most bizarre interview moment?

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While not particularly funny, I did have one very unusual interview. For starters I introduced myself to the wrong Dr. X because he shares an office with another Dr. X, both of whom have first names I wouldn't presume to try and pronounce unassisted! After we figure out who I am and who my interviewer is supposed to be I discover he's not a native english speaker, has a VERY thick accent, and has to pause to search for the right words while asking questions. But I'm okay and just try to listen very hard and not ask him to repeat himself too many times.:oops:

So then he starts asking questions along the lines of...

1- explain Anthropology to me. (my undergrad)

2- explain the Pulmonary system to me. :eek: (I did the deer in the headlights thing for a few seconds and then recovered, I think!)

3- What do you think about my country?

4- what do you think about George Bush's politics?

5- explain the differences between Black and White (cultures!)

A few more gems like that and all in 20 minutes!:eek: I left with my head reeling!

T

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I had an opportunity to interview before finishing most of the pre-reqs or taking mcats or anything for a certain medical prgm. At the time of the interview i was going thru one of those "is medicine what i REALLY want" stages, so i never really prepared. So many things went wrong in the interview...but every time i look back i'm so thankful that it wasn't a "real" interview.

For example, aside from arriving 30 minutes late, i was surprised that the person that interviewed me was underdressed. Linen pants, Steve Madden sandels...nothing too special. She starts out with the tell me about yourself Q, which i was totally not expecting...i thought we were going to talk about my application, turns out it was a closed file interview.

I answered with the wrong answer every time, failed to mention any of my research experiences, clinical, and when she asked what were my hobbies i said i like to cook and am planning to learn sewing over the summer. She looked at me like i was the most backward person she ever saw...then later she hit me with the "what happens if you don't get into med school"--then she adds--"are you going to be a chef...or a seamstress (sarcastically)???"

Definitely learned a lot from that experience though!
 
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Here's my interview story...

I was interviewing at a school and the day before the interview was a beautiful day so I decided to go for a walk. Well, as I am walking my eye starts to itch. I reach up and scratch my eye, and - just great - my contact falls out. I am looking all over the ground to find my contact but it is nowhere to be found. At that time I didn't have disposable contacts so I didn't have an extra pair, and I hate how I look in my glasses so the next day I go to my interview with only one contact. I am getting more and more dizzy as the day goes on (seeing that I only have one fully functional eye and one really blurry one) and by the time I interviewed in the afternoon I had such a headache and could barely focus on my three interviewers. I had to keep pretending to wipe my contact-less eye so I could cover it for a while and focus with my good eye. I couldn't wait until that interview was over. And to make things worse, they asked me weird questions like, "If you could be any type of animal what would you be and why?" Not good questions for a person whose head is spinning.

(And at that point I decided that from now on I wanted disposable contacts. :D )
 
This was for a corporate internship.

Our career services office told us it would show maturity if we asked a question to the effect of, "How you do manage a busy working schedule with a family life" during our interview.

So during my interview with Morgan Stanley, I asked this middle age guy: "The two things that are important to me are success in my career and a good family life. Given the busy schedules that traders work, how would you recommend balancing the two."

The guy said: "Uhhh... I dunno. I haven't had much luck with that. Been divorced a couple of times. When you're at work, you need to be focusing on that. Nothing else matters on the job."

It was awkward for him, but it was even worse for me. Needless to say, I did not get the job (despite having aced the rest of the interview).
 
I just got back from my first interview. The guy told me to sit down, then continued to work for about 10 minutes on the paper he'd been writing when I came in. Finally he pushed away the computer keyboard, turned to me, and said, "I want you to understand that most of the people I interview end up crying. The door is right there if it gets to be too much for you."

I started to smile thinking of course he was just breaking the ice with a little joke at my expense. He wasn't. :eek:
Dude did not smile once the entire hour I was in there.
 
I have 2 strange experience:

1) At Baylor, the interviewer filled out my evaulation right in front of me and gave it to me to read before he sent in via inter-office mail.

2) At Duke, the lady interviewer gave me a hugh and did all the talking in the interview.

