Medical Laboratory Technician Interview Questions

Medical laboratories are subject to many state and federal laws and regulations, making them highly prone to inspections/audits. In asking this question, the interviewer will be looking for you to stress the importance of following procedures for cleanliness, documentation and record-keeping within the department. As well, if you've ever been a part of a lab audit, talk about your experience and what role you played during the audit.

"Two years ago in my current position, I participated in a Joint Commission inspection of the hospital I was working in. Once the inspection was announced, a lab examiner came in to our area to sit down with my director to begin the fact finding process within our lab. As files were requested, I sat down with the auditor to cover all of the patient records he had requested that I worked on. Upon review, the auditor commended my record keeping skills."

"I have not been a part of an inspection or audit during my internship time, but I do understand the importance of following all policies and procedures of the laboratory to ensure that any state or federal audit shows up clean. During my coursework, we learned about the importance of the regulations in place in a lab setting and that not following simple procedures can lead to dire consequences for the organization."

"During my career as a lab tech, I have been through a number of CAP inspections. With each inspection, having a set date for the inspection was appreciated as our staff had the time to double check our work for proper documentation and signatures. During our last inspection, my boss asked me to meet with the inspector to talk about the changes we had implemented since our last CAP inspection since I was one of a few technicians that were on the team through both. Through this process of meeting with the inspector, I quickly learned that staying calm and talking to them openly and honestly pays off big time."

In any healthcare setting, change is inevitable. Technology, processes, leadership, laws and organizations change on a regular basis and with change at a high level comes changes in work processes. For this question, it is important to stress how you are open to change when it makes the end results better for the patient. Talk about a specific change you had to endure in the workplace and express how you embraced the change.

"In my career as a Medical Lab Tech, I have been a part of many changes that affected my day-to-day duties on the job. I have always embraced the technological changes and work process advancements because, in the end, they make our jobs easier, safer and better for the individual patients. The biggest change that I had to endure was a organizational merger when a private lab I was working for merged with a larger health system. During this merger, my day-to-day work was flipped upside down from new equipment to work with, new computer systems to work on, a new work location, new leadership structure and a change in pay and benefits. With a focus on the end in mind and how great it was going to be to work for a much larger and well-established employer, I was able to be a positive influence on my team for helping others embrace the change and see the light at the end of the tunnel while changes were happening."

"During my years on college, I worked at a large grocery store as a cashier. After working there for one year, the company purchased a new touchscreen register system that replaced the old system I was familiar with. Knowing how much more efficiently and accurately I would be able to work when the changes came, I was happy when the announcement was made to our team of cashiers. Of course others were not happy as they'd have to learn a new system. For me, knowing how much the new system would help our work process made it easy to embrace the change. Moving forward, I fully understand how the healthcare world needs to embrace change on a regular basis and you'll find that I'm a person that can help lead change management among my peers."

"In my current position about five years ago, my organization purchased a new benchtop centrifuge that would be able to almost double our efficiency over the current machine that was in our lab. When my manager announced that the new purchase was made and the machine would be arriving in two weeks, I was shocked to see that many of the teammates reacted so negatively to that change. They were not happy that they would have to learn a new machine and were so narrow minded in their perception of the how the new technology would impact their routines. My manager appreciated the fact that I was the positive member of the team was able to calm my teammates down and help them see the good that would come once we all were trained on how to operate the new piece of equipment."

Laboratory science is a continuously changing field where new technology and processes are developed and introduced on a regular basis. Those that remain stagnant in their knowledge fall behind very quickly. For this question, the interviewer is looking for you to have a passion for continuous learning in your field. Talk about any continuing education you have pursued or any journals/publications that you subscribe to and/or read.

"I am a firm believer that being a career long learner is extremely important in a career as a lab tech. I am fortunate in my current job to have an organization that reimburses for continuing education credits and I recently attended a course on interpreting liver panel results. On top CME's, on my breaks I read the Journal of Medical Laboratory Technology publications that my employer keeps in our break room."

"After graduating from a great program that is up to speed on all of the latest advancements in the field, I know that I am entering the workforce fully prepared to know all of the latest and greatest technologies that I will utilize. I am looking to work for an employer that values continuing education because I have a strong desire to further my skills as I progress through my career."

