Dental Assistant

4 Interview Questions You May Get After Dental Assistant Training

May 01, 2020

A career as a dental assistant can be very rewarding. You will have the opportunity to help others look and feel good every day, and hopefully leave the practice with a smile. At dental assistant college you will learn everything you need to know to work in a private dental office, a university clinic, a dental supply company, a public health centre, or any other form of dental practice.

Whether it’s your first or fifth, interviews can be nerve-wracking. It can be difficult to know the ‘correct’ answers or how to prepare, especially if you really want the job and don’t have much interview experience! Read on to discover four common interview questions and how to answer them.

Tell Us About Yourself

The ‘tell us about yourself’ question is often the very first one an interviewer will ask for almost any job. It can difficult to answer because it is so open-ended. Do they want to know your hobbies and interests? Your life story? Or just about your work experience and education?

There is no right answer to this question. It’s often used just as a warm-up and a way to get to know you. Try to keep it career-focused and describe your recent dental assistant training and experience, as well as your career aspirations.

Prepare your answer before and have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Try not to give too much information, as you don’t want to repeat yourself later in the interview.

 

dental assistant training
Introduce yourself, your experience, education, and career ambitions at the start of the interview

 

Answering Behavioural Questions After Dental Assistant College

Behavioural-based questions like ‘tell us about a time you overcame a problem’ are an opportunity for you to describe to an employer how you are in the workplace. These are usually focused on a problem or a conflict. It’s a good idea to prepare answers to these questions before the interview, so that you have an answer ready.

A good way to answer is using the STAR method. This is:

S – situation

T – task

A – action

R –result

Start by setting the scene. For example, maybe you were on a work placement and a young child was crying before their appointment because they were scared. The task would be that you needed to calm the child. The action is how you handled the situation. Did you use your communication skills to soothe the child? Maybe you offered them a toy or some kind of reward for going to their appointment. And finally, the result is that the child went to their appointment, and was even looking forward to the next one!

What is Your Own Oral Hygiene Routine?

If you are asked about your own oral hygiene in an interview after dental assistant college, the employer is probably not actually interested in how you clean your teeth. They want to see your passion for dental hygiene, and to hear the kind of advice that you would give patients. Use this as an opportunity to show your knowledge of dental hygiene, as well as your enthusiasm for the subject.

 

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You might be asked about your own dental routine

 

What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?

Questions about strengths and weaknesses are also common. It might seem simple to talk about your strengths, but try to think carefully and match it to the job description. Choose one technical skill and one soft skill. Take a moment to expand on these and give examples.

Weaknesses can be slightly more complicated. This is an opportunity to show that you are self-aware. Don’t just say, ‘I’m very disorganized’ – explain how you are working to improve your weakness. You could say that you are not naturally organized, so you always use to-do lists and a weekly planner to make sure that you are on top of all of your tasks.

Do you want to find out more about a dental assistant course?

Contact Medix College to learn more!

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