The Student Room Group

Pharmacy interview help

I’m a bit of an anxious individual and I find that I often stumble over my words a bit/ lowkey freeze up in situations like these so I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how I can control these nerves for my upcoming pharmacy interviews
Original post by Alicie
I’m a bit of an anxious individual and I find that I often stumble over my words a bit/ lowkey freeze up in situations like these so I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how I can control these nerves for my upcoming pharmacy interviews

All candidates will be nervous, and the interviewers will be very used to that. They'll do their best to make you feel as comfortable as possible. It's in their interests to get the best out of you on the day.

Some random advice:
Let them know that you're particularly nervous at the start of the interview. (For example, "I'm very nervous, so apologies in advance if I stumble over my words.")
It's not a race, and there are no prizes for answering more quickly than another candidate. So take your time.
Before each answer take a breath and pause for a second or two. This will give you a moment to think, and should help calm your nerves.
If you find yourself stumbling over you words, then stop talking for a second. Take a breath, and then continue what you were saying.

Reading the above back, I realise that it's not ground-breaking advice, but hopefully it's better then nothing! :smile:

Reply 2

Original post by DataVenia
All candidates will be nervous, and the interviewers will be very used to that. They'll do their best to make you feel as comfortable as possible. It's in their interests to get the best out of you on the day.
Some random advice:
Let them know that you're particularly nervous at the start of the interview. (For example, "I'm very nervous, so apologies in advance if I stumble over my words.")
It's not a race, and there are no prizes for answering more quickly than another candidate. So take your time.
Before each answer take a breath and pause for a second or two. This will give you a moment to think, and should help calm your nerves.
If you find yourself stumbling over you words, then stop talking for a second. Take a breath, and then continue what you were saying.
Reading the above back, I realise that it's not ground-breaking advice, but hopefully it's better then nothing! :smile:


Thank you for your advice, it was indeed helpful but also sometimes when I’m asked a question I lose direction of what I’m saying or sometimes if I take a moment to think I become a bit empty-headed even if I know what I should be saying because of the high pressure environment, so I’m not too sure what to do about that…

Reply 3

Original post by Alicie
I’m a bit of an anxious individual and I find that I often stumble over my words a bit/ lowkey freeze up in situations like these so I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how I can control these nerves for my upcoming pharmacy interviews


Hi! Im applying for pharmacy too and I’ve completed 1/2 interviews for uni. I felt the exact same way before my interview, worrying about how badly i can stutter when nervous and having mind blanks in the middle of sentences. I was very nervous before my interview, especially at the start. Halfway through the interview when I was talking, I froze and forgot what I was going to say. I froze for a good twenty seconds, and started to panic but i just paused and regathered my thoughts. After the interview i was so annoyed at myself for stuttering a couple times and having the mind blank halfway through but it turns out it didn’t go as bad as I thought, as the uni have given me an offer. Don’t overthink it too much, just relax as much as possible and take a moment to regather your thoughts. I found that making an effort of speaking at a slower pace helped, as I wasn’t tripping over my words or letting it all spill out without me thinking first. Good luck! I’m sure you’ll do great 🙂

Reply 4

Original post by trevdig
Hi! Im applying for pharmacy too and I’ve completed 1/2 interviews for uni. I felt the exact same way before my interview, worrying about how badly i can stutter when nervous and having mind blanks in the middle of sentences. I was very nervous before my interview, especially at the start. Halfway through the interview when I was talking, I froze and forgot what I was going to say. I froze for a good twenty seconds, and started to panic but i just paused and regathered my thoughts. After the interview i was so annoyed at myself for stuttering a couple times and having the mind blank halfway through but it turns out it didn’t go as bad as I thought, as the uni have given me an offer. Don’t overthink it too much, just relax as much as possible and take a moment to regather your thoughts. I found that making an effort of speaking at a slower pace helped, as I wasn’t tripping over my words or letting it all spill out without me thinking first. Good luck! I’m sure you’ll do great 🙂

what uni did you interview for

Reply 5

Original post by trevdig
Hi! Im applying for pharmacy too and I’ve completed 1/2 interviews for uni. I felt the exact same way before my interview, worrying about how badly i can stutter when nervous and having mind blanks in the middle of sentences. I was very nervous before my interview, especially at the start. Halfway through the interview when I was talking, I froze and forgot what I was going to say. I froze for a good twenty seconds, and started to panic but i just paused and regathered my thoughts. After the interview i was so annoyed at myself for stuttering a couple times and having the mind blank halfway through but it turns out it didn’t go as bad as I thought, as the uni have given me an offer. Don’t overthink it too much, just relax as much as possible and take a moment to regather your thoughts. I found that making an effort of speaking at a slower pace helped, as I wasn’t tripping over my words or letting it all spill out without me thinking first. Good luck! I’m sure you’ll do great 🙂


Thank you, this is going to be my first interview where I’m being asked general qs + possibly situational/variable ones, and although I’m kind of confident in answering the why pharmacy/uni qs and the ethical dilemmas, it’s like I go blank when answering situational/behavioural qs. I feel like it’s also more nerve-wrecking as this uni is one that I would potentially firm (uob) and I would really like to get an offer for it but it’s just the mind blanks and stumbling that lets me down

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