When answering this question you will want to give a specific example of a situation when you had to work under pressure. Explain the strategies you used to successfully get through it. Keep your answer short and relevant and relay the information calmly.
"I tend to thrive under pressure because it forces me to really focus on what I’m doing, assess my priorities, and come up with a plan. Rather than quickly reacting, I try to stop and collect my thoughts, remain calm, and envision a positive outcome."
"I actually work better under pressure and I've found that I enjoy working in a challenging environment."
For some, administrative duties are the boring part of the job. Complete notes, update charts and organized paperwork will make your day go so much smoother. Let the interviewer know that you are an organized person that excels at administrative duties. An added bonus to this answer would be to mention that you enjoy supporting your administrative staff when they need assistance. Always a great idea to show you're a team player. Here's a sample answer: "Whenever I get some downtime I like to work with the administrative team at the front desk. I help them answer phones, pull charts and enter notes. I've found that when we all work together the day goes much smoother."
"Whenever I get some downtime I like to work with the administrative team at the front desk. I help them answer phones, pull charts and enter notes. I've found that when we all work together the day goes much smoother."
"I have great administrative skills! I always make a point to take a few minutes to chart on the patient before moving to the next. Staying on top of my administrative tasks helps me not get bogged down and behind."
This question is being asked of you to see if you did your homework on their facility. Discuss the main population you'll be seeing, the awards they've won, the size of facilily and how long they've been taking care of the community. Be positive in your answer.
"I want to work in a large hospital environment because it provides opportunities for me to expand my knowledge with training and by working alongside experts."
"Your facility has one of the top-rated cardiac units in the country, and I am interested in utilizing my experience with cardiac patients in a hospital engaging in the latest research and techniques."
Discuss with the hiring manager what you feel are important qualities for strong leadership. Have you had a memorable leader? Perhaps you have been a good leader.
"During my training I had a really amazing leader. She was thoughtful, attentive, and thorough. I believe these qualities are what made her team want to listen and learn, from her. I always told myself that when I am in a leadership position I would try to emulate those qualities as well."
"A good leader is one that is well rounded in the job, willing to help others, confident and displays a high level of integrity."
When answering this question you will want to consider qualities that are relevant to this position. Good communication skills, attention to detail, and technical mindset are all important characteristics for any Radiologic Technologist. 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.
"My peers would describe me as an energetic, hardworking, knowledgeable Tech. They would say that I'm always willing to help others and that I love my job."
"My coworkers would say that I always come to work with a positive attitude ready to start the day."
This question is one of the most common interview questions so be sure to have your answer ready but not memorized. Tell the interviewer what makes you stand out from the crowd. Talk about a unique skill that you would bring to the job, should you be given the opportunity.
"My greatest strength as a Radiologic Technologist is my ability to relate the medical terminology to my patients in a way that they can understand. A patient's diagnosis and treatment plan should always be clear to them."
"One of my greatest strengths is my ability to make a patient feel comfortable when they are anxious about a procedure. I've been told that my soft-spoken kind words are relaxing during a stressful situation."
Preparing for this question requires a little bit of self-awareness and strategy. Focus on a weakness that you could possibly turn into a strength. Share something you are proactively working on improving. Tell the interviewer about a weakness and show how it has helped strengthen the ability to complete tasks and reach goals. Always share what you are learning or have learned from your weakness. This shows your interviewer that you are adaptable and willing to grow.
"Sometimes I move too quickly when completing a project under a deadline, and that's when I make mistakes. I have learned to slow down and plan out how I will use my time, setting benchmarks along the way so that I can check in to gauge my status on the project and see how far I am from reaching my goal."
"Sometimes I have worked through my lunch break. I've come to realize that taking a break is necessary in order to not make mistakes. I've been better about taking a much-needed break and allowing my co-workers to take care of the patients while I am gone."
As a Radiologic Technologist, you will need to lift and turn patients to get the perfect shot. Tell the interviewer how you safely move your patients with the help of another technician if necessary.
"If I think I'm going to have difficulties moving a patient because of their size or complexity of the shot I'm sure to ask a colleague to assist me."
"I have had difficulty lifting patients in the past. To avoid hurting myself, hurting the patient or prolonging the appointment I'm comfortable asking for assistance for everyone's safety."
Now is your time to get answers to your questions that have come up based on your grueling interview. Steer clear of salary, benefits and other questions that might make you sound pushy or that you are trying to negotiate the terms of a job that hasn't been offered to you yet. Take this time to clarify questions of what hours you will be working, what type of patients they see most of and why the interviewer enjoys working for this hospital.
"Why do you enjoy working here?"
"What is the first thing you would like accomplished in the first 10 days on the job?"
