Part 4: Nail the Interview
So now you know what you want and you’ve done your homework. You spent countless hours envisioning your future and the perfect program. You can see yourself walking down the halls of the perfect setting for training. Only one thing stands in your way: The Interview.
As you’ve heard time and time again, the application gets you an interview. The interview is often what makes the difference. Yes, many programs may have pre-determined metrics that put you at an advantage or disadvantage before they’ve even met you. This does not mean you can’t improve your fate. I know for sure the interview CAN HARM YOU if you are not well prepared or if you convey any of the following:
- Too arrogant
- Poor social skills
- Poor language skills
- Dispassionate
- Disingenuous
- Untruthful
- Unintelligent
- Condesending
- Lazy
- Sloppy
On the other hand, every year there are applicants who pull away from the pack because of their ability to deliver a message that resonates well with the program. Assuming you have aligned your applications and interviews with programs that are indeed a good fit for you, then your task at the interview is to solidify the message you spent so much time pulling together. With that in mind, why wouldn’t you prepare well for each and every interview?
Remember key traits you want to convey such as:
- Maturity
- Intelligence
- Hard Work
- Good Social Skills
- Self Awareness
- Good Humor
- Leadership
- Perseverance
Here’s a simple truth. You have to have good people skills to interview well. All your years of being an introvert and scoring well on tests will offer you nothing at this point. For many medical students, this means stepping way out of the comfort zone. Well here’s a news flash. Being a good doctor means stepping out of the comfort zone and thriving on a daily basis. You might as well get used to it. You will never be a good doctor if you don’t learn to connect with people. Your patients and colleagues will need you to communicate well with passion and knowledge for years to come.
For those that are already good schmoozers out there, this should not be much of a challenge. At the same time, if you have overly relied on your social skills, you are also likely the student who has major gaps in other areas, like scores or research. Remember, very few applicants have it all. That’s ok. Breath. Compose yourself. Know thyself. Face the truth of it all and come up with an approach that will help you accomplish your goal. Hiding from your weaknesses won’t work now or at any point in your career. It’s not about you being perfect. It’s about you having the talent combined with the maturity to always do what is best for the patient. That’s what programs are trying to sort out. Can you recognize your weaknesses, adjust, and stay focussed on the goal (treating the patient, or in this case, matching)?
The first step is to come prepared with knowledge specific to each program and key players as described in Part 3 https://thedocmentor.com/residency-match-how-to-succeed-p3/ . Having done this homework will fuel you with a series of questions to ask. There will be gaps in what you can learn from the website. Seek out those gaps as conversation starters. “Dr. Thomas, it wasn’t clear to me from your presentation or the website how much time is dedicated to critical care education in your curriculum. Could you speak to that?” Any targeted and specific questions will help you come across as mature and very interested in the program.
Have a folio of nice material that is plain and “adult looking” with a list of questions ready to go. You should not necessarily read this as a script, but rather have it ready to go when there are pauses, gaps in conversation, or opportunities to ask questions. Staring out and saying “um, um, um” or “I don’t have any questions” reflect disinterest and poor preparation. You should always be prepared to keep conversation going through your homework, knowledge of the program and questions you have prepared. You become the life of the party when you can keep control of the interaction. Remember also that many of the people you are interviewing with are also introverts. They may lack the skills to keep a conversation going. The difference is they are scoring you.
In addition to having prepared questions, you need to think about your presentation. While diversity is central to the success of any organization, being too different from the intended audience during the interview process may not serve you well. You are still being judged by people who don’t know you yet. Don’t be so arrogant and unfair that you overlook this fact. You can’t change anything from the outside. You have to get in first. If you feel you are changing yourself too much for an interview, then maybe you haven’t chosen the right field or programs. There is indeed a home for everyone. This goes back to knowing yourself and doing your homework. Please embrace who you are and be yourself. Life is too long to be a fake. You will make the world better for it. During interview season, make sure you are making good choices to help you accomplish your goals.
Is your appearance consistent with the message you have developed?
While I don’t enjoy a sea of black suits on interview day, I also understand that this is the color of the interview process. The point here is that you should be well dressed and well prepared to appear mature and successful. Any shade of black, grey, blue or brown are pretty well accepted. Pastels and bright colors are cool for Derby Day and Spring, but maybe less ideal here. Suits are well received. Polished shoes (not patent leather) that are not boots and not too casual are recommended. If you want to wear heals, choose a reasonable and comfortable height and make sure you can walk smoothly in them. This is not the time to learn. If you are stumbling around during the interview you will come across as not well rehearsed. Hair should be orderly and washed. If static or bangs cause you trouble, find a fix.
