15 Medical Assistant Interview Questions

So, you want to snag an amazing job as a medical assistant? Medical Assistants are currently in high demand at medical facilities, hospitals, and private practices across the country. Whether you are just starting out in the current job market or you are hoping to make a lateral career move, the competition out there can be tough.

To help you take advantage of the best available opportunities, consider this list of fifteen interview questions that you might come across during the hiring process. You should definitely consider how you would personally handle each of these questions before you suit up for your first meeting with the HR department of the medical facility where you want to work. Working as a medical assistant can be quite competitive, so it is best to be prepared in order to get a leg up on the competition.

Here are some questions to consider in preparing for your upcoming medical assistant interview:

1. Who are you?

Interviewers would simply like to get a feel for who they are talking to at this point. Tell them who you are, why you are there, and offer a few interesting details to catch their interest. Keep it short and sweet and remember not to offer too much personal information at this point. People who are nervous tend to get overly chatty at the beginning of the hiring process, so keep that in mind.

2. What is your educational background?

Be prepared to talk a bit about your educational experiences and how they have prepared you to do the job that you are seeking. If you are involved in professional organizations, don’t forget to put that out there as well.

3. What type of certifications do you hold?

Every field has qualifications that make you a more marketable and desirable job candidate. Make sure you hold the necessary certifications, and if you don’t be sure to explain how and when you are going to obtain them. Also, include any related titles that you might hold even though they aren’t required.

4. What work experiences have you had outside of the medical field?

Interviewers are looking for well rounded individuals who bring the best skills to the table. Think about other jobs that you have held in the past and how on the job training from that experience could apply to the field of medical assisting.

5. What unique skills do you bring to the workplace?

This is the million dollar question. Here is your chance to shine. Convince these people to hire you already. Now is not the time to be modest. Sell your skills to the interview team.

6. What do you have that other medical assistants do not, and how are you going to make an impact.

Your job is to make the interviewer feel that letting you walk out the door without a job offer would be a mistake.

7. How do you handle the stress of working as an assistant at a very busy medical facility or practice?

Interviewers are doing a little fishing here. If you have already convinced them that you are the best candidate for the job, they simply want to make sure that there aren’t any red flags here. You want to exude calm and poise in your response. If the phone is ringing, there is a patient waiting for assistance, and a nurse is asking you a question, please explain how you would manage this particular scenario.

Interviewers love to throw out hypothetical scenarios at prospective employees. Listen carefully to the question and then give your most logical, reasonable response. Don’t hem and haw and talk through it out loud. It is perfectly acceptable to pause for a minute to think about the scenario presented, prepare your response, and then reply.

8. How do you plan to further expand your career knowledge once you are hired?

Interviewers want to get a return on their investment. There are a lot of continuing education opportunities out there for people in the medical field. Identify a few that you find appealing and be ready to share when this question comes up.

9. Why do you want to work for our company?

In order to answer this question, you have to do a little homework before the actual interview. Find out a bit more about the company and the perks or services that it offers. Try to identify something you like about the place that is not related to the amount of money that the job pays. If you are interviewing at multiple facilities, take a few notes with you so that you are sure to keep your facts straight.

10. What is your area of specialty as a medical assistant?

Identify an important part of the job that you are really good at and don’t be afraid to brag a little bit. What types of tasks do you struggle with or find difficult? Tread lightly here. This is a job interview, not a therapy session. No one is perfect but this is not the time to talk about your shortcomings as a medical assistant. Choose something that almost everyone in the field finds difficult and then transition into how you overcome this difficulty on the job.

11. What salary range do you hope to earn?

This question may or not come up at this stage in the interview. If you have a specific number in mind, be sure that it meshes with what the company is prepared to offer. Again proceed with caution, you don’t want to come across as unaffordable but you also don’t want to sell yourself short. Try to remain flexible without throwing out a specific number at this point if you can.

12. What kind of coworker are you?

Interviewers want to know that you can work and play well with others. Again, this is another chance to sell your skills and too show how you would be an asset to the practice.

13. When are you available to work?

14. Do you have any scheduling restrictions?

At some places, the schedule will not be flexible so this question might not always make the list. If it does, you want to seem available and willing to work whenever necessary. At this point, you should only mention restrictions that are absolutely unavoidable in nature such as attending weekly religious services. You will have time to work out the fine details of your schedule once you actually have the job.

15. Do you have any questions for the interview team?

The answer is always yes. You should always be prepared to ask at least one question to the interviewer or HR team. If there are specific questions related to the position, now is the time to ask them. If all of those questions have already been answered, then asking a general, positive question like, “What is the best part of working here?” is always a safe bet.

Good Luck with your upcoming medical assistant job search. With these 15 medical assistant interview questions in mind, you should be well prepared to ace your interview, and eventually land the job of your dreams.

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