"As a passionate lab tech, I subscribe to both the Medical Laboratory Observer and the Journal of Medical Laboratory and Diagnosis. Both publications help keep me up to date on new advancements and technology in the field. I have the desire to pursue a cytotechnology degree in a few years and am looking to find an employer that would offer potential opportunities down the road when I choose to pursue that in my own time."

Medical Laboratory Technicians must have the ability to work independently and have the ability to make critical decision on their own. Large, busy labs will usually have mangers and a director that are awfully busy themselves. Smaller labs may have lab techs that work solo evening and night shifts and the ability to work independently is critical. For this question, talk about how you are knowledgeable and confident enough to work on your own and talk about any prior jobs where you've had to do this.

"During my career as a lab tech, I spent many years working solo on night shifts and never had an issue doing this. We had a smooth hand-off procedure from the evening shift to me and my supervisor and I always did a recap of my shift the next morning as I was leaving. My years of experience give me the confidence to make decision on my own and troubleshoot tech issues that may occur on any of the equipment that I work with."

"During my schooling, I worked 20 hours per week as a nanny with little direction or supervision from the family. Right upon starting with them, I built a great trust in my abilities to care for their children right away and they gave me great freedom in being with them on a regular basis. I think my ability to work independently will translate well into this position with your organization. After a proper orientation and training period, I am confident in my skills and abilities in being able to perform the job with little supervision."

"In the different lab setting that I've worked in my career, I've worked in busy labs with many techs all working at the same time and have also worked many shifts in another lab where I was the only tech on duty. While I am a people person by nature and love working alongside other people, my knowledge of the job makes it very easy for me to work independently."

There are two important customers to mention when discussing this question as a Medical Laboratory Technician. First and foremost, the number one customer is the patient and talk about how important that customer is. The second customer is the physician that ordered the sample of analysis. Talk about why the physician is an important customer of a medical laboratory technician.

"I have always taken great pride in knowing that my top priority in my career as a lab tech is the current patient that I am working on. If I were to get lazy in my job, I wouldn't be providing them with the best care I could provide and knowing they are a top priority prevents me from doing so. On top of the individual patient, the ordering physician is also a customer of mine. By providing efficient and accurate results to the physician, I can help build a trusting bond between them and our laboratory."

"I pursued a career as a lab tech to combine my love for analytical science with my desire to help people. Patients are the number one customer of a lab tech and by me being competent in my skills, I can help the physicians that I work with provide the best care to the patients."

"I entered a career as a lab tech to help diagnose patients with life altering diseases and the patient is always my top customer in mind when I am performing my duties. Over time, I've also come to realize how important physicians are to my lab as a customer. I've worked in an independent lab where physicians had options on where to send their ordered specimens to. By providing accurate analysis each and every time, I helped build a trust with the ordering physician that made them a repeat customer in our lab to help the bottom line."

Most clinical laboratories have specific protocols and policies when it comes to patient identification on tissue or fluid specimens. Due to safety and misdiagnosis reasons, most policies are very specific on protocols to follow should this happen. In answering this question, talk about specific policies you have worked with in the past, stress why having a policy is important in patient care and your openness to adapt to the policies of the organization you are working for.

"Knowing that each specimen that I work on is tied to the health of a specific patient, I follow all rules regarding the handling of that specimen. With my current organization, patient identification needs to be clear and distinct on each sample prior to analyzation. If this ever happens, I am required to reject the sample back to the nurse or physician that collected the sample and request a redraw. The risk of a misdiagnosis is too great if reading a sample that I'm unsure of."

"While I haven't had this direct experience happen to me during my schooling or internship, I know that specific policies are in place in each organization for improper identification of specimens. If this were to occur on a sample that I were working on, I would follow the protocols within the department to ensure that a correct sample was analyzed."

"In my years as a lab tech, I have worked with several policies relating to improper identification of a sample. While the processes for rejecting a sample have differed from organization to organization, the end results is the request for a redraw of the specimen to be returned to the lab. I fully understand that working on an improperly identified sample could potentially lead to a bad situation for a patient and I have worked on a specimen training team for our nursing staff at my current place of employment."