Word travels fast when you are looking for employment. Hopefully you made a good impression with your current employer and they will say a few kind words about your work ethic if called on as a reference. Tell the interviewer about your professional work relationship with your past employer.
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"My former employer would describe me as one that led by example in the department. I made a point to always be on time, assist my co-workers and treat each patient with dignity while maintaining my professionalism."
The interviewer is asking you this question to question your knowledge in the career field. As a Radiologic Technologist, you learned early in your training the difference between the scans. Be confident in your answer and feel free to add how many years of experience you have in both areas.
"CT scans use X-rays and MRI scans use powerful magnetic fields and radio frequency pulses to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and other internal body structures."
"CT scans use X-rays and MRI scans use powerful magnetic fields and radio frequency pulses. I've been performing CT scans for 4 years and assisting with MRI's for 2."
As a Radiologic Technician, this concern may be on your patient's mind as well as a topic discussed at work. Tell the interviewer a bit about the pro's and cons when it comes to an MRI or CT scan.
"MRI's may be preferred over a CT scan by the provider simply because of the amount of radiation exposure with CT scans."
"MRI's are sometimes preferred over CT scans because of the ability to scan certain soft tissue tumors unlike a CT scan."
Questions about your college courses are common when interviewing for an entry-level position. Don't be arrogant with your answer and also don't answer the question by telling the interviewer you had to take the course 3 times before passing. Tell the interviewer how it prepared you for your job as well as challenged you.
"Anatomy wasn't too much of a struggle for me because I had a great group of friends that I studied with. We created flash-cards, quizzed each other and studied every weekend together."
"While taking my A&P courses I struggled with the lab portions. I used quizlet for all my lab practicals. I bought a membership so I could add pictures to the flashcards. This helped so much for spelling, and identify the varies parts."
This is a time where you can talk a bit about your personal journey to become a Radiologic Technologist. Tell the hiring manager what you like best about the job and why Radiology is a passion of yours.
"I chose Radiology as my area of specialty because I feel that it is an area of medicine that isn't as popular or talked about. It's incredibly important to me and I realized this at a young age when this practice saved my mother's life."
"I knew Radiology was a growing field and I wanted to be a part of it. I love children and knew I wanted to help them. I've been lucky enough to work within a Pediatric clinic for the last 3 years."
This question is being asked to hear more about your passion for working in the field. Tell the interview about your favorite type of patients, the team you work alongside and the time of environment you thrive in. Keep you answer positive and be sure not to mention what you don't like about the field.
"One of the things I like best about being a Radiologic Technologist is that every day is different."
"I enjoy learning from our Radiologist and my fellow colleagues the best."
As a Radiologic Technologist, you'll have to assist patients with procedures that may be a bit less than desired. Inserting enema tips for barium enema studies or scanning a sick and inconsolable child for a pneumonia scan. When answering this question, do your best to be positive and upbeat. If you share a negative try to add how it makes you a better technologist.
"Working with upset children can be hard as a Radiologic Technician. Over the years I've learned a few tricks to sidetrack and cheer up a sick child but knowing they are in pain or scared has always been something I've disliked about the job."
"Working with a new piece of equipment can be challenging. I work with a great team so when we received our new portable x-ray machine, my coworkers were more than helpful to help me learn how to use it."
As a Radiologic Technologist, you administer radiation therapy treatments and perform medical imaging exams to patients. You’ll utilize imaging technologies to take patient images for radiologists to interpret. Tell the interviewer about your experience operating equipment such as bone densitometry or mammography machines. If you are new to the career field, let the interviewer know that you are a quick learner and show your excitement to learn how to operate new equipment.
"I haven't had the opportunity to work with an Oncology team to deliver radiation therapy to patients with cancer. I'm looking forward to the challenge and learning something new."
"I've been a Radiologic Technician for 12 years now. I'm very comfortable working with the equipment. I'm often the one that teaches new technicians how to operate equipment because of my knowledge and patience."
When answering this question be sure not to answer that 'you are a perfectionist' or you 'don't have any skills to improve.' Focus on a work skill you would like to improve that is not critical to your industry or job level and demonstrate how you would like to develop this skill further implying you already have a level of competency.
"I would like to further develop my leadership skills by actively mentoring others. It is important to not only help others around you learn, but to also help them develop their skills and achieve their objectives. I believe this will help me become a much more effective manager in the future and create a more positive and productive environment for my work team."
"I'd like to develop my public speaking skills. In my current job we've recently started weekly training where we each teach a topic in front of the staff. It's been challenging for me to speak in front of other and I'm hoping it gets easier each time I present."
