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  • Hello there. It's Richard McMunn here from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com.

  • And in this tutorial, I'm going to help you pass an occupational therapist interview.

  • So, if you have an occupational therapist interview coming up with either the NHS or

  • any other organisation for that matter, please do stick around and watch this, because I

  • promise to make you the stand out candidate. To achieve that goal, this is what I'm going

  • to cover. I'm going to give you a number of sample occupational therapist interview questions.

  • I will also give you suggested answers to those questions to help you prepare for and

  • pass your interview. I will tell you the qualities that you must demonstrate during your occupational

  • therapist interview. And I will also then give you further resources to help you pass

  • your OT interview. Now, before I do that, a very warm welcome to this occupational therapist

  • interview training tutorial. My name is Richard McMunn. That's me there in the centre of the

  • screen. I've been helping people to pass their interviews for about 20 years now. And I always

  • do that by giving you TOP-SCORING ANSWERS. Please do make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the channel

  • by clicking the red button below the video, and then you won't miss out on any of the

  • training videos I am uploading. And please also do give the video a LIKEthat tells

  • me you enjoy the content and I will create more for you! Let's now get into the occupational

  • therapist interview questions and answers. So, the first one I want you to prepare for

  • is, tell me about yourself and why you want to become an occupational therapist? My tip

  • for answering this question is, when responding to this interview question focus purely on

  • the skills, qualities and experience you have to perform the role of an OT to a very high

  • standard. In your answer, we don't want to be telling them what we get up to outside

  • of work. We want to focus purely on your professional skills, qualities and experience. Here is

  • my suggested answer. “I am a hardworking, resilient and confident Occupational Therapist

  • who can be relied upon to work to consistently high standards, whilst at all times, providing

  • outstanding care to the patients and clients I am responsible for. I understand that working

  • for the NHS requires a unique set of skills, a high level of determination, an ability

  • to follow strict rules and procedures, and also the desire to continually learn and develop.

  • I want to become an Occupational Therapist because I am a naturally caring person, and

  • I also enjoy the challenge of finding solutions to often complex physical problems. I would

  • hope that my skills and experience will give you the confidence that I can hit the ground

  • running within this role, and I can start making a positive contribution to the NHS

  • occupational therapy team immediately.” That is a very strong answer to that question!

  • The first question that will get asked, which is tell me about yourself and also why you

  • want to become an occupational therapist? You can either pause the video and write down

  • those answers, or if you stick around, I will tell you at some stage where you can DOWNLOAD

  • my full set of occupational therapy interview questions and answers. The next question we

  • need to prepare for is, what skills and qualities do you have that will enable you to be an

  • effective occupational therapist? My tip for answering this question is: to answer it effectively,

  • we need to tailor the response to the job description and the person specification for

  • the occupational therapist role that you are applying for. That's very, very important.

  • Here is my suggested answer. “I have numerous skills and qualities that I feel will enable

  • me to be a highly competent Occupational Therapist. These include a high degree of patience whilst

  • dealing with patients, their families and also other members of the wider NHS team.

  • I have high levels of determination, which means I will always carry on until I find

  • the right solution for my patients and clients. I am positive and enthusiastic, I have a huge

  • interest in helping and caring for people, and I am also a great team worker. Finally,

  • in additional to having exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, I have the ability

  • to find solutions to problems my patients and clients will be facing.” That's another

  • rock solid answer! And again, as you can tell you will be building confidence as you progress

  • through the interview with these answers. I still have a number of other questions to

  • run through, so please do stick around, but when you're ready, there is a LINK that has

  • appeared in the top right hand corner of the video. If you click that, it takes you through

  • to my website PassMyInterview.com, and you can download my full set of occupational therapist

  • interview questions and top scoring answers. The next question is, how does therapy make

  • the NHS more effective? Now, my tip for answering this is this question is it assesses our understanding

  • of how your work as an occupational therapist can impact positively on the wider NHS organisation.

  • Here is my suggested answer. “Effective therapy and treatment plans can have a massive,

  • positive impact on the NHS by facilitating the safe discharge of patients. This, in turn,

  • prevents the readmission of patients and it also frees up beds and resources for other

  • patients who otherwise may require urgent care or treatment. By providing a holistic

  • approach to patient and client centred care, the NHS can then function safely and effectively

  • within its operating capacity.” The next question we need to prepare for is, how would

  • you deal with a patient or client who is being confrontational? This is a tough question

  • to answer. It's quite easy to trip up with this one. So my tip is, you must mention in

  • your answer how important it is to follow your training and the operational guidelines

  • set down by the NHS trust you are working for. Here is my suggested answer. “I would,

  • first and foremost, always follow my training and the operational guidelines laid down by

  • the NHS Trust. I would be confident and resilient in my communication, explain in clear language

  • how I was here to help them, and also explain how they could help me to achieve the objectives

  • of my role by remaining calm and in control of their emotions. I would also ask them probing

  • questions to assess what it was that might be bothering them, as by engaging in meaningful

  • conversation with a client, can sometimes have the positive effect of defusing this

  • type of situation. At all times whilst dealing with a confrontational patient or client,

  • I would remain calm, use effective communication and body language, whilst ensuring myself,

  • my work colleagues and also others in the immediate area were entirely safe from harm.”

  • There is a number of key things that I've covered there in the answer: following the

  • training, using defusing techniques by implementing effective communication and body language,

  • and also making sure that myself and other people were safe at all times! Don't forget

  • to say that you would follow your training. Next question: How would you deal with a situation

  • where another occupational therapist was not pulling their weight? Again, a tricky question,

  • but in your answer to this occupational therapist interview question. let's show the interviewer

  • you are capable of taking ownership of difficult situations like this with a view to resolving

  • it for the wider good of the NHS. Now, most people would just say… “You know, I would

  • inform my manager or supervisor or, you know, it's down to them if they're not going to

  • pull their weight. I would work harder to make up for the shortfall.” But my suggested

  • answer to this question is this: “This is the type of situation where I would intervene

  • with a view to finding out what the problem was, and also trying to encourage them to

  • get back up to speed as quickly as possible. We are all working as one large team within

  • the NHS, and if someone is not working to the required standards or the capacity expected,

  • it can have a negative impact on the rest of the team. I would speak to them in private,

  • be tactful in my communication, and seek to assess what the issue was. It would be important

  • to be tactful, as they may have problems at home, or they may even be experiencing some

  • other form of personal problem or issue. I would then support them and, as I say, encourage

  • them to get back to full working capacity as soon as possible. If it became apparent

  • that it was a performance-related issue, and they had no intention of sorting things out,

  • I would report it to my immediate line manager.” So again, that's a very professional and concise

  • response that shows that you will TAKE OWNERSHIP of situations and you have a backup plan that

  • if they won't sort things out, then you'll report it to your line manager. Don't forget,

  • please do DOWNLOAD my full set of occupational therapist interview questions and answers

  • by CLICKING THAT LINK in the top right hand corner of the video. If you go through to

  • the page, you can have a look at my full set of questions, and like I say, download the

  • answers. I've also put some tips on that page for you to score highly during your occupational

  • therapist interview. Also, if you want to connect with me on LinkedIn, I have put my

  • LinkedIn.com link within the description below the video, and if you have any questions,

  • please pop them in the comments section below the video and I'll be more than happy to answer

  • them for you! Thank you for watching. Please do SUBSCRIBE (thanks) and hit the LIKE button.

  • As I say, I appreciate support and I have a brilliant day. Thank you very much.

Hello there. It's Richard McMunn here from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com.

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