University interview tips!!

Hi everyone - sorry i didn't update my blog yesterday, I completely forgot it was fathers day (awks). I woke up ridiculously early and made a cake for my stepdad, and had to nurse my hungover boyfriend who spent most of the night being sick and swearing at everybody, the best part is that in front of his mum and dad he thought it would be a good idea to take his pants off and show his willy! ha ha ha. It was hilarious. To be honest I was so angry at him for drinking so much, I did tell him half way through the night to stop drinking. Did he listen? NO, will he listen next time? probably not lol. 

Anyway, rant over. I thought i'd share some interview tips with everyone! If you've managed to even get an interview then congrats!! Honestly, no one really understands how hard it is to even get that far. So now all you need to do is amaze them at interview, which again is difficult. 

Now I can't really tell you what i was asked (although i'd like to) BUT, I can tell you what you should definitely make sure you know... 

1. The role of a midwife - the thing is, until you are actually a midwife, you can't really know or understand what it's life to BE a midwife. What you can do though, is make sure that you regularly read anything to do with midwifery (NHS careers, Midwifery 2020 - if you don't know what this is; research it NOW, Midwife: job prospects, NMC etc) 
2. Current issues - this is SO important, i can't even tell you how important it is!, most people think that just knowing about the current issues is enough, but the university doesn't just want to hear what you know, they want to know your opinion. As long as it's honest, you could say that you don't agree with something, it doesn't matter. Current issues can be found on SMNET,BBC news, Midwifery 2020 & the practising midwife magazine. Obviously there are many more resources to look at, these are just the ones that i found most useful.  
3. Qualities and skills of a midwife 
4. Your qualities and skills (always always always relate them to the role of a midwife, otherwise there no point in saying anything!) 
5. The university itself - it's like in a job interview, you'd need to know about the company, what they expect from you & what you expect from the company. It's the same thing at a university interview. 
6. The dark sides to midwifery - your not going to be smiling constantly and catching babies left, right & centre! like with any job, their are dark areas. Make sure you have a realistic knowledge of the job, including the problems you may face, or the situation you may be put in. 

FINALLY - don't forget the small things 

-Smile - no one wants to interview someone with a face like a slapped arse, it won't be a pleasant experience for either of you. 

-Body language - often this goes out the window when i'm nervous, I start to do all sorts like excessively shaking my leg or completely over the top hand gestures. Try mock interviews with friends or family and make a conscious effort to have positive and open body language. Hopefully your genuine interest and passion for midwifery will come across at interview anyway, the important thing is to act natural. 

-Wear something interesting - interviewers probably see hundreds of people coming in wearing black trousers and a shirt. Of course this is perfectly acceptable and smart, however there probably not going to remember you, unless you have really impressed them with your answers (sorry if this sounds harsh lol), remember to dress like YOU, then the interviews will have a good idea of who you are. Make it fun too, I wore a red polka dot dress and cracked a few bad jokes - this took the attention away from my shaky voice and ridiculous amount of pauses I made between sentences LOL. Of course i'm not trying to tell you how to dress, i'm just giving my opinion! please don't take any offence. Even if you are the type of person to wear trousers and a shirt, make a statement with a fun necklace or try a bright colour (it's proven that people remember bright colours over muted ones. just sayin') 

Okay that's enough about clothes ha ha ! It worked for me anyway :) 

One more thing - check out SMENT's interview question download, it's around £5.95 to download 164 real interview questions. I used this and found it so so helpful. It makes you feel less panicky about being asked something your not expecting, and obviously gives you an idea of the sorts of things you could be asked. 

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