I have been lucky to have such nice interviewers. None of them really talked about my application. We pretty much talked about life and stuff...
 
Originally posted by swankydude
I have 2 strange experience:

1) At Baylor, the interviewer filled out my evaulation right in front of me and gave it to me to read before he sent in via inter-office mail.

2) At Duke, the lady interviewer gave me a hugh and did all the talking in the interview.

I have been lucky to have such nice interviewers. None of them really talked about my application. We pretty much talked about life and stuff...

I had the same experience at Baylor! I wonder if it was the same guy (mine was the student interviewer).
 
Okay, so first of all Ihave tried out for almost every campus organization at my school. I make it to the individual interview every time, and then get cut. So I consider myself a pro at messing up interviews. (really...I wrote my AMCAS essay on not making a certain organization for a third time.) So, yeah, my favorite interview (Junior year) goes something like this....

Interviewer: So what are your plans for the future?
Me: well, I've been thinking about medicine. Or maybe pharmacy.
Inter: Oh, that's....
Me: (interupting) Or maybe meteorology.
Inter: Well...
Me: Or maybe education. Or maybe nursing.
Inter: So...
Me: Or maybe an astronaut. I'm very indecisive. (laughing nervously)
Inter: Hmmm...sounds like you have big plans.
Me: Yeah, well, I guess so. Kinda. I'm just not sure of anything right now. (laugh even more nervously)

So the rest of the interview was about the same. hopefully I'll get a little better by the time I'm meeting with schools.
 
i had one interviewer who was wearing a black, inside out t-shirt tucked into blue, swishy adidas jogging pants, with big, brown, untied timberland boots, and really messy hair. as i came into his office, he tossed a blue blazer over the t-shirt...

definitely gave the interview a laid-back feel.
 
A must-read thread. We should have a whole new batch of these soon.

Keep 'em coming!!!
 
OK, so I just had my interview at U of Chicago Pritzker.
It's true that most interviews are very laid back and conversational, in fact I kinda like the school.

Before my faculty interview (2nd out of 2), I talked to two other people who had the same interviewer as mine, but had that interviewer earlier. Both of these interviewees said it was a very relaxed and conversational interview, so that's what I expected.

Even we were walking to the room, the interviewer told me he would make it an easy one. Everything was fine until he started asking me, "So Pharmacy, nursing, etc. are all in shortage, why do you choose medicine?" It wasn't a particularly hard question but I wasn't preparing for questions like that.

Later on, the most bizarre question came, "If you're driving on I-55, and you're alone, plus your radio is not working, what will you be thinking?" I'm like what do you mean? Should I be thinking SOMETHING? So I gave a really lame answer, "Well, if I have no one to talk to, I can call up a friend on a cell phone??" He kinda smiled and explained that he wanted to know what I think when I'm not distracted by other things. So I just said, "Well, I'll think about what I have to do the following days, and if I just got out of an interview, I'll think about the good answers I should have given for all those questions!"

Finally, towards the end, he told me to ask him one question that he had asked me during the interview. I asked him the question about "Why medicine when other allied health fields are in shortage?" His answer was honest but surprised me. "I like to be in power, and to be able to make the decisions. Realizing that makes me feel that there're still much to learn"

After the interview, he even offered me a ride to my friend's place. In the car, he told me all about the wonderful things in Chicago and how he felt that Pritzker focused more on training thinking skills in science while Northwestern focused more on training clinical/surgical skills.

It may sound weird, but I actually ended up liking this interviewer, b/c he's honest and has such a distinct personality. I may not get into Pritzker though b/c I gave him some lame answers to some of his questions.
 
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So, hey calebho501, you were alone in his car with your interviewer. Did he try to make a move? Did he stop short? Did you? Did he take the long route?:laugh: :laugh:

Heck, if something happens it can only be to your own advantage.

dmitri
 
Just the other day, I was being interviewed at NEOUCOM and a sound system, hooked into the room I was being interviewed, started blasting someone giving a speech from another part of the building. It was pretty funny but wasted five minutes because the interviewers had to go figure out how to turn it off.
 