A career as a Medical Laboratory Technician requires both the ability to work independently and to work as part of a greater team. Here, the interviewer will be looking for your ability to work effectively as part of a team and find out how you effectively communicate with your team members. Talk about your past experiences in working as part of a team, what role you find yourself taking on and what your ideal team environment looks like in the workplace.

"Having worked in a lab setting for a few years, I thrive on being able to bounce ideas and techniques off of my coworkers. As well, I am always an open ear to anyone looking to reach out to me for my expertise. I am a firm believer that continuously learning from each other in a team atmosphere does better for the greater good of the department and the organization."

"Growing up playing sports, effective communication in teamwork is vital to a teams success. In a clinical lab setting, this is no different. While each member of the team in a lab has their own duties that they are working on at any given time, staying in touch and communicating regularly is important to ensure that the entire lab runs efficiently. I have always been a natural leader on the sports field and I would have to temper that coming in to this organization as a new employee. I would plan on taking more of a learning role with my team at first and look to progress as a leader of the group down the road."

"Through my career, I have worked on complete opposite ends of the teamwork spectrum in the labs that I have worked in. I have worked in a subdued environment where communication and teamwork within our team was not promoted and that was just a downright difficult environment to be in. In my most recent position, our director promoted communication and teamwork and I was able to thrive in that environment by being able to both learn from and teach my fellow coworkers. I definitely prefer an environment that fosters great communication and teamwork."

Most clinical laboratories are running 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Because of this, Medical Lab Techs must be flexible on the schedule that they're available. It is important to do some research on the job that you are interviewing for in regard to what schedule the organization is looking to hire for. Most job postings will include the general hours. Organizations differ on how they schedule their lab techs with some working straight day, evening or night shifts and other organizations schedule more of a rotating swing shift. For this question, make sure that you can both demonstrate flexibility in your scheduling while also being honest with your true availability.

"As long as I know how the scheduling works ahead of time, I am open to working any shift and being on-call. My spouse does work full-time day shifts and if I need to arrange childcare, I would just need to know the upcoming schedule a couple of weeks ahead of time."

"As a new graduate coming out of school, I am available to work any shifts, weekends and be on-call. During my schooling, I worked a PM shift job and also spent some nights up late studying while attending classes during the daytime hours."

"Working as a lab tech with my current organization, I have worked straight day, evening and night shifts during my time there. There was also a point in time where we worked a one month swing shift where we transitioned to a new shift each month. In seeing that this position was posted for a straight PM shift, that is my preference to work but I am more than willing to help fill in on day and night shifts as needed. I am also available to work weekend and on-call if needed as well."

Working in lab setting can be both a physically and mentally demanding job. On this question, the interviewer is looking for your ability to manage your stress both on and off the job. Mentioning that you welcome a little bit of stress to keep you going doesn't hurt on this question either.

"Personally, I thrive on the fast paced nature of the lab setting. My organizational skills greatly reduce my stress on the job, even when things get overwhelming. Outside of work, I take pride in maintaining good mental health by spending time with my family and spending a lot of time outdoors hiking, biking and fishing."

"If I ever get too stressed out on the job, I don't hesitate to talk to my co-workers and my supervisor to let them know. If there is too much work to meet deadlines, it is extremely important for me to let someone know. Outside of work, I have been active in karate for over five years and am close to earning my black belt. This is the perfect getaway for me to release stress in a healthy manner."

"Through my career, I have definitely been at points where work was stressful and overwhelming. During these times, I have found it super helpful to communicate how I am feeling to my leader and talk over any issues that may be occurring. More often than not, any stress can be reduced with a simple conversation to help problem solve the situation. "

Time management skills are key to being a successful Medical Laboratory Technician. Oftentimes in a lab setting, you will be juggling multiple tests and projects and will need some sort of system to keep track of it all. Tell the interviewer about the system you utilize to manage your time to meet all of your deadlines.

"In my career working in a large laboratory, I've developed a tracking system for all work that comes my way and I track the work by deadlines. It is very easy to veer off course if not organized in this job and my system of tracking things by due date keeps me on schedule to never miss an important deadline."

