point of view, you should also show that youre emotionally mature and capable. This could, for instance, involve asking for help or guidance when you need it.
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Supervision: Its important that you demonstrate to prospective employers that you dont have a problem with authority.
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Reflective practice: You should mention that a good occupational therapist constantly needs to reflect on their practices. This involves demonstrating to the employer that you have the ability to listen to a patients wishes and goals and align the recovery process with these, as opposed to dictating the recovery path.
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What Assessments And Outcome Measures Are You Familiar With
Functional outcome measures are super important. Data allows us to determine how patients are improving from skilled therapy and help us justify the need for continuation of services. Functional outcomes are measured by performing standardized assessments. You should have a fairly good idea of the typically-used measurement tools. Familiarize yourself with further assessments available that are specifically related to occupational therapy . Supervisors will be interested in what new information you can bring to the table to support and advance their current OT practice.
Some Other Questions You May Face In Your Occupational Therapy Job Interview
- How would describe an ideal colleague?
- Tell us about the biggest setback youve experienced in your work with patients.
- Why should we hire you, and not one of the other applicants?
- Here is a medical record of a patient. Look at it and suggest how we should proceed with then therapy.
- What does integrity mean to you?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
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As An Occupational Therapist How Have You Created Rehabilitation Plans To Help Clients Regain Lost Skills
Occupational therapists help injured workers in rebuilding their abilities and getting back to work. They conduct assessments to gauge the individual’s progress and create plans to help the workers complete daily tasks required for their preferred jobs. The plans include rehabilitative services related to the individual’s injuries and the best practices for getting them back into the workforce. What to look for in an answer:
- Experience creating tailored-to-fit rehab plans
- Examples of skill cultivation in previous clients
- Overall subject knowledge and communication skills
Example:
“My rehabilitation plans started with a complete assessment of the individual’s skills set. I built plans to strengthen weaknesses and enhance the individual’s strengths. I compared their benchmark results with the current requirements for their preferred job.”
How Will You Deal With Overwhelming Workload
You should know that being an occupational therapist is not as easy as it may seem. You will have lots of workload and roles to attend to. You must therefore be able to handle such stressful moments and ensure that you wont lag. Show the interviewer that you can prioritize your work well and deliver.
Sample Answer
I can easily handle a heavy workload. I once took up the work of an absent colleague, prioritized tasks, organized myself, and delivered on time. Whenever I have lots of work, I list everything down in my planner, identify those that need to be addressed first and work on a schedule.
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Tell Me How You Handled A Challenging Experience With A Patient
Interviewers are hoping to gather insight about how you mitigate risk and perform your duties under pressure. Think about a time when you were working with a patient and it was particularly challenging. In your answer, you should explain how you developed a solution and what actions you took to resolve the issue. You want your answer to show the interviewer how you used your critical thinking skills to develop a relationship with the patient and meet their therapeutic goals through empathy and education.
Example:”During my fieldwork, I had a patient that had lost his vision due to an accident. He was naturally distressed and discouraged over the predicament and during one session he became especially frustrated with his situation. I allowed him the space to vent and then calmly began asking him about ways we could address the issues in new and creative ways. He eventually relaxed and we were able to come up with a plan that made him feel like he had more control over his recovery.”
Why Should I Hire You What Contribution Do You Think You Can Make To Our Team
In answering the question, “Why should we hire you?” you need to show that youre passionate about your vocation and that youre able to make a unique contribution. Show that youre committed to the ongoing evaluation of current practices, as you feel that these can always be improved upon.
To illustrate that youre also invested in the professional growth and development of others, confirm your willingness to act as a mentor for fieldwork education students. Employers are interested in prospective employees who show initiative and arent satisfied in just plodding along according to established practices.
You should cite examples of how youve enhanced service delivery in previous positions or during your internship. Mention how, for instance, you brought forward standardized assessments and utilized these during fieldwork, implemented adaptive tools during therapy, or brought new research or interesting online resources to the attention of clients and caregivers.
In this way, youre demonstrating that you can enhance service delivery in your new professional position, as you have already done so in previous positions.
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Occupational Therapist Qualifications To Look For
Occupational therapists support and work with disabled, ill or injured patients with special equipment and the therapeutic use of daily activities. They help patients develop the skills needed for daily living as well as the skills required for work. They can work with patients for a short duration or provide long-term care.
Your top occupational therapy candidates will hold a graduate degree, proper licensing, and have hands-on experience with an internship. Typically candidates will have specific experience with the types of impairments or populations they wish to work with.
How Do You Cope With Pressure And A Heavy Workload
By asking “How do you handle stress?” the employer is obviously trying to ascertain whether youre somebody who folds under pressure or copes badly with stressful situations. Inevitably there are times in all work environments when longer hours are required or the pressure to take on more clients increases.
A prospective employer needs to know that you can be counted on when the going gets tough. As an occupational therapist who deals with people, it is obviously also important that you can cope with stress effectively and not take it out on clients.
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How Do You Go About Establishing Patient Goals
Setting goals for a patient is an extremely important aspect of occupational therapy. Firstly, when goals are set, the client and the therapist enter into a mutual agreement where both parties are accountable for the achievement of these goals.
The establishment of goals also makes it easier for both parties to track the progress of the client, which can also function as motivation for the latter to keep improving. These are a few important things to remember when setting client goals:
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The client should be involved in the process: Its completely counterproductive to set goals without the patients input. As an occupational therapist, you aim to rather facilitate the patients path to recovery, than dictate a trajectory.
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Goals should be achievable: An occupational therapist should be cognizant of what a patient is capable of achieving and in what time frame. Part of this involves how willing the patient is to cooperate, whether she has a support system, and how many sessions are available to achieve goals.
