MockQuestions

Occupational Therapist Mock Interview

33 Questions Created By

To help you prepare for your Occupational Therapist interview, here are 33 interview questions and answer examples.

First Question

33 Occupational Therapist Interview Questions

15 Interview Questions With Sample Answers

1.   How do you keep yourself organized on the on the job when the work day or week gets hectic?

How to Answer

Working as an Occupational Therapist requires the ability to stay organized and self-sufficient throughout each work day and work week. Your interviewer is trying to get a perspective on how you handle a large workload and how you react when you become overwhelmed. Point out any specific tools that you use to keep yourself organized and try to bring up a specific example of a time where you were working under a huge workload.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"I am a planner by nature and I utilize an organized plan at the beginning of each day. By charting out my regularly scheduled patients each day, I am able to see my downtime ahead of time and make plans to work on any administrative tasks. Being organized like this also enables me to work through any firefighting situations that come upeach day."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"In my current job working in a home health setting, work days and weeks can be extremely busy. Just a couple of weeks ago, we were facing very inclement weather and my home visits still needed to be made. By keeping my calendar up to date and utilizing it on my smartphone, I was able to contact the patients that I would be running behind on to ensure that they knew I was coming. Without my organized calendar, I would have been lost that week."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"Working in an acute care setting, my work day duties can change on a moments notice. I have an organized system to help manage my regularly scheduled patients that allows me to flexibility to work with the urgent, last minute patients that come to every day. By continuously working my regular patients when I can, I am able to handle any curve balls that are thrown my way throughout the work day."

Written by Ryan Brunner

2.   What is your favorite type of patient?

How to Answer

Describing your ideal patient gives you an opportunity to also describe your ideal interaction. When a patient is compliant and easy-going, you have a greater ability to do your best work. Without resistance, you can go through your routine smoothly. Your interviewer will be looking to gauge how you interact with patients in a positive manner. For this question, it is important to know the client base that you would potentially be working with.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"During my work experience as an occupational therapy student, I really appreciated patients that showed gratitude for the work that I performed with them. These patients were always engaged in their therapy and realized that what we were doing together was important to them. One particular patient sent a nice 'Thank You' card back to our office for my work with her and this was the highlight of my time training there."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"A good patient responds to my questions clearly, which helps me to know what's going on and take proper action. When they are relaxed, I can get to know them better, because they feel comfortable sharing information. I am sensitive to every patient's needs, always explaining the exercise before I do it, which helps them feel at ease."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"For me personally at this point in my career, I look forward to challenging patients that require my skills to be put to the test. With my current employer, I typically work with the patients that aren't committed to their therapy due to my ability to work closely with them and educate them on the importance of their therapy to their day to day life"

Written by Ryan Brunner

3.   How would your coworkers describe you?

How to Answer

Tell the interviewer about the positive working relationships you and your co-workers developed. The interviewer is not only trying to establish if you have the right skills and knowledge for the job but also how you interact with others. Think about the skills and characteristics your co-workers have that you are grateful for. Keep your answer positive.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"As I've worked my way through college, my coworkers would describe me as a team player that is willing to help out where needed. I've seen more experience workers not be able to think outside of the box and not willing to help out people outside of their job duties or departments. I see the workplace as many people working towards one main goal and the thoughts and effort of everyone are important."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"My coworkers would describe me as being kind, helpful, hardworking and good with my patients."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"If you were to talk to any of my current coworkers, a common theme that you would hear from them is my ability to train and educate my colleagues is above most others. I have mentored many young OT's through my career and in doing so, I have learned many things along the way myself from them. I love being able to help others become as successful as I have in a career as an OT."

