Non-traditional Applicants - Does work experience help?

[dounija]

Hi everyone, I am in my late twenties and have decided to complete a second undergrad degree in order to pursue dentistry. I have been working in the Medical device industry for 2 years now and will have another 2 years before I apply to dentistry, my question is, will work experience help my chances when the time comes for interviews (hopefully)? specifically, I am very interested in entering the sales force at this stage and with my plan, I am thinking about Dental medical sales?

[dentall]

Hi everyone, I am in my late twenties and have decided to complete a second undergrad degree in order to pursue dentistry. I have been working in the Medical device industry for 2 years now and will have another 2 years before I apply to dentistry, my question is, will work experience help my chances when the time comes for interviews (hopefully)? specifically, I am very interested in entering the sales force at this stage and with my plan, I am thinking about Dental medical sales?

 

Hi,

 

Whether or not your work experience is helpful depends on many factors. The number one factor is the types of questions you will be asked, followed by the types of situations or problems you had to deal with at work. Although almost all Canadian schools (any using a CDA or MMI format) will not have access to your work experience, they will ask about situational, ethical and moral dilemmas. Having a broad experience with confrontations and problem solving will help you to answer these questions best. I'd caution sticking with one activity for too long. Although it is true that quality trumps quantity, it is also extremely monotonous for an interviewer to hear you speak about the same work activity or experience for 7 straight questions (this is only a problem for CDA interviews). You should also note that having experience in the dental field is almost irrelevant as you do not know how relaying this information will be preceived by the interviewer (ie. this guy thinks he belongs in dental school because he spent time in dental sales). The most important thing is to pursue activities that you will enjoy and I guarantee that usable situations will present themselves.

 

Hope this helps.