"As a new graduate, I learned how to be a great manager of my time during my years in school while holding a full-time job as well. I prefer to utilize technology like my smart phone calendar and an Outlook calendar to prioritize tasks. As soon as I get a new task, I put it in my calendar and use that to work on the things that are of the highest priority first."

"Throughout my career, I have always been a note taker and a person that keeps a running list of things that I'm working on. This visual aid has always helped me stay on track when life in the lab gets hectic with work. "

For this question, the interviewer may be looking to gain two perspectives on you as a potential employee. First, they'll be looking at how you prefer to be effectively managed. Second, they may be looking for any leadership traits that you may bring to the team. Make sure to talk about a great leader that you've had in the past and how they impacted your work. Also mention leadership qualities you have and cite an examples of putting them to use.

"My current director inspires me to be the best I can be by empowering me to make decisions and gives me the opportunity to fail. By leading in this manner, I have been able to learn so much in my career and become a better lab tech because of her style. Her leadership style has motivated me to lead in the same way."

"I have always been inspired by leaders that show empathy and build teamwork among a team. By getting to know someone, a great leader knows what motivates each person individually and can tailor their leadership approach with each person as an individual. I think my greatest asset as a leader is promoting open communication to foster a team atmosphere."

"My favorite leader was my supervisor for over ten years, who just retired a couple of years ago. He was the type of leader that lead by example by working hard, following all policies and procedures and keeping an open door to talk at any time on any day. He inspired me to hopefully someday pursue a leadership role in a lab where I can lead the same way as he once did."

This is a difficult question to answer because setting the bar too high on your part may disqualify you from the position. This is where research on your end prior to the interview can go a long way. It is okay to share with the interviewer what you would like to earn, but make sure it is within the range that the company is offering. Be sure to keep it realistic. Another great way to share your compensation expectations is by sharing with the interviewer what you are currently earning and where you would like to be in your next position. Do your research on the location and see what the going rate is for your career field.

"I researched the area and based on my years of experience, I think the range of $60k to $70k is reasonable. Because I bring 12 years of experience to the table I'd like to think the starting salary would be in the middle of the range."

"As a new graduate in the field, I am hoping to work for an organization that pays the standard entry level pay rate for this region. My motivating factor in obtaining my first job out of college is not pay. I am more focused on working for an organization where I can grow and learn as a new lab tech and as long as the pay is fair for the field, I will be happy."

"As I am searching for a new position motivated by the ability to find new challenges in the field, I am hoping that pay and total benefits at least match where I am at now with the ability to increase in the future. My current hourly rate is at $20.25 per hour with health, dental, life and a 401k retirement plan. In researching the region and the organization, I am hopful that this is a fair rate."

For this question, the interviewer is looking for someone that has mentored you in your time in the field. This is not the time to talk about your best friend or an old high school coach or teacher. Talk about how the mentor helped inspire you to get you to where you are today and try and include some advice or knowledge that you took with you and still hold near today.

"When I started my first job as a lab tech out of college, I had an experienced tech voluntarily take me under his wing on my first day. Coming into the job, I had great knowledge on how to succeed in the job itself but I was like a lost puppy coming into such a large lab at the time. He took the time to show me around the facility by showing me simple things like where the rest rooms were and where the cafeteria was. He was also always a listening ear if I ever needed to bounce questions off of someone. Now, as an experienced tech, I try and mentor new techs that come into our lab because I remember my mentor and how he showed me the ropes when I was just a rookie."

"Upon entering my program, I was being tutored by a final year student for a math class required for our program. In getting to know my tutor well, she gave me all kinds of insight into what life as a lab tech was like as she was completing her internship at the time. Her insight into the field really helped prepare me for what life would be like as a lab tech and let me know that I made the right decision on what field to enter."

"During my time in current position, my director has become my mentor. I have worked under her for almost ten years and during this time I have learned how to become a better leader and motivator in the workplace. While I don't have intentions to become a director level employee, I still have the drive to help motivate my team members to be all that they can be."

