Optometry interview tips and experience

Ebiye reflects on her own experience of her optometry uni interview, back in 2012. She shares her advice so you can smash your interviews, too!

Hey guys, it's Beedie, the channel is Miss Beedie. This video is sponsored by Healthjobs.co.uk.

In this video, I'm going to go over my optometry uni interview experience and I'm gonna give you guys some tips for any interviews that you have coming up as well.

So this actually happened a while ago, so bear with me!

I think I got my email about my interview in November 2011, and then I had my interview - I think it was April 2012, I think it was around that time!

From what I can remember, when you first got there they had like everyone in one of the lecture rooms.

They had a little speech talking about the course and the years and blah blah blah, and I remember them advising us to move out and make sure that we lived on campus, which obviously was my only option because I'm from London and I went to Manchester; I remember that really clearly, I don’t know why.

You're there with your parents and everyone's with their parents and then you're kind of just like scoping like ‘wow, all these people…’ you know that kind of thing!

So, from what I remember they split us into two groups; one group had the interview first then they had a tour, and then the other group had the tour first and they had the interview. So let us get into the interviews because that's what you're here for, right?!

A couple of tips for the interviews

Make sure you KNOW your personal statement

The first one is to know your personal statement.

So, obviously in order for you to get to the interview stage, they read your personal statement, they liked it, they're a bit intrigued, and they want to know more. 

From what I remember, the lady that I was with, she was going through my personal statement while I was there and just asking me questions.

So, number one: don't get someone else to write it. Write it yourself!

Number two: don't lie because it's awkward, you’re trying to defend lies and they’re just sat there looking at you!

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What is your 'why'?

Tip number two, I would say remember ‘your why’.

So think about why you want to study optometry and also why you want to go to that University because they're gonna ask you why you want to go there.

I mean, you can do optometry anywhere - well not anywhere, there’s like six places - but you can do optometry at any other university, so why would you want to go to that University?!

So read up about the Uni, read up about the course, and then have reasons as to why you actually want to go there.

Just be yourself

Number three; hella cliched but be yourself. Obviously, they want to know you, they want to know if you're suitable for the course and if you're suitable for the Uni.

So when you go there just be yourself.

Be yourself, and if they don't like it then cool.

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Have an early night the night before

A pretty basic one, just make sure you're well rested the day before the interview, and if you're going to be travelling far maybe drive up the night before and make sure you have an early night.

But you want to be well-rested you want to wake up properly so that it's a great day!

Research optometry beforehand

And the last tip that I have is about extra reading.

So I mean obviously there's a limited amount of stuff you're gonna know, but maybe if you can find an article about maybe something that's happening in optometry, like in the news.

Something that you can reference, something that you can make mention of.

They might think, ‘okay cool, this person is a very serious candidate’.

I remember I bought this book, I don't even know where it is!

It was about like neuroscience, and in the personal statement I was like, ‘oh yeah, I've been reading a little bit of this book’ and then she asked me about the book and then she was just kind of like... no.

I said ‘I read a little bit of it, it was really interesting’ and she was just looking at me like, no you didn't!

But I still got into that uni!

I think the best thing to do is try and find out what’s going on in optometry in the media at the moment, and just read something on that.

Then have that to say because it will show that you’re really interested in the career, in an optometry job and how it pertains to life.