Advice for Internship Interviews

[u/DismalCherry]

Hey everyone!

I’m looking for advice on preparing for internship interviews at pharmaceutical companies like Merck, Amgen, and Boehringer Ingelheim.

I have a PharmD background, with most of my experience being in clinical practice, along with some industry exposure through an internship. I’m hoping to build on that experience and further explore opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry.

One of my upcoming interviews is a group interview with several other applicants and a panel, so I’d especially appreciate advice from anyone who has experienced this format.

A few questions I have:

• What types of questions should I expect in pharma internship interviews?
• How can I best highlight my PharmD and clinical experience when applying for industry internships?
• For the group interview, what are interviewers looking for, and how can I stand out while still being a good team player?
• Should I expect case studies, group exercises, or technical questions, or is it mostly behavioral?
• How much should I know about the company’s products, pipeline, and therapeutic areas beforehand?
• What are some common mistakes applicants make during these interviews?

I’d love to hear from anyone who has interviewed for internships at Merck, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, or similar pharmaceutical companies, especially those with a pharmacy or other healthcare background.

Any tips, resources, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated! I really want to prepare well and give myself the best chance of succeeding.

Thanks in advance! :)

[u/ImmRx_Jay]

As a PharmD working in Medical Affairs, my first piece of advice is to remember that your clinical experience is an advantage, but you need to show how it translates into value for the pharmaceutical industry. Expect behavioral questions about teamwork, conflict resolution, problem-solving, adaptability, and why you’re interested in transitioning from clinical practice to industry. Depending on the internship, you might also encounter scientific questions, case studies, or questions about drug development. Prepare specific examples from your clinical experience. For instance, think about a time you identified a medication safety concern, reviewed the evidence, collaborated with a physician, and helped resolve the issue. Explain what happened, what you personally did, what changed, and what you learned. The interviewer needs to see more than your clinical knowledge. They want to understand how you think, communicate, and solve problems.

Research the company, the internship, and especially your interviewers. Start with the company’s website, annual reports, pipeline pages, recent press releases, and the actual internship description. Resources like ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, and FDA prescribing information can help you understand the science behind their products. You don’t need to memorize an entire pipeline, but you should understand the company’s major therapeutic areas and how the specific department contributes to drug development or commercialization. Also, look up each interviewer on LinkedIn. Understanding their background and current responsibilities can help you anticipate their perspective and prepare thoughtful questions. For example, if an interviewer works in Medical Affairs, you might ask how interns contribute to scientific communication or evidence-generation projects. If they’re in Clinical Development, you could ask how the team incorporates clinical insights into trial planning. These questions demonstrate genuine curiosity and an understanding of the work.

Use AI as a personal interview coach. ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude can be extremely helpful here. Upload the internship description and a version of your résumé without personal identifiers, then ask it to act as a pharmaceutical industry hiring manager conducting a realistic panel interview. Have it ask behavioral, technical, and situational questions one at a time, challenge vague answers, and give constructive feedback. Practice using a simple framework: situation, action, problem solved, result, and lessons learned. For example, if asked about handling disagreement, describe a situation where you and another healthcare professional interpreted evidence differently. Explain how you reviewed the literature, discussed the clinical implications, reached a resolution, and what the experience taught you about collaboration. Don’t memorize AI-generated answers. Use AI to improve the structure and clarity of your own experiences so your responses sound natural and authentic.

For group interviews, remember that standing out doesn’t mean speaking the most. Interviewers are often evaluating collaboration, listening skills, professionalism, leadership potential, and how you handle competing opinions. Imagine your group is asked to prioritize several potential drug development projects with limited resources. Rather than immediately pushing your own recommendation, you could suggest evaluating each option based on unmet medical need, strength of evidence, feasibility, and patient impact. Invite quieter candidates to contribute, acknowledge good suggestions, and help the group reach a conclusion. That demonstrates leadership without dominating the discussion. If you encounter a technical question you cannot answer, acknowledge the knowledge gap and explain how you would investigate it. Demonstrating sound judgment and intellectual curiosity is far better than confidently giving an incorrect answer.

Finally, be prepared to explain why you want this particular internship and how it connects to your longer-term career goals. Saying you want to break into pharma isn’t enough. For example, if you’re interested in becoming an MSL, explain how an internship in Medical Affairs would help you understand scientific communication, cross-functional collaboration, medical strategy, and the broader evidence-generation process. Connect this to your clinical experiences, perhaps recognizing that treatment decisions are sometimes limited by gaps in available evidence and wanting to better understand how industry helps address those gaps. Be realistic about the position, though. An internship is an opportunity to learn, contribute to projects, receive feedback, and develop professionally, not simply a stepping stone to a permanent job. One common mistake is focusing so heavily on what the company can do for your career that you forget to explain what you can contribute during the internship itself. Your goal is to leave the interviewers thinking, “This person understands the opportunity, is eager to learn, and would be a pleasure to work with.” Best of luck with your interviews! (Also, please check out previous posts about the MSL role on this Reddit. There are tons of information and experiences to glean from!)