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how do you talk about work experience?

what it says in the title really.

i have a job interview tomorrow and a couple of others later on and naturally they always ask about my hospital and gp work experience. they'll say something like 'so tell us about your work experience' and i just get a bit stumped. i've no idea what i'm supposed to say, especially since it's a formal occasion and i can't really just say 'yeah it was wicked' etc.

this is obviously also helpful for medical interviews since they ALWAYS ask about work experience when you mention it in the ps...

would this be reasonable:
1. where it was
2. describing activities/what i observed
3. difficulties
4. skills i got (professional and personal)
5. negatives/positives
6. conclusion (did it confirm my desire or not?)

?

keeping in mind i don't want to sound like a robot and i should probably keep the answer limited to no more than 2 mins.

what do you think?
Reply 1
Avatar for minim
minim
10
Most important is to talk about what you've learnt from your work experience. Other than that, the points you got down are right from my point of view.
I wouldn't include the negative bits though (difficulties?).

It also depends on what you're applying for? If it was a medical school interview I would say something about how the work experience affirmed my choice of wanting to do medicine, etc.
minim
Most important is to talk about what you've learnt from your work experience. Other than that, the points you got down are right from my point of view.
I wouldn't include the negative bits though (difficulties?).

It also depends on what you're applying for? If it was a medical school interview I would say something about how the work experience affirmed my choice of wanting to do medicine, etc.


what?? the negatives are the most valuable thing!! as long as you only mention a couple and think about practical ways to overcome them. i think discovering what the bad things are, is the most important part of work experience.
Reply 3
Avatar for ph9
ph9
OP
10
wow i don't even remember making this thread, i'm such an old granny not remembering things from 11pm
Reply 4
Avatar for minim
minim
10
bright star
what?? the negatives are the most valuable thing!! as long as you only mention a couple and think about practical ways to overcome them. i think discovering what the bad things are, is the most important part of work experience.


Well maybe but I think they'll want to hear more about what you liked about it otherwise they might think you're complaining (well, depends what those difficulties or other negative bits consist of).
Reply 5
Avatar for Afterglow
Afterglow
When you talk about experience, it is usually important to mention difficulties because they sort of show that you are aware of limitations and such. I'm not an expert but I did read some guides and such which said that one particular good trait and quality is when you are aware of your weaknesses and limitations BUT then it is important to emphasise how you face and handle those things. So if you encountered difficulties/limitations/weaknesses - how did you overcome them? Very often you sort of develop certain knowledge or abilities when by that.

You know the saying – you learn by your mistakes. Take advantage of that :smile:

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