For this questions, the interviewer will be looking to see if you are motivated to become a better employee and lab tech. Employers aren't looking for a stagnant employee and now is the time for you to boast a bit on something that you've accomplished in the field. To top your answer off, it never hurts to talk about future goals in your answer either.

"Entering tech school for my associates degree, I wanted to maintain full-time employment as I was raising a family. I worked my tail off to continue working as a phlebotomist while obtaining my associates degree in two years. This was a huge accomplishment for me. Down the road, I have plans to work towards my Bachelor's degree in Medical Laboratory Science as well at the local university."

"Upon entering my program for my associates degree, I had obtained a scholarship for my high school. To keep the scholarship through my time pursuing my degree, I had to make the Dean's List each semester to maintain the scholarship. Through hard work and perseverance, I was able to make the Dean's List each semester and hold the scholarship through my entire time in college."

"When I entered my first job out of college, my goal was to become the lead tech in our department. Knowing that our leadership team looked for traits like dependability, reliability, knowledge and adaptability, I worked hard to develop my skills as a tech in my initial years with the organization as well as being an employee that never called in sick or complained. Three years into this position, the lead tech was promoted within the organization and I got the role as the lead tech in the department after a long interview process. I've since been the lead tech in the department for 8 years now."

While you probably can't predict your future, it is always good to talk about looking for a long-term fit within an organization based on values that you hold near and dear to your heart. The interviewer is obviously looking for a long-term fit in the role as hiring and onboarding new employees is very costly to an organization. The interviewer knows that a position that matches an employees values most often leads to that long-term fit.

"I'm very excited to see the direction this laboratory is going in. I think this role is a great match to my experience and skills. I expect to be here as long as I have to opportunity to grow as a Medical Laboratory Technician."

"Coming out of school as a new Medical Laboratory Technician, I am hoping to work for an organization where I will be able to grow and nurture my lab tech skills. I value the ability to continuously hone my craft as a lab tech and will flourish in this environment. If I can find those things in a new employer, I will be a long-term fit for the role."

"In looking for a new position, I am really trying a place where I can retire from in the future. Based on my plans, I have about 15 years before retirement. I feel like I have developed all of the skills needed to be successful in the role with your organization and have heard great things about the way the organization takes care of its employees."

Always come to your interview prepared with questions that show your true interest in the job. It is perfectly fine to have prepared questions written down and this shows the interviewer that you have some level of interest in the position. Many times, some of your questions will get answered through the course of the interview and that is okay. Here is a sample question: "How long have you been with the organization and what keeps you working here?"

"How long have you been with the organization and what keeps you working here?"

"Can you talk about how the orientation and training program works here? How long do you feel it will take for a new graduate to be up and running independently in the position?"

"Through my career, I've taken pride in furthering my education in the Medical Laboratory Technician field. Does the organization offer learning opportunities for employees or opportunity for pursuing continuing education credits?"

Building relationships with co-workers is important within the laboratory. Asking for a second set of eyes, clarification and assistance is all about working as a team. Let the interviewer know that you are all about building professional working relationships with your co-workers and that you feel comfortable asking for help when necessary.

"When I first started my current job, I was unsure how to use the hematology analyzer. I asked a co-worker if they wouldn't mind standing next to me while I verbally explained the steps I was taking allowing them to verify that I was doing it correctly. I appreciated the assistance and my co-worker was happy that I took the time to ask for help. This situation made our work relationship even stronger. We've helped each other out on numerous occasions."

"I would first refer to the manual to see about figuring it out myself. Then I would bring my new findings to the lead technician to verify that I'm going in the right direction before I work on a machine that I'm unfamiliar with."

"If I was ever unsure on how to properly operate a piece of equipment, I wouldn't hesitate to reach out to my lead tech or my supervisor to receive hands on training on the equipment. In my current job, while I was on a week of vacation time, the organization purchased a new lab sterilizer for our equipment. While gone, I did not receive proper training on how to use the new equipment. Upon return, I scheduled time with my lead tech to be properly trained on the new unit and I was able to run it correctly after just ten minutes of training."

