4 Ways Your Medical Lab Tech Training Can Help You Prepare for a Job Interview
November 19, 2019
Landing a job interview is exciting and acing it can dramatically increase your odds of being offered a position. To do that, you need to impress your interviewer. This requires professional attire, listening skills and a thorough understanding of the position, the responsibilities it entails, and of the facility to which you have applied.
After your medical lab technician training, you will have the opportunity to work in medical laboratories, hospitals, clinics, research facilities and other organizations. For all of your prospective workplaces and positions it is important to know how to handle yourself in the interview. Here are a few ways your laboratory training will ensure that you know how to ace the interview.
1. Practice Communication Skills
One of the most common interview questions is simply “Tell me about yourself.” This is a chance for the interviewer to get to know you, which is why the way you communicate both verbally and non-verbally is so important when answering. Luckily, there is a medical lab technician course that covers communication and you will have practiced communication skills with your classmates so you will be ready for this question and more. In addition, this course will teach you how to control the way you think in order to achieve success. By building up your self-confidence in this way, your training can help you more effectively convey to interviewers who you are.
2. Develop Study Skills in Medical Lab Tech Courses
During the interview you will almost certainly be asked about your technical skills. Your classroom experiences are proof that you have the right skills and qualities to excel in any lab position. For example, you can discuss how you learned about phlebotomy, specimen procurement, reagent preparation, clinical chemistry, and more in your courses. The way you studied for exams for medical lab tech courses is similar to how you will prepare for an interview. You have to learn about the company and the position so that you can then highlight the skills and experiences you have that are the most relevant.
3. Get Experience with Equipment
You may also be asked about your experience with different types of equipment. Again, you will want to tailor your answer to the specific position and organization, but you can be sure that your training will have exposed you to all kinds of procedures and equipment. For example, you may wish to highlight your experience with laboratory math and analytical quality assurance procedures as well as specific instances of how you applied this knowledge in the lab.
4. Real-World and Detail-Oriented Knowledge
Some questions might be highly specific, such as “What are different techniques for placing samples in a microscope?” or “What are different sterilization methods?” You will be prepared for specific questions because you will have had actual lab experience. Beyond the classroom labs, part of training to become a lab technician or assistant is a field placement. By the time you go for an interview you will have already worked under a lab technologist and will be familiar with the routines, responsibilities and other daily activities of at least one lab. This experience is a chance for you to demonstrate that you can work in a consistent and detail-oriented way as you did in your field placement and in the classroom.
Interested in learning more about medical lab technician training?
Contact Medix College to get started.