Accessories like watches should be consistent with a mature and goal directed message. Get a cheap $20 watch from a one of the “marts” that looks like a higher end product. I advise against smart watches. Even if you silence it, humans are prone to look at alerts from these devices. You don’t want yourself or the interviewer paying more attention to the watch than the interview. Leave it at home or in your luggage. Jewelry should be limited and not too flashy. I myself am a fan of odd socks, but don’t go overboard with flare and flash. Get a leather belt if you intend to wear one. Look the part. Makeup should be subtle. Ties should be tied well and all the way up. Collars should be even and straight. Glasses should not have chips or be damaged or crooked. Doctors interviewing you have OCD and will be thrown off by even small things that bring your preparedness and awareness into question.
Luggage. You will have it. Leave it at the hotel, in your car, or anywhere where you are not a burden for the program. Many programs are very cool and accommodating as they understand you have luggage, but do you really want to be the one person the one time the program doesn’t want to deal with it? Get into a rhythm of not being a burden to others. Programs don’t want burden. In addition, showing up with luggage gives more of a “I’m ready to leave” vibe. You want to give a “I’m ready to be here” vibe.
Now that you have the look, bring the right attitude also. Remember this: there is nothing more important on the day of the interview than that particular interview at that specific program. Tune out your problems. You took the time and paid the money. Go all in that day. You need to bring positive energy and make every room in every interview think that you are the best candidate for their program. Your goal is to be ranked #1 everywhere you go to give yourself the best chance of matching at your #1. The last room at the last interview should feel like the first room at the first interview. If you can’t do that you chose poorly or accepted too many interviews.
Show up on time. Know where you are supposed to be before getting there. Expect a presentation at some point. Some programs do dinner or a reception the night prior or of. Some do a lunch. Some do nothing additional. Some make it optional. If something is offered, you should go. It may be a litmus test to gauge your interest. If you are not interested enough to go to the extras, then why are you interviewing there? You want to get a good feel for every program and vice versa. If you can’t make it because of travel, then just let the Coordinator/Administrator know in advance. It’s expected that this may occur. Ask about dress code for the extras because you may have to pack accordingly.
If you have done your homework, you will know what you are getting into. This will help your confidence. If you have questions prepared, this will help you spark conversation. It’s ok to ask similar questions to multiple people, assuming those higher level insightful questions and not low brow stuff that was easily answered on the website or in the program presentation. If you prepared to present yourself well, with clothes that look good, fit and are comfortable, then you will feel good about your best self.
You should be able to navigate through each room with confidence at this point. Typically each room will have one physician alone, one physician with another or with a resident, or a resident alone. On occasion there may be several doctors interviewing you at once. Less often, there will be a panel of doctors interviewing you, or worse, a panel of doctors interviewing several applicants at once. While I am not a fan of this, it happens. If you do your homework you will know the approach of the programs you are interviewing at. Again, the less surprises you encounter behind each door, the better you will perform.
Bring your doctor specific questions too. Keep the conversation going. Make friends. Friends will rank you higher.
Before entering, spark up some positive vibes. Smile intentionally. Think of a good joke or watch something funny online. Silence, or better, turn off your phone. Once you are through the door be yourself, but the best version. Sit up straight. Smile again. Talk clearly and with good pronunciation. Be patient. Don’t interrupt. It’s ok to pause and think a second before answering. Don’t rush because you may run out of things to talk about.
Expect standard questions. Prepare answers to these. Practice answers. Also be prepared to answer questions about weaknesses in you application with maturity. Practice answers to these questions also.
Questions to expect:
- Tell me about yourself. Don’t just list off your CV or academic pedigree. Many students just ramble off where they went to school. Go back to your story. What makes you special? Give them a taste of who you really are.
- Why did you chose to interview at our program? Go back to your homework. If you can’t answer this well, then you shouldn’t be interviewing there.
- What makes you a better applicant? If you can’t answer this then don’t bother. Reread P1 – P3.
- Tell me about your weaknesses/greatest weakness/biggest mistake. Here you need to focus on how you handled adversity and/or how you learned something. We all make mistakes. Pick something that is not superficial, but that also doesn’t make you look stupid. “I’m too much of a perfectionist” is crap. Don’t use that.
- What are your hobbies?
- What do you do outside of medicine?
- What are you looking for out of residency?
- What do you plan to do after residency?
- Do you have any interest in research?
If there are questions you are scared to get, then YOU NEED TO PREPARE for them. Expect that your whole application may get torn apart and interrogated. Practice with a friend, mentor, or mirror how you will verbally respond to a very uncomfortable question. “So tell my about this DUI.” “Why did you do so poorly on Step 2?” “Do you not test well?” “Tell me why Dr. Jacobsen did not write such a good letter for you.” Be ready.
There is a whole series of odd questions and standard questions. If you know what you want and you are prepared, you will be able to handle them all. If you have positive energy and smile (so simple, so effective) those interviewing you will like you. If you have a good application and you picked the right programs to look at, then all you have to do is take your notes and put your list together.
Easy.