On this question, the interviewer is looking to see how you respond to an adverse situation with a patient doing something as simple as drawing blood. Any person who has drawn blood knows that some patients are difficult draws or downright scared of the needle. Talk about a difficult draw that you had to work and what resources or tools you used to help with the ta

"A crying child came in for a draw and I knew my co-worker could draw them with their eyes closed. To prevent further upset I let the parent know that I was getting the best of the best to take care of her child so it would be a quick and easy process. The parent was thankful and I got to be on bandaid and sticker duty."

"During my internship, I was being mentored by a really great lab tech with amazing phlebotomy skills. On my second day, we had a patient come in for a blood draw that was accompanied by police officers. The patient was being very unruly and had to be held down by the officers. Rather than having me perform the draw, my mentor took the bull by the horns and worked in communicating with the officers for the best moment to perform the draw. It was a great learning experience for me as a new lab tech."

"When I was young in my career, I was having a difficult time drawing blood from patients that were elderly and didn't have exposed veins. On one particular patient that I was having a tough time on, an experience tech showed me a trick in utilizing a blood pressure cuff to expose the veins a little better. While it doesn't work on every patient, I still use this trick in my box of phlebotomy tricks to this day."

While phlebotomy tasks aren't necessarily required for many Medical Laboratory Technician positions, some employers like their lab techs to have the skills in case they're needed on the job. Be open and honest with your interviewer on your phlebotomy skills and comfortability performing those tasks in the future.

"In my time working for my current employer, I was required to be re-certified as a phlebotomist since it had been a while since I directly drew blood. Since being re-certified, I am very comfortable in performing draws if ever needed."

"Through college, I worked as a phlebotomist at a local blood donation center to help pay for school and gain great experience in the healthcare field. After taking the certification course, I became very comfortable working on difficult draws from patients and was a go-to person for donors that were a difficult draw."

"To be honest, I haven't utilized my phlebotomy skills in many years since my current position does not require it. But having done it through college, I am confident that I would be able to pick it back up again through a certification course if required for this position."

This question, or a similarly phrased one, is where your interviewer is trying to gauge your customer service skills. The lab is often one of the last stops on a patients visit to the hospital or clinic and serving them admirably is important. Here, the interviewer will look for your ability to prioritize and your ability to communicate both efficiently and effectively with all parties involved. Here is a sample answer: "In this situation, I would explain to the patient that it was standard procedure for our lab to have an official order from the physician for the draw. With the other patients waiting as well, I would look to another coworker to assist as well where one of us would work through the existing patients and the other could attempt to contact the physician that should've put in the lab order for the patient."

"In this situation, I would explain to the patient that it was standard procedure for our lab to have an official order from the physician for the draw. With the other patients waiting as well, I would look to another coworker to assist as well where one of us would work through the existing patients and the other could attempt to contact the physician that should've put in the lab order for the patient."

"In this situation, communicating to the patient the steps that I needed to take is extremely important so they understand if they have to wait for a bit before being able to perform the draw. By understanding the situation and what needed to be done, that would put the patients mind at ease. I would contact the physicians office directly to try and expedite the lab order and wouldn't hesitate to ask for help from my teammates to take care of the other patients as well."

"In my years of experience as a lab tech, my calm demeanor and ability to communicate with patients is extremely important in helping solve the issue quickly and efficiently. When we have a packed waiting room, teamwork is of utmost importance. For the patient that didn't have an official lab request, I would contact the physician's office immediately to see if an order was in fact supposed to occur and then ask that it be entered into our system quickly. I would be sure to communicate to the patient any waiting period that would be expected as well."

In a lab work setting, workers can be exposed to many potentially dangerous fluids, bacteria, etc. Because of this, personal protective equipment procedures are in place for the safety of all individuals that work in the facility. For this question, point out to the interviewer that you abide by the PPE requirements and aren't hesitant to point out the issue to a coworker directly.

"I worked in a lab where one of my co-workers insisted on pushing up his sleeves- exposing his arms. When I quietly went over to remind him to push them down he mentioned how hot he was and that he was cooling off. We had been having unseasonably warm weather and he was wearing a long sleeved shirt under his PPE. I offered my clean gym t-shirt to him so he would be more comfortable. Since then he wears a short sleeved shirt to work to avoid any further violations. He was thankful I casually approached it and brought it to his attention."