My very first interview last year was at Texas Tech. This OB/GYN was interviewing me. After introducing myself, I sat down. He opened my file and the very first thing out of his mouth was:

"So, your dad is a dentist, huh? I guess he and I have the same job - just staring at dark, stinky, pink holes all day long."

All I could do was nod and laugh. I felt like I was at a keg party.

true story
 
Originally posted by ms_tommy


"So, your dad is a dentist, huh? I guess he and I have the same job - just staring at dark, stinky, pink holes all day long."

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
Originally posted by ms_tommy
My very first interview last year was at Texas Tech. This OB/GYN was interviewing me. After introducing myself, I sat down. He opened my file and the very first thing out of his mouth was:

"So, your dad is a dentist, huh? I guess he and I have the same job - just staring at dark, stinky, pink holes all day long."

All I could do was nod and laugh. I felt like I was at a keg party.

true story


hahahah :laugh: :laugh:

That cracked me up! thanks for the laugh!

Ashwin
 
I'm hoping and praying that my interviewers have a sense of humor, or things could get ugly.
 
I just remembered an interview that my friend told me. Its not as good as some of the posts here, but here goes. He was applying for a job at an engineering firm, and of course he dressed up in a suit and tie. On the day of the interview, he was greeted by the interviewer who only wore T-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. Upon seeing my friend, the he then proceeded to tuck the T-shirt into his jeans...

~Darkwalk~
 
For a medical school. Mind you they throw a little shindig the night before your interview:

interviewer: Did you attend the shindig last night?
Me: No, I couldn't make it in time.
interviewer: Why not?
Me: I was at a friend's funeral yesterday afternoon.
interviewer: oh...

Yes that was the truth, the interviewer then lost his smugness for the rest of hte interview.
 
During most of my med school interviews, I only had rather general questions about the research I had done. One interviewer, however, grilled me on the protocols we used, particularly in how we guarded against contamination of the samples. I explained in detail the precautions we used but he continued to insist that it was not sufficient.

Finally I told him, I did it that way because the MD/PhD running the lab told me to do it that way. He, thankfully, dropped the subject and the rest of the interview went well.
 
Originally posted by spumoni620
Hmm...so far the most bizarre/embarrassing moment was at one interview two weeks ago. Trying to show my punctuality and dedication, i arrived at the interview site ~ 5 minutes early. he was still interviewing with another person. after 10 mins, she comes out and he follows, looks at me and sort of growls, terminator-esque, "wait here. i'll be back." a long period of waiting follows where i'm deflated, wondering whether i made a mistake by coming too early--shouldn't i have known he'd need a break in b/t interviews? etc. etc. finally he comes and i follow him inside. he seems kind of frazzled & stern at the same time, like he's nervous but trying to act like he's cool. he extends his hand out and i, mustering up my confidence, reach out to try to shake his hands. after all i've read about the importance of a firm and steady handshake--just the right amount of squeeze, confidence, and precision. except....our hands miss (ouch, embarrassment :oops: ) and then i try again, and our hands miss again...and i think at this point both of us are flustered and i'm apologizing and trying not to burst out laughing. but finally we manage to get a weird grip (my fingers are like half-on his thumb) and the handshake occurs.

the rest of the interview was semi-normal to okay...except he kept interrupting my answers, kept writing furiously, and seemed strangely nervous. i have absolutely no idea to this day how the interview went...

just wondering...how do you miss a handshake twice?
 
Originally posted by dmitrinyr
So, hey calebho501, you were alone in his car with your interviewer. Did he try to make a move? Did he stop short? Did you? Did he take the long route?:laugh: :laugh:

Heck, if something happens it can only be to your own advantage.

dmitri

OH boy.....:p
 
bumpity bump bump... this is too good of a thread to go unread!
 
keep the stories coming..............
 
at my george washington interview, i ended the interview by saying, i definitely think that g-town is the best choice for me. I died in my chair and my interviewer just smiled at me as I fumbled to correct my mistake.
 
Originally posted by finnpipette
at my george washington interview, i ended the interview by saying, i definitely think that g-town is the best choice for me. I died in my chair and my interviewer just smiled at me as I fumbled to correct my mistake.

omg that is hilarious :laugh: :laugh:
 
Alright, so I just got back from an interview at a "top-ten" school.... there were two interviews: the second was totally normal, even enthusiastic.... but the first! My goodness!!

