Advice for contacting PDs for interviews

[shoenberg3]

First of all, I apologize for creating an entirely new thread for this - I ran a search in this forum but could not find information.

After submission of ERAS on Sept. 28 of this year, I am still sitting on very few interviews. Certainly, I am extremely grateful for the few that I got, but I must admit I am getting quite nervous about the prospect of not matching this year. I knew it was always going to be an uphill battle as an international graduate, but still..

So, I understand that the best way to garner interest from programs is to 1) do an away there or 2) have someone reach out on your behalf.

I am going to try #2 but I do not really have that many connections to help me out.

So if I were to cold email the PD about my interest, what would be a way to maximize my chances of getting my application a second look? Of course, having genuine reasons that I would be a good match to their program (e.g. geography) would be the most important. To that end, what would be some compelling reasons beyond the obvious ones? And what of the format - in terms of length of email, method etc. (for instance, better to contact PDs directly or through the coordinator)?

I would really appreciate some perspective from the other end. I am sure that PDs receive a deluge of emails like this, and so I wonder what might be most effective way to stand out (and not in a bad way).

Thank you for your help.

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[yanks26dmb]

I did this and got a bunch of interviews I wouldn't have likely gotten. Be authentic. Tailor the email to the program. And send them now...don't wait too long.

 

[clozareal]

Just email the program director directly and tell them why they are one of your top choices, especially if it's a personal reason (location, closer to family, research interest, etc.). Don't do this with more than a couple of programs otherwise you'll be seen as sleazy (PDs talk).

 

[shoomer]

I would also CC the program coordinator.

 

[surfguy84]

Just email the program director directly and tell them why they are one of your top choices, especially if it's a personal reason (location, closer to family, research interest, etc.). Don't do this with more than a couple of programs otherwise you'll be seen as sleazy (PDs talk).

I'll disagree with part of this. I sent letters to maybe my top 20 or so. I got a lot of interviews out of them. I was honest in each email and could have honestly seen myself going to any of them.

 

[clozareal]

I'll disagree with part of this. I sent letters to maybe my top 20 or so. I got a lot of interviews out of them. I was honest in each email and could have honestly seen myself going to any of them.

I guess it's different now that you don't have to go on a flight and interview in person at each one of these places, but most applicants don't apply to more than 10-15 programs let alone have a top 20 to send PD letters to.

 

[splik]

I guess it's different now that you don't have to go on a flight and interview in person at each one of these places, but most applicants don't apply to more than 10-15 programs let alone have a top 20 to send PD letters to.

The average applicant applies to over 40 programs these days. I advise even my top top students to apply to 20 programs. it is a very different game these days. I dont think it is because of virtual interviews as we were trending this way before the pandemic.

also this yr we have "signaling" where you let your top programs know who they are when you submit your application. so if you write letters to programs about how much you want to interview there that you didnt signal in your application it is less likely to carry weight than in previous years (barring a very good explanation). Programs can filter this year by your stated geographic preferences and whether you signaled them as a top choice and many will be doing so. Again, if there is a discrepancy between your stated geogrphic preference in your app and an email to a program, it likely won't carry much weight.

OP, it is still early, many/most programs send out interview invites in batches/waves so I would not be too concerned at this point.

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

I was part of the admissions comitttee for a year during residency and people like when you genuinely seem interested. Though I think we can also spot when its a generic/mass sent email to every program in an attempt to hedge your bets. Residency programs don't just want naturally smart people. You can make a good psychiatrist out of someone with time- they want a hard worker who is personable, flexible, and easy to work with since its four years of your life. Once you get to the interview part, I think personality plays such a huge impact and even before that part, hinting at the idea that you're a likeable human being is also advantageous

 

[esob]

The question is, did you signal these programs? Opinions are mixed, but if you send a LOI but didn't signal the program or region, it might be construed differently compared to previous cycles where there was no signaling.

 

[whopper]

You contact a program you run the risk of pissing them off. Several times we'd get desperate applicants who could not provide a substantive reason to accept them other than the "please please please."

If some of them became intrusive and disruptive I told the program coordinator to literally just rip up their application. One less headache to worry about. Oh, just another 30 people calling up our coordinator and being disruptive. Seriously. Do I sound mean and heartless? We cannot give one applicant favoritism over another. Some of these applicants treated the coordinator like she was a lowly servant cause she wasn't a doctor.

 

[shoenberg3]

Thank you all for your responses. Very helpful, particularly in regards to considering my signals and geographic preferences. I might send an email to 1-2 of my signals soon (I did get two invites from my signals, so it appears that they are playing an important part this year).

You contact a program you run the risk of pissing them off. Several times we'd get desperate applicants who could not provide a substantive reason to accept them other than the "please please please."

If some of them became intrusive and disruptive I told the program coordinator to literally just rip up their application. One less headache to worry about. Oh, just another 30 people calling up our coordinator and being disruptive. Seriously. Do I sound mean and heartless? We cannot give one applicant favoritism over another. Some of these applicants treated the coordinator like she was a lowly servant cause she wasn't a doctor.

Yes, I was concerned that programs might also take it that way. What would be an example of a substantive reason (besides location) that would not come across as mere desperation? Or is there rarely a good reason?

 

[whopper]

Unless it's substantive such as you just got a paper published and you want them to factor that into your decision, the more you try to contact a program the more desperate you could appear.

 

[Traveler2016]

Thank you all for your responses. Very helpful, particularly in regards to considering my signals and geographic preferences. I might send an email to 1-2 of my signals soon (I did get two invites from my signals, so it appears that they are playing an important part this year).



Yes, I was concerned that programs might also take it that way. What would be an example of a substantive reason (besides location) that would not come across as mere desperation? Or is there rarely a good reason?

You could also refer to a particular strength of their program that you're interested in. This could be a clinical strength or a research strength. Do your research on the program and find out what unique features you like about it. E.g. "I really want to focus on ECT and I know that this program has one of the largest ECT services in the country." Email once and then leave it alone. I also got a couple of interviews this way, though I agree that "signaling" seems like it might be complicating things.