How do I explain occupational therapy simply in an interview?

Try one sentence: "I help people do the everyday things they need and want to do, like dressing, cooking, working or playing, after illness, injury or with a disability." Then give a quick example.

What do new grad OT interviews ask?

Your fieldwork placements, a client you learned from, how you take supervision, and how you'd manage a caseload. Know one fieldwork case well.

How do I talk about disagreeing with a family?

Show that you listened, explained your reasoning in plain words, and found a goal everyone could accept, while keeping the client's own choices at the centre.

Should I mention specific assessments?

Yes, briefly, if they shaped your decisions. Naming an assessment without saying what it told you adds little.

Occupational therapist interview questions and how to answer them

What the interviewer is listening for

OT managers listen for whether you think in terms of what the person does all day, not just their impairment. A candidate who says "we worked on grip strength" sounds weaker than one who says "she wanted to cut her own food again, so we worked on grip strength with her own cutlery." Keep the client's daily life at the centre of every answer.

Goal-setting with clients

Show that goals come from the client, are measurable, and are reviewed.

Ask what matters: "What do you need to be able to do when you go home?"
Turn it into a measurable goal: who, what, how well, by when.
Agree it with the client, and family where appropriate.
Review it at set points and change it if their priorities change.

Example answer for an adult rehab OT:

"A retired teacher after a stroke told me the thing she missed most was making tea for her husband. So instead of a generic upper-limb goal, we set one for her to make a hot drink safely in the therapy kitchen, with set-up only, within three weeks. Every session tied back to that. She was motivated because it was hers."

"Tell me about a case you're proud of"

Pick a case where you made a decision that mattered, not just one with a happy ending. Say what was hard, what you tried, and what changed for the person.

Example answer for a pediatric OT:

"A six-year-old was refusing to write in class and his teacher saw it as behaviour. My assessment showed weak hand strength and poor sitting posture, so writing was tiring and frustrating. I adjusted his chair and table height, gave the teacher three two-minute warm-ups to do with the whole class, and worked on hand strength through play in our sessions. By the end of term he was writing short sentences without meltdowns, and his teacher kept using the warm-ups."

Discharge planning

The best answers show discharge starts at the first session. Talk about the home, the people around the client, and what happens after you leave.

"I start asking about home on day one: stairs, bathroom layout, who's there to help. That shapes my goals. Before discharge I check the client can do their key tasks the way they'll do them at home, order the equipment early, and teach the carer, not just the client. If the plan isn't safe, I say so clearly in the team meeting, even when there's pressure on beds."

Questions by setting

Interviewers tailor questions to the setting. Prepare for the ones in yours.

Setting	What they often ask about	What to show
Pediatrics and schools	Sensory needs, handwriting, working with teachers and parents	You can explain your plan to non-therapists and build it into the school day
Inpatient rehab	ADL retraining, transfers, team meetings, discharge pressure	Clear priorities and safe discharge recommendations
Skilled nursing	Long-term goals, cognition, carer training	Patience, realistic goals and working with nursing staff
Mental health	Routines, groups, motivation	Using activity to build structure and confidence
Hand therapy	Splinting, post-surgical protocols	Precision and close work with surgeons

Mistakes to avoid

Mistake	Why it hurts	Try instead
Describing only impairments	Misses what makes OT different	Link every goal to an everyday activity
"The family was difficult"	Families are part of the work	Say how you found common ground
A case with no decision in it	Shows what happened, not how you think	Name the choice you made and why
Generic reasons for the setting	Sounds like you'd take any job	One experience that drew you to this setting

Your "case you're proud of" answer should take about two minutes out loud. Check your timing with the speech length calculator and practice saying it, because a case that reads well can sound rushed when spoken. Speaking Coach can play the hiring manager and ask why you chose each goal.