Written by Ryan Brunner

4.   How would your current supervisor describe you?

How to Answer

When answering this question, you will want to consider qualities that are relevant to this position. Good communication skills, attention to detail, and patient sensitivity are all important characteristics for an Occupational Therapist. Show off your strengths, like having a good attitude when faced with difficulty or being willing to go above and beyond expectations to help someone out. Don't be afraid to brag a little, but keep it relevant.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"My most recent supervisor while I was employed through my Master's degree program would say that I come to work with a positive attitude each and every day, no matter the circumstances. I am a firm believer that the work day goes so much smoother and more productive with a positive attitude and I have found that remaining positive on the job is infectious for all my colleagues."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"My supervisor would describe me as an energetic, hardworking, knowledgeable Occupational Therapist. He would say that I'm always willing to help others and that I love my job."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"I've worked under my current supervisor for over five years and I'm consistently told that my ability to work in a very detailed manner is very much appreciated. In the field of occupational therapy, it is very easy to overlook minute details about a patient that could make or break the effectiveness of their therapy and I pride myself by being able to spot these things by being detail oriented on the job."

Written by Ryan Brunner

5.   How would your patients describe you?

How to Answer

Your patient's feedback will say a lot about you as an Occupational Therapist. Let the interviewer know that your patients would say that you are knowledgeable, kind and helpful. Go ahead and share a brief story about a time you helped a patient and they let you know how much it meant to them.



Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"In the short amount of time that I had direct patient contact during my internship, those patients would say that my kindness and my interpersonal skills were key to being able to build a rapport with them. By building trust and rapport with patients, I am able to better help them in their therapeutic process."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"My patients would say that I'm a very patient person. I pride myself on being a very patient person, especially with my elderly patients. Sometimes just being patient and taking a few extra moments with them means a lot."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"Consistent feedback that I have received throughout my career from patients is that I am very knowledgeable and helpful to assist in meeting their needs. A recent patient that I am very proud of was an older gentleman that enjoyed gardening and caring for his yard. Through conversations with both the patient and his children, they felt the importance of him being able to continue doing this was very important in his life after a stroke. I worked closely with this patient on being able to use items like a rake, shovel and garden shears and his family reached back out to my organization's CEO to recognize my efforts with their dad."

Written by Ryan Brunner

6.   Are you experienced at hiring clinic staff? Is this a responsibility you are comfortable with?

How to Answer

The interviewer is looking for a 'YES' from you on this answer. If you have never been part of hiring clinic staff, let the interviewer know but that you would be comfortable doing so. If you have had the opportunity to hire clinic staff, tell the interviewer what your role was. Did you review resumes and determine who would come in for an interview? Did you direct the questions and answers? Where you the one that called candidates for follow-up interviews? Did you conduct phone screenings?

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"While not having direct experience with clinical staff, I was a manager of a restaurant during my years in college. While in that position, I screened applicants, conducted phone interviews and coordinated in-person interviews for all positions within the restaurant. I love interviewing candidates and feel I will be great at doing this in a clinical setting as well."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"As an experienced therapist, I was charged in my current role to be a part of interview processes for our clinical staff. I was part of a team that reviewed applications and resumes of candidates and I also participated in the interviews of the candidates. During interviews, I find it important to find out about the candidates both personally and professionally. I also like to focus my line of questioning to candidates on teamwork."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"Not having done this for most of my career, my current manager asked me to start sitting in for interviews for my colleagues moving forward about 5 years ago. Being a small organization, we work very closely as a team of therapists. I had advocated to be a part of the interview process after personal issues with a few hires led to quick turnover."

Written by Ryan Brunner

7.   What experience do you have helping your patients work through Mental Health challenges?

How to Answer

As an Occupational Therapist, you may help identify and implement healthy habits, rituals, and routines to support a wellness lifestyle by addressing barriers and building on existing abilities. Tell the interviewer how you provide information on how to monitor physical health concerns such as diabetes management, smoking cessation, develop strategies to control chronic symptoms, and recognize and respond to acute changes in your patients' mental health status.



Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"In my Master's degree program, I received extensive training on working with patients who are suffering from mental illnesses. While not having direct hands on experience at this point, I know that promoting good self care and participation in activities are important to helping this population of patients."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"Often times when treating a patient that has had mobility in the past, they suffer from Mental Health Issues such as depression because of the new limitations. I work closely with their mental health provider to support and help them work through their challenges."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"I have had the opportunity to work with patients that were experiencing mental health issues due to their physical diagnosis as well as clients who were diagnoses with mental illness prior to their physical challenge. One of my most favorite patients in my career was a young man with Down Syndrome. He was very high functioning and I worked with him on daily living skills and work skills as he was looking to live on his own and begin working in the community. I was able to work with a large team of caregivers, including his family and social worker, to enable him to live life to the best of his abilities. To this day, we still see each other in the community once in a while and he always brings a smile to my face."

Written by Ryan Brunner

8.   Why did you pursue a career as an Occupational Therapist?

How to Answer

For this question, the interviewer is looking to get an insight to your inner workings and what really drives you to love and be successful in your career as an Occupational Therapist. There is no right or wrong answer to this question so just be sure to be genuine in your response to the interviewer.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"In wanting to work closely with individuals that needed help, I originally thought that Psychology was my true passion. But after entering college and learning more about OT and getting to piece together the mind with the body functions, I knew that occupational therapy was the career path for me. I am so excited to get started in my first real position in the field."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"During my high school years, I knew that I wanted a career where I could work with children who were struggling with basic life skills. In researching careers in a college career fair, I learned about occupational therapy and all of the different paths that a career in the field could lead me. In my time working with school aged children, I've never regretted my career path one bit."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"I grew up in a tight knit family and after my father had experienced a head injury late in his working career, our family was involved throughout his rehabilitation process. Watching the progress that he was able to make with the help of his Occupational Therapist inspired me to bring the same care and treatment to others in the future."

Written by Ryan Brunner

9.   Talk about the most difficult patient that you had to work with. What made them difficult and how did you handle the situation?

How to Answer

As an Occupational Therapist, there will be times that you have to work with a difficult patient. The difficulty can happen for many reasons and the interview is looking to see how you handle situations with difficult patients by remaining composed and making sound decisions. The interviewer is also looking to get an idea for what types of patients may be frustrating for you to work with.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"During my internship working at a large acute care hospital, I worked with an older lady following open heart surgery. Having just lost her husband a year prior and not having much family around, she was in a lost and depressed state of my mind. Her situation brought up many personal feelings in my mind of my grandmother and how I would feel if she were in this ladies position. Taking a more loving approach to this patient and making as much small talk as I could with the patient, she slowly warmed up to me and our therapy time together. Upon her discharge, she hugged me and thanked me for all that I did for her."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"During my time working with patients in a skilled nursing facility, I was working with a particular gentleman that wasn't receptive to any of the treatments that I tried. In taking a step back to get the know the man a bit more, I knew he had a love for the outdoors. After a brief conversation with the nursing staff, I was able to take him outside where he was much more willing to my treatment."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"Working with children for many years, the most difficult patient I had to work with really stemmed from his family life around him. The young man was having some serious trouble with fine motor skills and when we worked together alone, it was apparent that he was very receptive. After trying to involve his family, it became quite apparent that they were very disengaged in the life of their child and when a situation like this comes up, it breaks my heart. Knowing I would be his only shot to improve, my administrator allowed me to have extra sessions with him over time and I saw great improvement."

Written by Ryan Brunner

10.   How do you handle criticism?

How to Answer

As an Occupational Therapist, you will receive feedback about your work from everyone on your team, even your patients. Regardless of how reasonable or accurate the observations may be, do your best to respond thoughtfully. Be humble and don't take it personally. Depending on who the criticism is coming from, you will want to approach it differently. If it's coming from a doctor or colleague, you will want to respond respectfully. The key is to stay calm and never express frustration towards the person. Give an example where you stayed professional when someone gave you negative feedback.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"I am a person that welcomes any and all feedback from my patients, co-workers and manager. I want to be the best therapist that I can be and it is only human to err from time to time. By learning from my mistakes and feedback, I can become the best Occupational Therapist that I can be."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"As a person that is continuously looking to improve in my career, I take criticism to heart and appreciate any feedback that comes my way. After a recent patient was discharged from our skilled nursing facility, my manager gave me feedback on my interaction with the family with the patient. The daughter of the patient had complained on my approach to explaining the therapy the patient would need once he returned home. She thought my approach was not personable and more of a text book approach. I welcomed this feedback from my manager to help improve for the next time I had to work with a family. I had let the personal side of the job move to the side in order to be e
ducational in manner and I have focused more on the personal side of things since then."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"Criticism on the job should be considered highly valuable by any employee and I take criticism to heart no matter who it comes from. I had a parent of a child I was working with talk to me about their thoughts on the treatment of their child. Not realizing that my therapy sessions were causing frustration with the child after we were done, the parent thought that taking things slowly with the child was of utmost importance. Taking the feedback to heart, we adjusted the plan for the patient and the parent was very thankful and said the child was responding more positively following our sessions."