The first interview was with this 60-something psychiatrist...

"Do you always talk this quickly, or are you just nervous because this is an interview?"
"I guess I always speak this fast"
"So you're not nervous?"
"I guess not really, no"
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Well, shouldn't you be nervous? It's a very important interview! Don't you think this is an important interview?"
"Umm, yes, of course. I guess I'm a bit nervous"
"So why did you say you weren't nervous??"
!!!!!!!

He then spent the rest of the interview asking me very vague questions such as,

"What do you think it was like for your parents to transition from living in Russia to the US?"

"Why do you think so many Russians enjoy ballroom dancing? Why don't you ballroom dance?"

And THEN he would interrupt all of my answers to tell me stories about Brighton and his experiences with Russians... he even threw in a fairly insulting story about how he was shopping for gafilte fish and there were all of these Russian women pawing through it.... :rolleyes:

Anyway, let's just say that if I didn't have a second, wonderful interviewer, that I might have just thrown in the towel right then and there.

- Quid
 
i've got a pretty good one at baylor.

my personal statement had a brief mention of a song that i played on the violin that meant a lot to me growing up.

and the pediatric anesthesiologist from harvard asks, "tell me about this song in your essay." so i told her about it.

"how interesting. can you play it?" she asks.
"yeah. but now?"
"well we don't have a violin here, but you can sing it right?"
"sure."
"sing it."
"ok."
<sings it>
"hey that was pretty good. thanks!"

that was pretty cool. and then the next interview i talked about houston chinatown for like 20 minutes. fun.
 
One of my interviewers told me that she made her own pants. Dang! That's just plain awesome...
 
this isnt a med school interview.. but it was an interview for undergrad at northwestern....

well anyways me and my interviewer started talking about comptuers/video games and some how it got to the point where i was telling how to pirate games for his ps2.... and then he told me he stole from the vending machine so much at NW that they had to put cages around them in his dorm.
 
Here's an awkward moment at my recent interview at an unamed school

The interviewer had asked me what my dream schools were, and after I listed my schools he basically told me I sucked too much to get in those school. He proceeded to ask me if I had a girlfriend:

Him: Do you have a girlfriend?
Me: Yes, I do
Him: Why do you like her?
Me: Well, she's smart, ambitious, and very understanding.
Him: Thats it?
Me: uh.. she's also really pretty ( I had avoided say that b/c i didnt want to sound shallow)
Him: Ok good, because xxxxxx city is a crappy place for single men, there are no bars or clubs for you to go do. You wouldn't survive.
Me: uh.... okay.

Next he points to a picture of a baby on a log in his office (one of those ann geddes baby pictures)

Him: Look at that picture, what do you see?
Me: Hmm... i see a A baby..
Him: uh huh..
Me: a baby, with butterfly wings.. on a log (at this point im just bewieldered)
Him: is that it?
Me: Uh... babies are precious?

So he abandons that tract of questioning and proceeds to destroy what was left my ego with the following exchange

Him: I see you went to Johns Hopkins.
Me: Yes
Him: Thats an excellent school. Just excellent. Their medical school, they take the cream of the cream.
Me: Yes, its a great medical school.
Him: Yes, cream of the cream. Not to offend you but you're like a FLY IN MILK to them.
Me: speechless
[awkward moment passes]
Me: Uh.. I didn't apply there.

Minutes later he says to me: I dont think you'll come here, but I'll give you a high admit anyway.

I was just happy to get out of that office. It was only 20 minutes but it felt like an hour. I think i can take any interview now. i hope.
 
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Originally posted by exmike
Here's an awkward moment at my recent interview at an unamed school

The interviewer had asked me what my dream schools were, and after I listed my schools he basically told me I sucked too much to get in those school. He proceeded to ask me if I had a girlfriend:

Him: Do you have a girlfriend?
Me: Yes, I do
Him: Why do you like her?
Me: Well, she's smart, ambitious, and very understanding.
Him: Thats it?
Me: uh.. she's also really pretty ( I had avoided say that b/c i didnt want to sound shallow)
Him: Ok good, because xxxxxx city is a crappy place for single men, there are no bars or clubs for you to go do. You wouldn't survive.
Me: uh.... okay.

