In this blog post I have decided to talk about the simulated interviews and how I found them surprisingly tough but very beneficial.
I have never done a serious interview before in my 20 years. My first job was practically given to me by a family member and as for my second job the person conducting my ‘interview’ started it off by telling me, “This place is so short staffed we’re really happy you’ve agreed to join us” so I felt like I didn’t have to try that hard. When it came to university, I was a child of the pandemic and so it was all pre recorded audition tapes sent of via email. Now however, I am applying for my masters degree and all of a sudden I have two, very important, interviews looming and so I decided that the simulated interviews was my best opportunity to prepare and have a first go in a proper interview setting.
I met with my group and explained to them that I wanted to use the interview as a mock interview for my masters degree in music therapy. I pointed them in the direction of a few websites, in particular the two universities I have applied to, so they could have a think about questions. Then my first challenge was to find resources that would help me prepare for the interview itself. A google search quickly brought up lists of possible questions and I then set about trying to answer them using all the tips Emma had given us on interviews in a previous lecture. I was very conscious that there was a lot of time to fill, and I was struggling to make my answers seem long enough but not sound repetitive.
The first question I tried to answer was a typical question of what inspired you to become a music therapist. My answer to this question was easy to write up as I just gave an honest recount of an event that did inspire me to be a music therapist. However, I wanted to add in snippets of the experience I have got through my placement but not add too much in case a question about experience came up later and I had already used my examples. I also was aware that I can’t bring in pages with answers written on them and so I wanted to ensure that my answers were long enough to fill the time but not too long that I wouldn’t be able to remember everything.
When it came to preparing an answer for a question about my experience I struggled to write a concise answer as I felt that I had a lot of experience I wanted to talk about but I did not want to ramble. I thought back to the lecture that Emma had given on interviews and I remembered she had discussed preparing answers like these. She had advised that you pick parts of your experience that had posed a challenge to you and then talk about how you overcame that challenge. So that is what I decided to do. This is called the STAR technique and I found it really useful when I was writing up these answers. I talked about the two different age groups I have worked with and two very different challenges I had faced and successfully overcome. Within my simulated interview one of the questions I was asked was, “How do you think your experiences have prepared you to become a music therapist?”, and I was able to recount the prepared answer I had. The girls in my group gave me positive feedback on my answer however said I could have possibly included another example as the answer felt slightly short and this is something I have altered now for my real interview.
When preparing for my simulated interview I did a lot more research on the two universities I have applied to and their two different approaches to teaching. I found that the University of Edinburgh have stated on their website that they would ask in their interviews: ‘Why our approach to teaching is suited to you?’, and so I thought that this would be a great answer to have prepared. I looked into the different modules on offer and what way the placements were set up and how much time was spent in each placement and I was able to write about how I learn better from practical work and this suited the two courses well and I discussed what experience I have so far and what experience I could gain through the course.
The girls in my group gave me great feedback and it really helped me to develop my answers further for my real interviews in the future. The girls noted that my answers were good and contained a lot of evidence of preparation and showed my experience and relevant skills well. However, my answers could have been longer as it seemed that I had to draw them out to fill the space and at times this led to repetition. They also pointed out that I am a very fast speaker and a few times they had to have me repeat my words so that they could hear me correctly. Another point I will focus on from my feedback is that I tended to fidget while answering their questions which was distracting for them. I know that this was mostly a nervous thing however I will use the techniques that Emma talked about to help this for example possibly sitting on my hands.
From interviewing the other girls in my group I also realised my answers may have looked fine typed out however when spoken the language seemed overly formal. One of the other girls answers seemed very formal and it did feel like she was purely reciting words off a page. Her answer was great and did contain lots of very good points but I felt at times she could have made it more personal so that it would have been slightly more relatable. I made a few different adjustments to my own answers with this in mind and I feel that it has also made my answers a little easier to remember.
I feel that the simulated interviews were definitely a beneficial experience and something I will take a lot from. I was able to not only use the tips that Emma had discussed throughout the lectures this year but also take my experience I have gained throughout my placements and show how it has shaped me and how I have gained different skills. One of the biggest things I have realised from this experience is how important the preparation really is. The research into the different universities I have applied too highlighted the different areas they are likely to question me about and I now have answers prepared for them. Had I not done my preparation and this research I probably would have panicked, and my answers would not have been great.
My next steps since the interview have been to adjust my answers using the feedback the girls gave me. I have also been working alongside my placement provider Karen Diamond to add to my interview questions but also focusing on the heavy practical side to the interviews. I have completed two more mock interviews with Karen since the simulated interview and I now feel ten times more confident than I did at the first interview. The interviews I have upcoming within the next month are half the time that the simulated interview were, however I feel that the preparation I have done for that has set me on the right tracks. I now need to focus on the practical side to the interviews as this is something that I would struggle more with as there is a high level of improvisation needed which I am not used to as someone who always follows a score or lyrics. In conclusion I think that the simulated interviews have definitely helped me to prepare for interviews not only now for my masters but in the future in general.