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Operational And Situational Questions
- How would you handle a client who didnt want to cooperate during a therapy session?
- Imagine you have to work with a patient who cant communicate properly with you due to physical condition. How do you overcome this?
- If a patient has difficulty moving around the house, what equipment would you consider prescribing? What criteria would you use to make a choice?
- Imagine you have to interview a patient to gather necessary health information. Where would you start? How would you proceed?
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General Occupational Therapy Job Interview Questions2
While most job interviews consist of standard questions about character and work ethic, its a good idea to research the types of questions you might encounter for OT positions. Here are the most common questions to expect in an OT job interview, plus sample answers and tips for talking points.
1. Why are you interested in pursuing a career in OT?
Your interviewer will most likely ask this question to determine your level of seriousness and commitment to this particular position. An OT candidate may ultimately envision a creative career in the industry and may see the immediate position as just a stepping stone.
When answering, explain what you most enjoy about occupational therapy and describe the emotional connection that draws you to the field. Recount an experience that shows your desire to help othersone that also showcases the skills, knowledge, and professionalism you bring to the role.
2. What qualities and skills do you possess that will make you a good occupational therapist?
Since you probably will have listed your skills on your resume and cover letter, managers will ask this question to gain more insight. A good rule of thumb is to tailor your response to the requirements in the job description.
3. How would you handle a situation with a difficult patient ?
Once youre hired, you will represent your employer. First, reassure the hiring manager that you will follow the facilitys training and guidelines.
4. How do you deal with an overwhelming workload?
What Strategies Did You Use For Workers Who Would Never Qualify For Their Previous Job Due To The Result Of Their Injuries
Occupational therapist know that not all workers will have the ability to return to the same work they did previously. Instead of pushing the individual toward unachievable goals, the therapist provides new opportunities for the patient and helps them progress towards a different job goal. They continue to provide encouragement as patients achieve new milestones and keep them motivated. What to look for in an answer:
- Experience persuading patients to consider new job goals
- Examples of creating realistic goals based on the patient’s current abilities
- Good communication and interpersonal skills
Example:
“I coordinated with patients to achieve new goals when it wasn’t possible to return to their previous position. I took a more compassionate approach to introducing new job objectives that matched the patient’s current abilities.”
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Ot Job Interview Questions And How To Answer Them
To perform well during an interview for an occupational therapy position you should prepare ahead of time. A study on the importance of first impressions in a job interview found that the first 20 seconds of an interview can make a huge impact on the assessment. Walking in the door with confidence can make or break your first impression, and you want to make sure that confidence is backed up by a strong resume, your educational background, and your preparation to answer occupational therapy interview questions.
How Do You Establish Patient Goals
The interviewer will always want to know how you will deal with patients, given that it is your primary job. One of the most critical aspects of occupational therapy is setting goals for patients. Both the patient and the therapist will be responsible for achieving the set goals. Goal setting also serves as motivation.
Sample Answer
I usually ensure that the patient is involved in the goal-setting process and that the goals are achievable after finding out what the patient can achieve within a given time frame. I also consider how willing the patient is to cooperate, the availability of a support system, and the number of sessions required.
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Why Did You Choose To Become An Occupational Therapist
Most occupational therapists pursue this line of work because they find it fulfilling to help others. Although this may be true in your case, you will need to supplement this answer by telling the interviewer why you feel this way, and why you specifically chose occupational therapy.
If youre able to cite a true-life event in your past that prompted your decision, such as a grandfather who had a stroke and recovered through the professional and kind assistance of an occupational therapist, or you have a family member who was or is an occupational therapist, it would be the most effective.
You could also mention specific qualities of the profession that appeal to you, like the fact that occupational therapy doesnt only involve physical rehabilitation but that it also focuses on peoples psychological and emotional well-being. As such, it is one of the more holistic health care professions, in this way positively contributing to society as a whole.
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How Would You Apply New Information Or Technology To Your Position
This question may also be posited as: How do you stay up-to-date on new technology relevant to occupational therapy? Keeping up with changes to medicine, technology, and other trends and research in the industry is an important job of working in OT, and employers want to see that you will take the initiative to remain current and flexible.
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What Attributes Are The Most Important For A Licensed Occupational Therapist
Occupational therapists work with patients with varying injuries and disabilities. Adapting to new challenges is vital for the therapist, and they help patients who don’t progress at the same rate. They are patient and well-organized when treating patients. The therapist understands what it takes to manage care for injured workers on a daily basis. What to look for in an answer:
- Experience working with patients with varying injuries
- Organizational skills
- Patient and understanding demeanor
Example:
“In the role, I worked with patients with varying conditions that required me to remain patient and keep them at ease. I developed extensive organizational skills as I managed multiple patients daily, and I remained determined to find patients the best job position for which they qualified.”
Tips For Acing The Interview
Research the organization. The job interview is not the right time to find out more about your potential employer. As part of your interview prep, be sure to research the company. Look at their corporate website and social media feeds. Read recent news stories about the organization. to current and former employees who might be able to offer insight on the employers goals and culture.
Practice interviewing. Its not enough to plan answers to common interview questions. To make the best possible impression on the hiring team, it pays to practice interviewing. Family and friends can help you rehearse, or you can practice on your own.
Consider recording your practice interview with a camera or webcam so that you can assess your body language.
Say thank you. Think thank-you notes are old-fashioned? Think again. In a TopResume survey, 68% of hiring managers said that receiving a thank-you note after a job interview influenced their decision-making process. Send yours within 24 hours of the interview to make the best impression.
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