The correct answer to this question is that you can work under ANY type of supervision style. You wouldn't want to bring up a particular style for fear that the interviewer is the total opposite. Let the interviewer know that you've worked under various types of supervision and you've been successful under all of them.
"I've worked under all types of leadership styles and have been able to work under all of them. I do find that I work best with a supervisor that is confident, hard working and possesses the same integrity as I do."
"I've had the opportunity to work and excel with all types of supervision."
As a medical professional, your communication style should be effective. For this answer, you will want to tell the interviewer how you communicate as a technician as well as an employee. As a Radiologic Technologist, you must communicate with patients to gain information, convey critical information and make important decisions. Without effective communication skills, you may not be able to obtain or convey information and cause detrimental effects to your patients. As a team player, your communication style should be direct, honest and collaborative. Share a situation where you had effective communication and what the outcome was.
"My communication style in both my professional life and personal life is to be factual and honest. I've found that this achieves the most effective results."
"As a Radiologic Technologist I feel it's important to be direct. Direct communication leave less room for miscommunication."
This question could be a way for you to flip the tables and find out what schedules they work and what they wanted the new hire to work in. Be sure to voice at this time if day shift is the only shift you can work because of other obligations.
"I'm available to work any shift you need me on. What shifts do you all have here? Was there one that you needed me to fill? "
"My ideal schedule would be an evening shift. I'm a bit of a night owl and enjoy working the night shift."
A great way to prove that you can be relied upon is to be consistently on time. Be sure to set the standard by arriving at least a few minutes early before your interview. Map out the route and go the day before so that you know where it is and how long it will take. You could also talk about a time you followed through with something even in the face of conflict. Consistency in your work shows you are dependable as well.
"I do my best to show up to work 15 minutes early, just in case something comes up on my way there that might set me back. Traffic can be unpredictable, and it's important to me to be on time."
"I currently have a schedule that allows me to pull call whenever needed with a short amount of notice. My flexibility comes in handy when someone calls in sick."
From scanning heart abnormalities to pneumonia, CT scans can be used for a number of things. Don't stretch the truth and state that you've scanned complex tumors because you might be asked to elaborate on it. Simply state what common injuries or illnesses you've seen and that you look forward to utilizing your training for more complex cases.
"The most common injury that I've seen CT scans used for were complex bone fractures since it usually produces more detail than would be possible with a conventional x-ray."
As a Radiologic Technologist, you come in contact with various types of patients. Patients that are sick, nervous and at times energetic like children can be. The interviewer is asking this question to rate your communication skills.
"Before performing a CT scan on children I've found it helpful to bring them into the room and show them around before the scan. Explaining how the machine moves around them, allowing them to test out the table where they will lay and showing them where their parents will wait until it is finished."
"When explaining a CT scan to a child I would be sure to be down on his level, talk softly and answer any questions they may have."
Talk to the hiring manager about how you balance work and play. Discuss ways that you ensure you do not experience burnout.
"I am careful to keep a balance in my life in order to prevent personal burnout. Working out regularly and reading books on my downtime is a very helpful way for me to avoid burnout."
"To prevent personal burnout I relax with yoga each morning for 20 minutes before I start my day."
Talk to the hiring manager a little bit about yourself that steps outside of your medical education and work history. This is an opportunity for you to show them a bit about your personality. Circle your answer back to how this skill or experience will benefit you in this role.
"Something about me that many do not know is that I was a competitive dancer for many years. Despite it being unrelated to medicine, it truly did teach me about discipline and dedication."
"My resume doesn't capture the amount of time that I volunteer within the community. Besides the medical field, my passion is with animals. I volunteer at our local animal shelter every weekend."
Radiologic technologists are allied medical professionals. They perform different types of diagnostic imaging examinations at the request of the doctor in charge and may also administer radiation therapy treatments as required.
Radiologic technologists generally work in hospitals, private clinics and emergency care centers or they may have their own private clinic. They may be generalists or they may choose to specialize in a specific imaging technique such as mammography, bone densitometry, sonography, magnetic resonance imaging or computed topography. Radiologic technologists work closely with radiologists, who are qualified physicians.
To work as a radiologic technologist, you must complete at least two years in an accredited hospital-based program or a 4-year program at an academic institution. They must also pass a national certification examination. Radiologic technologists must be thoroughly conversant with different examination techniques, patient positioning and basic patient care as well as radiation protection and equipment protocol.
At your interview for a radiologic technologist job, your interviewer will want to know why you chose this particular career and what measures you've taken to solidify your career choice. They will also want to know more about your career goals and where you see yourself a few years. For more questions that will help you be better prepared for your interview check out radiologic technologist mock interview questions and think about how you would answer them.