Written by Ryan Brunner

11.   Have you ever disagreed with a decision or process change made by upper management? How did you handle that situation?

How to Answer

Change is inevitable in any work setting and it is only human nature for a person to disagree with some changes and/or decisions that are made. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to see that while you may not be in agreement with some things, you are adaptable and receptive to changes. Talk about a specific example that has happened in your work career. Let the interviewer know why you initially disagreed and then came to be receptive of the situation.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"Having not experienced anything directly as an Occupational Therapist, I can speak about the time I was a waitress as I worked my way through my undergraduate program. I had an upset customer at a table I was waiting on that became very rude and disruptive to the staff around them. I was hopeful that my manager would remove them from the premises for being so rude to me and others around them, but she simply went over to the table, apologized and comped his meal for that time. In explaining her decision to me, she thought a better example was provided to the other guests by doing this rather than kicking the customer out. I definitely grew a thicker skin in this situation that I'll be able to use moving forward in my career."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"In a previous job working in a home health setting, our department had an office setting where we could work out of and call our home base. The decision was made that home health staff, including the therapists, would need to telework from home and have an available internet connection from there.
The decision was made because of an expansion of another department and our space was needed without having the initial budget to add more space. My initial disagreement with this decision was based solely on the loss of a team atmosphere. But, in rolling with the punches, the situation made our sense of team even stronger as we remained in constant contact through email and instant messaging and all gathered twice a week for coffee and breakfast in the morning."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"Having worked in the field of occupational therapy for many years, the biggest change I've personally ever had to deal with the switch from paper records to an electronic records system. Upon the announcement of my organization to go to an electronic health records system, I was mostly scared for the changes it would bring to my workday. I was young in my career and had developed a pretty efficient method to my work madness. As the date drew nearer for us to begin using the new system, I became more receptive to it based on the training we were receiving. Then, upon first using the new system, I quickly realized that my fear of the change was completely unwarranted. Seeing how much more efficient that I could be with my administrative time made me a better all-around OT and for that I am thankful now looking back on things."

Written by Ryan Brunner

12.   What are some unique skills that you think you can bring to our team that set you apart from your competition for this position?

How to Answer

With the field of occupational therapy being very sub-specialized, talk about any unique patient groups you've worked with or training that you've had that make your skills to the organization a necessity. It is very important for you to have researched the position you are interviewing and what the patient population looks like. While the interviewer will be able to get some sort of broad sense from your resume, expanding on any specialty areas you are an expert in will go a long way on your answer here.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"As a new graduate, my fresh approach to the field and my training in different technologies to help patients in need will be of great use to the team here. I have attended conferences on the use of new technology in the field where things like Nintendo Wii and Virtual Reality are helping OT patients greatly."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"As you can see from my resume, I have worked in a hospital setting and home health setting with a high number of geriatric patients. Throughout my career, this has been my favorite patient population to work with because I work so well with them and helping them to meet their needs."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"While probably not visible on my resume, I'm glad I'm getting to talk about my experience working with mental health patients. In both the school setting and hospital setting that I've worked in, I had the opportunity to work a lot with patients struggling with mental health issues. I thrived working with these individuals on daily living skills and believe that I could bring a lot of great information and resources to your team for working with this population."

Written by Ryan Brunner

13.   Talk about a time you had to be innovative or use a new method or technology to help a patient. What made the situation innovative?

