How to Answer: Have you specialized in the field throughout your career or are you looking to specialize?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Occupational Therapist job interview.
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