"As part of my MLT program, we learned about the types of PPE required in a laboratory and the importance of using each one. If I noticed a co-worker not utilizing PPE correctly, I wouldn't hesitate to let them know the potential safety hazards they may be putting themselves in danger of. Sometimes a simple reminder of the danger can go a long way with a person."

"A few years back, I noticed a new tech in our lab wasn't wearing his protective eye protection when our supervisor wasn't around. After a couple of times watching him remove the protective glasses, I asked him why he was removing them when they were a part of our safety requirement. It turns out that he had prescription glasses he would put on rather than the standard issued safety glasses. I informed him that the organization had a reimbursement policy for him to purchase protective prescription eye wear and it turns out that he was never informed of the policy. After he spoke with our supervisor, he had a pair of safety glasses on order that evening."

When test system deficiencies are found, you ensure that the test results are not reported until the appropriate corrective action is taken and the test system is functioning properly. Take this time to let the interviewer know that you are familiar with maintaining auditing worksheets, quality control records and preventative maintenance records. Letting the interviewer know that you are proficient in the administrative portion of being a Laboratory Technician will be an added plus to the interview. "In our world as lab techs, end results can be of utmost importance in the diagnosis of a patient. Because of this, I take pride in ensuring that all system tests are performed on a regular basis. Just recently, a deficiency was found on one of our machines in my lab and I followed protocol by letting our lead technician know right away. While this put us down for a brief period of time until a maintenance technician could come in, ignoring the problem could've had devastating results."

"In our world as lab techs, end results can be of utmost importance in the diagnosis of a patient. Because of this, I take pride in ensuring that all system tests are performed on a regular basis. Just recently, a deficiency was found on one of our machines in my lab and I followed protocol by letting our lead technician know right away. While this put us down for a brief period of time until a maintenance technician could come in, ignoring the problem could've had devastating results."

"During my schooling, I learned the importance of integrity and accuracy in the systems that we work on as lab techs. If I ever found a problem, I wouldn't hesitate to let the appropriate person know of the issue."

"As the lead tech on night shift with my current employer, I am the person that deficiencies get reported to. I have been through several trainings on simple maintenance of a lot of our machines in our lab and I have a specific protocol to follow should an issue be found. It is imperative that I am timely on these responses."

Working in a lab setting involves standing for long hours and you knew this going into the career. Stress to the interviewer that you know the physical requirements of the job and are comfortable with them. You can also talk about the importance of self-care and the effects that walking around can do to be able to withstand the long hours on your feet.

"Having worked as a lab tech now for five years, I am comfortable with all of the physical requirements of the job. I found out quickly in my first position out of school that proper footwear is extremely important. Since starting there, my employer has put rubber mats at all of our workstations to make it easier to stand for long periods as well."

"Being physically active and in shape is an important part of my life and this will translate well to a position as a Medical Laboratory Technician. I love being on my feet all day long and am able to relax during my off time and take care of my body then."

"Working as a lab tech for many years, I am very comfortable in working on my feet for an entire shift. In my current position, I split my work up in the lab to ensure that I am moving around from time to time to stretch my legs and body and this makes it a lot easier on my body."

If you've had experience working in a blood bank, that is great experience and make sure to talk about your role and how the bank functioned. If you haven't had the experience, there is no need to sweat. Just be sure to talk about how you may have worked in a fast paced job like a blood bank.

"During my years in college, I did get the opportunity to work as a phlebotomist in a blood bank. While there, I quickly learned how to work in a fast paced environment while providing great customer service to each and every donor that came through our doors."

"I have not had the chance to work in a blood bank at this point early in my career, but in talking to my fellow student that have, I know that I would thrive in a setting like that. Working with people that are sacrificing a part of themselves to help save the life another person is very awe inspiring."

"After Hurricane Katrina, I was one of a group of volunteers from my current employer that traveled to New Orleans to assist with the Red Cross blood donation efforts. While there, I had to learn to be adaptable to my surroundings as we were working out of an abandoned office building with equipment that I wasn't used to working with. It was truly a life altering experience."