How to Answer

Most occupational therapists love their career as it enables them to provide innovative, individualized care to each patient. Think of a single patient that you've worked with where you had to think outside the box to provide a great outcome for that patient. Thinking outside the box can happen in many directions and your interviewer is looking to see what resources and creative problem solving skills you used in one particular situation.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"During my internship working in a school setting, I was working with an autistic child that was having emotional outbursts while we were working on her fine motor skills in the classroom. In having her family involved in all processes, I learned that music was her favorite getaway for her during her outbursts. In trying to coordinate music and fine motor skills, I began working with her using musical items like a simple xylophone and a guitar. Hearing herself make her own music with own hands and incorporating this into each session really helped her progress to the point where she writing more clearly in the classroom."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"In working in a home health setting with an older man that recovering from a stroke, I learned from his family that he had been an avid golfer his entire life and was the reigning senior level champion at his golf course. Knowing that he'd be inspired by the sport, I made sure that each session with him ended with us practicing putting strokes in his living room. As well, for aids in the bathroom, the family allowed us to install a modified golf club grab bar in his bathroom for him to utilize."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"Working with an older man that had recently had a double leg amputation due to diabetes, I quickly found out that he had a lifelong career driving truck. Knowing that life behind the wheel was still important to him according to his children, I worked with his family on helping pay for vehicle modifications like a lift and steering wheel controls and I was very happy to find out that he passed his driving evaluation with the modifications."

Written by Ryan Brunner

14.   How do you best communicate goals with your patients and, when necessary, their families?

How to Answer

Setting goals for patients is an essential function of an occupational therapist. While the interview probably knows that you are efficient and effective at setting goals, here they are trying to determine how you most effectively communicate the goals to the patient and/or their family. Talk about how each patient needs to be evaluated individually and how your communication to them is tailored to their ability to receive and retain the information.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"Communicating the goals of my patient plan and goals is extremely important to help them have an understanding of what their therapy will entail. During my internship, my supervising therapist stressed the importance of putting things in layman's terms for patients to help them understand the process the entire way through."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"As an experienced Occupational Therapist that is able to create customized plans and goals for patient, how that plan is communicated is equally important. A patient needs to understand and be on board with the plan and if the patient is unable to comprehend, their family or caregivers need to be the people that understand. If I'm able to communicate directly with the patient, I walk step by step through their goals and explain the importance of each step of the plan. This helps them better understand why we are working on the things that we are. If I need to work with family or caregivers, I use this same approach."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"As an experienced Occupational Therapist, I've learned that tailoring my communication to each individual patient or their loved ones is important. When I'm working with someone who is of sound mind, I relate to them on their level to help them know and understand the work that we will do together. For patient families that I need to communicate with, I find that educating them on why I do what I do is important to help them understand how their loved one will improve because of my therapy."

Written by Ryan Brunner

15.   Have you specialized in the field throughout your career or are you looking to specialize?

How to Answer

The field of occupational therapy is a highly sub-specialized field. Your interviewer will be able to find out a bit about you by looking at your resume and hopefully the job that you are interviewing for matches your career interests in the field. Talk in-depth about any specialization that you've done in the field or hope to do so in the future and ensure that your goals match to the job that you are interviewing for.

Written by Heather Douglass

Entry Level

"As a new graduate, I'm looking to get a broad experience from the start. Through my school program and my internship, I have found that I work well with all populations. I have an interest in potentially pursuing more experience in environmental modification and I believe this position will help me experience that first hand."

Written by Ryan Brunner

Answer Example

"As you can see from my past experience, I've been focused for most of my career working with children in a hospital and school setting. As a young Occupational Therapist, I found that I work very well with school age children, making me a perfect candidate for this position."

Written by Heather Douglass

Experienced

"For most of my career, my work as an Occupational Therapist has been very broad. I have found that my best work has occurred working with the geriatric population and that is the specialty area I would like to focus on the remainder of my career. Being that this position works solely with elderly patients in your facility, I am very excited about this opportunity."

Written by Ryan Brunner

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