Next he points to a picture of a baby on a log in his office (one of those ann geddes baby pictures)

Him: Look at that picture, what do you see?
Me: Hmm... i see a A baby..
Him: uh huh..
Me: a baby, with butterfly wings.. on a log (at this point im just bewieldered)
Him: is that it?
Me: Uh... babies are precious?

So he abandons that tract of questioning and proceeds to destroy what was left my ego with the following exchange

Him: I see you went to Johns Hopkins.
Me: Yes
Him: Thats an excellent school. Just excellent. Their medical school, they take the cream of the cream.
Me: Yes, its a great medical school.
Him: Yes, cream of the cream. Not to offend you but you're like a FLY IN MILK to them.
Me: speechless
[awkward moment passes]
Me: Uh.. I didn't apply there.

Minutes later he says to me: I dont think you'll come here, but I'll give you a high admit anyway.

I was just happy to get out of that office. It was only 20 minutes but it felt like an hour. I think i can take any interview now. i hope.

:( exmike, that's terrible. i don't understand how interviewers can make such arrogant statements. grr...oh well, you handled it really well though :) ~
 
I'm scared! My first interview is next week, maybe it wasn't such a great idea to read this thread before... :(
 
This is the most bizarre experience yet, at Albert Einstein.

So when I was back in high school, I signed up for a Yahoo! Email account, and I have always liked the name "Mike", and there was this TV show I watched and one of the actor was called Mike Damus, so my email address ended up to be [email protected]

I continued using this address when I applied to AMCAS. When my interviewer at Einstein read it, she was like, Oh my gosh, do you know Mike Damus? I was like no, but I was trying to make up a name for my email address and I just randomly picked a name.

Then my interviewer took me that one of her colleagues was Mike Damus' mom, and she has also met the actor herself.

I was like...wow, what's the chance of that?
 
damn mike.....

its amazing how interviews at different schools can be so damn drastically different.....
 
Originally posted by exmike
Here's an awkward moment at my recent interview at an unamed school

Him: I see you went to Johns Hopkins.
Me: Yes
Him: Thats an excellent school. Just excellent. Their medical school, they take the cream of the cream.
Me: Yes, its a great medical school.
Him: Yes, cream of the cream. Not to offend you but you're like a FLY IN MILK to them.
Me: speechless
[awkward moment passes]
Me: Uh.. I didn't apply there.

I haven't yet, but one of my classmates received a disapproving question tirad about attending Hopkins grad school.
 
Originally posted by XCanadianRagwee
I haven't yet, but one of my classmates received a disapproving question tirad about attending Hopkins grad school.

is it bad to attend grad school at hopkins?
i am a little puzzled!
 
Originally posted by exmike
Here's an awkward moment at my recent interview at an unamed school

The interviewer had asked me what my dream schools were, and after I listed my schools he basically told me I sucked too much to get in those school. He proceeded to ask me if I had a girlfriend:

Him: Do you have a girlfriend?
Me: Yes, I do
Him: Why do you like her?
Me: Well, she's smart, ambitious, and very understanding.
Him: Thats it?
Me: uh.. she's also really pretty ( I had avoided say that b/c i didnt want to sound shallow)
Him: Ok good, because xxxxxx city is a crappy place for single men, there are no bars or clubs for you to go do. You wouldn't survive.
Me: uh.... okay.

Next he points to a picture of a baby on a log in his office (one of those ann geddes baby pictures)

Him: Look at that picture, what do you see?
Me: Hmm... i see a A baby..
Him: uh huh..
Me: a baby, with butterfly wings.. on a log (at this point im just bewieldered)
Him: is that it?
Me: Uh... babies are precious?

