Brooke Bullock - Interview Coaching

When I'm coaching candidates, we don't treat the CV, cover letter and interview as separate pieces of work. We look at how they fit together.

The experiences you include in your application should become the examples you talk about in the interview. The qualities you highlight on paper should be reflected in the way you answer questions.

By the time you walk into the interview, you've already started telling the panel who you are.

That's why it's worth putting just as much thought into your written application as your interview preparation. The two should support each other.

When your application tells a clear story, it's much easier to continue that story in the interview.

Ready to review your CV?

🔗 Download my free CV Scorecard to see how your CV measures up and discover practical ways to strengthen it before you apply.

https://brookebullockinterviewcoaching.mykajabi.com/optin_cv-shortlisting-scorecard

"Why medicine?"

It's one of the first questions Medical School applicants prepare.. and one of the easiest to overthink.

What I see is this. The worry about saying the wrong thing takes over, and people reach for the answer they think the interview panel wants to hear.

"I want to help people."

"I've always loved science."

There is nothing wrong with either of those reasons. They are just not the whole story.

What the panel actually wants is your story. What experiences shaped the decision? What moments confirmed that medicine was the right path for you? What have you learnt along the way?

The answers that stay with a panel are personal, specific and genuine. They are the ones that could not be copied and pasted into someone else's interview.

That is exactly what we work on in the Medical School Interview Masterclass uncovering your story and communicating it with confidence.

Learn more: https://short.do/hSh2NW

One of the biggest mistakes I see candidates make is trying to give the "right" answer instead of bringing their own experience into the conversation.

Interview panels aren't looking for everyone to sound the same.

They're looking for doctors and healthcare professionals who can bring different perspectives, communicate thoughtfully, and contribute to a team.

Whether you've changed careers, trained overseas, taken time away from medicine, or have experiences outside of healthcare that have shaped the way you work, don't assume those things are disadvantages.

If they've influenced the way you care for patients, solve problems, or work with others, they're worth talking about.

The strongest candidates don't hide what makes them different.

They know how to explain why it matters.

🎙️ New episode of The Interview Insider is live!

Before you even get in the interview room, your CV and cover letter are already shaping the panel's opinion of you.

In this episode, I sit down with Professor Ian Coombes - one of Australia's most respected leaders in hospital pharmacy, former Director of Pharmacy at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and someone who has shortlisted candidates for decades.

We talk about:
✅ The sub-50-word career statement that got a candidate into the room over more "qualified" applicants
✅ Why "I" language can quietly sink an application
✅ How long your cover letter should really be (spoiler: Ian rarely reads past page one)
✅ Why getting on a selection panel might be the best career move you haven't made yet

If you're preparing a written application for your next role in healthcare, don't miss this one.

🎧 Listen now — link in bio

I say this to almost every advanced training candidate I work with, and I'll say it here too.

The people sitting across from you on that panel already know you're smart. They've read your application. What they're trying to work out in that room is whether you can communicate under pressure, whether you're self-aware, and whether they'd want to work alongside you. Cramming clinical knowledge the week before your interview is not high yield prep. Practising how you tell your story, structure your answers, and present yourself with clarity and confidence, that's where the gains are.

Follow for more, and if you're preparing for an advanced training interview this year, link in bio for how I can help.

You can't bluff your way through a medical interview. Within minutes, the panel can usually tell who has prepared and who hasn't.

Strong preparation goes beyond rehearsing answers. It means understanding the role, researching the organisation, knowing its values, and having relevant examples ready to demonstrate your skills. When you're well prepared, your answers are clearer, more specific, and far more convincing.

Preparation doesn't guarantee the perfect interview, but it gives you the best chance to perform at your best.

There are only so many hours in the week.

I'd rather see you spend three hours (yep - that's the magic number when your interview is 2-6 weeks away) focused on preparing high-yield stuff than ten hours trying to work out what to prepare (and being at risk of sounding more like an AI robot).

Every week I speak to people who have consumed endless interview advice but still don't feel ready.

Not because they haven't worked hard. Because no one has helped them filter the noise.

That's where I come in.

Whether you're looking for a self-paced course, interview resources or personalised coaching, everything I create is designed to help you prepare with purpose.

Visit my website to find the support that best fits your interview journey.
https://brookebullockinterviewcoaching.mykajabi.com/

Candidates often focus on giving the "right" answer.

But interview panels are also watching how you approach a question, how you organise your thoughts, and how you respond when you're unsure.

Sometimes it's your reasoning, not your final answer, that leaves the strongest impression.

Don't rush to fill every silence.

Take a moment to think (you can even use the international "thinking face" and look at the top corner of the room), then answer with purpose. You've got this!🌟

Every interview matters because what's on the other side is often the rest of your Career!

A training position. A big step up. A fellowship. The next chapter in your career.

It's a huge privilege to support people through such a vulnerable and important process and a responsibility that I don't take lightly. An interview may be 15 minutes / half an hour long but it takes years to be at that table (or on that zoom call ) and a lot of hard work!

Feedback like this is the cherry on the cake!