When preparing your occupational therapy interview questions and answers, you might feel confident that you have all the necessary skills.

Given the diversity of the field, it can be difficult to convey your skillset, training, and passion in the best way possible.

Once you’ve crafted your Occupational Therapist resume, it’s time to get down into the nitty-gritty details of gaining employment.

Common Occupational Therapy Interview Questions and Answers

Occupational therapy job interview questions will vary based on your specialty. Yet, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared.

You can ace your interview and demonstrate your skill, interest, and passion by going down our list of the top 10 OT interview questions and answers.

1. What skills will you bring to this OT position?

What the interviewer really wants to ask is, “How will you meet the needs of this department?”

Mention the common skills that all Occupational Therapists should posses. Ideally, you will also want to include special skills and certifications you have to help you stand out against other applicants.

If they ask about specific skills that you do not have, let them know that you plan to work on them and how you will do it.

2. What do you think the main challenges of this position will be?

This question has two purposes: the first is so the interviewer knows that you understand the job description and what is expected of you.

The second is to reveal some of your weaknesses.

Everyone comes across challenges in the workplace, but it is how you deal with them that will determine if you are a good fit for the position or not.

3. What placements have you enjoyed the most, and why?

Be positive. You don’t want to go off on a tangent about things that you did not like about a past placement.

If they do ask you about a placement you were not fond of, turn the negative aspects into how you learned an important lesson or how it helped you to strengthen a skill.

4. Share a time that you applied new technology with a client or organization you worked for.

Are you staying current with advances in OT? Do you seek out innovative and more effective ways to help your clients?

Given the opportunity, you might also suggest a new technology or information from a recent study that you would be interested in implementing.

5. How would you handle a patient who constantly complains?

Through this question, the interviewer is trying to figure out how much patience you have. Most of all, they want to know if you have the capability to handle a moody or irritated patient.

This is a great time to share an example of when you’ve been in a similar situation and how you handled it appropriately.

6. What do you think the therapist’s role would be like in this setting?

This is where your prior research on the job will be vitally important.

For your answer, consider:

• what you know about the position,
• where you’ll be spending most of your time,
• and the type of patient you will most often interact with.

Use this as an opportunity to showcase your preparation and to give examples of specific skills or times you’ve been in a similar setting.

7. Are you comfortable communicating realistic goals and progress with a patient and their family?

This is your opportunity to:

• describe a time when you communicated goals with a patient
• demonstrate your experience setting goals
• working with your patient to achieve those goals

An OT constantly makes critical and crucial decisions. You need to be able to show that you can handle this.

8. Describe a particularly difficult challenge that you helped a patient overcome.

This question is meant to give you a chance to talk about one of your biggest accomplishments. Prove you can handle difficult tasks and detail the actions you took to accomplish incredible results.

Go into the interview with a short story or example already prepared.

9. What would be your ideal OT department?

In this case, the interviewer is asking about your values as an Occupational Therapist. They want you to reflect on your experiences and to share what you liked and disliked about each.

Demonstrate that you know your own mind and what an ideal OT department would be.

10. What type of patients do you most enjoy working with?

As a result, you might be tempted to answer this question with something careful like, “I enjoy working with everyone,” but that’s not the best answer!

Your interviewer wants to know that you recognize your strengths and weaknesses and that you’ve sought out a job that best fits your skills and requirements.

OT Interview Questions You Should Ask

Furthermore, before the conclusion of your interview, make sure you’ve prepared a few questions of your own.

Some examples of appropriate questions include:

• What kind of candidate are you looking for?
• Is travel expected for this position?
• Do you offer any resources to help advance my OT career?

Practice Makes Perfect

Making the most of these occupational therapy interview questions and answers will prepare you for any opportunity on the job market. Try practicing with a friend or family member so you can see how well you perform! Remember to enter the interview with confidence, and you’ll do great.