So he abandons that tract of questioning and proceeds to destroy what was left my ego with the following exchange

Him: I see you went to Johns Hopkins.
Me: Yes
Him: Thats an excellent school. Just excellent. Their medical school, they take the cream of the cream.
Me: Yes, its a great medical school.
Him: Yes, cream of the cream. Not to offend you but you're like a FLY IN MILK to them.
Me: speechless
[awkward moment passes]
Me: Uh.. I didn't apply there.

Minutes later he says to me: I dont think you'll come here, but I'll give you a high admit anyway.

I was just happy to get out of that office. It was only 20 minutes but it felt like an hour. I think i can take any interview now. i hope.

Hmm...High Admit, I know which school you are talking about. I had an interview there recently too and one of my interviewers (Even though they SPECIFICALLY said they don't do stress interviews during the admissions talk) gave me the Jeopardy interview. I kept trying to pick "Why I want to go to medical school" for $200 but he kept choosing either "Genetic Recombination" or "T cell communication" for $1000. If I remember right I don't think we even did an introduction, just straight to the quizing for something like an hour and half. I don't even know what made him think I had ANY type of genetics background.
 
ExMike,

You crack me up. I had the exact same interviewer at the same school. Saw the same pictures, had the same horrible interview with him. It went just awfully. I had never experienced anything like it. He basically destroyed me. And then he gave me a "high admit" even though he said i was all wrong for the school.

Cracks me up.

Judd
 
Exmike and others,

Good story, but you guys need to tell us who what school that was. Don't be shy!
 
interviewer: who does your hair?
me: a hair cutting store in nyc?
interviewer: oh, why is it standing up like that, it looks like you have two little horns.
me: uh (presses down hair)
interviewer: leave it, don't worry about it, I won't use it against you but your second interviewer might.

10 minutes later.

interviewer: are you married?
me: no, not yet
interviewer: you know, It's illegal for me to ask that, but you and me are friends [To myself: whatever]

The conversation later becomes: How I should choose my wife:

interviewer: Make sure you choose a wife that's on your level intellectually and that you don't marry a wife that's like mine, nags all the time. The rest of the interview he just talked about how much his kids sucked and weren't as good as him.

At the end of the interview, he says that he'll give me a high admit. Go figure.
 
At this anonymous school, I'm being interviewed by a psychiatrist. That's fine, alot of my friends are social workers, I felt I could handle squishy-psychology-type questions.

Interviewer: I haven't looked through your file, so tell me - why are you here?

Me: (nervous because it's my first interview) Uh, well ... and I launch into my 'story' about wanting to go to medical school.

Int: (Clearly not impressed by me) hmmm, do you have any clinical experience?

Me: Well, yes... and I begin to describe several years worth of volunteer work.

Int: I see. (Still, not impressed) But do you have any real clinical experience?

Me: Well... and then I desribe paid clinical work and research.

Int: (Still not impressed) Well, yes, I see ...

He then proceeded to cut down all of my previous work and experience, and asked me continuously to defend what I had done. :confused:

Finally, the last straw came when I mentioned a school I had attended but had transferred to a bigger one because I didn't feel it was a good fit. Well, he said, he had attended that school and he had liked it -

It was awful and I walked out feeling like: great, he sure hated me ...
 
Persia-

It's a stress interview and you did fine. Out of my interviews so far, 50% have been psychiatrists and they always delve deep and ask challenging questions that are introspective and difficult to answer on the spot.
 
Thanks G0S2 -

I guess it was definitely a stress test ! Later my student interviewer asked me: how did it go with Dr So-and-So? He's pretty scary and frightens most people. So I felt much better. :)
 
At one school the interview had more or less ended and as I stood up my lady interviewer asked me:

Her: So, do you have any models in your family.

Me: umm... no

Her: So I guess you'll be the first

Me: umm, yeah, ok, thanks for the interview

my guess is that she meant to say either role-models or doctors, but at the time it was akward. Or maybe I need to thank the chick that helped me pick out my suit.


:p
Regardless, I got in so it must have worked.
 
I just got my first interview invite, it's at UMass on the 2nd of December. To celebrate, I'm bumping this thread up to get some recent interview stories :) .
 
Congrats umass rower!!! It will be a relaxed day. Grab anyone in the halls if you have a tough time finding your interview location.
 
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