asking for an interview

[Arctic Char]

I have a question for all those in the match this year (and anyone else who could comment): suppose you have not received an invitation to interview at a program you are very interested in, have any of you simply called and asked for an interview? or is this taboo? if you did call and ask, did it work in your favor? were you turned away with vague language such as "your file is under review"?

for some reason i feel like calling and asking wouldn't hurt and might bring your application to the attention of someone who may not have looked any closer at you.

comments? insight?

thanks all, and good luck to everyone on march 20 . . .

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[Path or bust]

I'm sure that would work. Another way would be to mention it in your personal statement. You are allowed to send different personal statements to different programs. If you are really interested in a particular program write a few sentences regarding your reasons for wanting to match with them.

 

[l&usibari]

I think you'd really have to be careful with this. You don't want it to sound like "why haven't you interviewed me yet?". I would guess that if they want to interview you, they'll send you an invitation. The opportunity to show your interest in a specific program is, as the other poster said, in your personal statement. I really wouldn't recommend outright asking for an interview, but you can try to word a phone call such that your meaning comes across without outright saying it.

 

[EtOHWithdrawal]

I received an extra interview this way. It was coming down to the wire (january or something) and I called every program that I hadn't heard from with the "I'm gonna be in town for another interview..." or something similar. It worked once.

 

[Arctic Char]

cool, thats good to hear. as far as what lusibari says - i understand. i'm typically pretty savvy with this sort of thing, and i would be very careful not to annoy them or appear as if i feel entitled or anything.

so this is true that you can send individualized PS's to particular programs? i suppose i should have known that already. sounds like a lot of work, but a very cool convenience

thanks all

 

[mlw03]

it's not that much work to personalize each PS. i had a standard one, and then for a few of the programs i personalized it just a little bit. the interface on ERAS makes it simple to do this. as an example, in my standard one i wrote something to the effect of, "after living in florida my whole life i'm ready to live in another part of the country" but for my usf PS i deleted this sentence. it takes very little time to make these alterations.

as to the original question, i don't advise asking outright for an interview if it's late and you haven't heard from them. in my opinion, it just doesn't seem professaional.

 

[gbwillner]

it's not that much work to personalize each PS. i had a standard one, and then for a few of the programs i personalized it just a little bit. the interface on ERAS makes it simple to do this. as an example, in my standard one i wrote something to the effect of, "after living in florida my whole life i'm ready to live in another part of the country" but for my usf PS i deleted this sentence. it takes very little time to make these alterations.

as to the original question, i don't advise asking outright for an interview if it's late and you haven't heard from them. in my opinion, it just doesn't seem professaional.

I'm not sure how useful it is to "individualize" your PS. Of all my interviews (10) only once did anyone bring up anything about my PS- or even my entire CV. I doubt it if anyone really reads it thoroughly. I sincerely doubt that just because you say in your PS that you want to be at a particular program/city it will sway anyone- they probably figure you'll say that to every program you are interested in. Plus you're wasting your own time.

As for the OP, I don't think that asking for an interview is unprofessional. If it gets to be December and you haven't heard from a program- there's a good chance you never will. e-Mailing the PD or secretary may be enough to persuade them.... but probably not. Since most programs interview 10 people for every one spot, there's probably a good reason why they don't want to interview you, and even if they do interview you, you may be low on their Totem pole. Don't forget that it takes two to Tango- they have to be good for you, but you also have to be good for them. If they don't like you, it's their loss.

 

[longlakeboy]

Right after new year's, I emailed the program coordinator at a program I hadn't heard from. It was one of the more competitive programs I'd applied to, so I figured I had just missed the cut. I didn't directly ask "Will you give me an interview," I just asked if they were still giving out interview invitations.

About three hours later I got an interview invitation. The program director admitted that my application had basically fallen through the cracks.

I'm glad I did it, because I ended up really liking it and ranking them very highly.

The worst they can do is reject you or not get back to you, so I think it's worth giving it a shot if it's a program you're interested it. If you do end up getting an interview out of it, they certainly know you have serious interest in them, which can't hurt...

 

[pathgrrl]

From my perspective, you have nothing to lose by calling up the PD. You can use your words creatively: "I would really like to know more about your program, and I wonder if you have had a chance to review my application?..." then choose the reason why you want them to look at it... a savvy way might be to say your travel schedule is filling up quickly, and you wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to see BPDW (best path dept in the world).

If you are a strong candidate, they will ask you to come over the phone. If you are middle of the road, they will still take a look and get back to you. If you have a less than stellar record, they might say, "We won't be able to tell you until committee X meets next week." Whatever. No matter what, you have nothing to lose. No, it is not unprofessional - maybe in Dermatology they might frown upon such gunnership - but IMO there are more pathology slots than qualified applicants, so you are doing the program a favor by letting them know you won't be available if they wait too long, or that you'll only be in Hawaii for a week in December.

Personal anecdote -- I wondered why Program X had not contacted me, so I was going to give the PD a ring. First, I searched my email with different keywords for the program. Sure enough, the interview invite was there ( a week old already) but not from ERAS and had a funny subject line so it had been filtered out by my email program. Urgh, lesson learned.

 

[Bosque]

In my experience program directors are usually very busy, especially when it comes to crunch time in the application process. Also, the initial review process is often dependent on a system in which the secretary or administrative assistant ranks applications based on pre-determined criteria, and then gives the PD the apps to review and decide on interview invites. Given all this, it is entirely reasonable that some applications will fall through the cracks. If you’re truly interested in a program and it looks like they will not offer you an interview (or if they outright reject you), absolutely go ahead and email the PD. (Don’t email or call the administrative contact person – they will probably put you off because they don’t want to annoy the PD and because your request would fall outside the normal “system.”) Make it a very formal communication, like a cover letter for a job. Worst case: the PD takes out your file, pores over it, reads the personal statement and recommendations and says, “Sorry, still no interview.” More likely: they read all your stuff and your application gets the undivided, critical attention it didn’t get the first time around. If you’re borderline for an interview, this could make a huge difference.

 

[Arctic Char]

In my experience program directors are usually very busy, especially when it comes to crunch time in the application process. Also, the initial review process is often dependent on a system in which the secretary or administrative assistant ranks applications based on pre-determined criteria, and then gives the PD the apps to review and decide on interview invites. Given all this, it is entirely reasonable that some applications will fall through the cracks. If you’re truly interested in a program and it looks like they will not offer you an interview (or if they outright reject you), absolutely go ahead and email the PD. (Don’t email or call the administrative contact person – they will probably put you off because they don’t want to annoy the PD and because your request would fall outside the normal “system.”) Make it a very formal communication, like a cover letter for a job. Worst case: the PD takes out your file, pores over it, reads the personal statement and recommendations and says, “Sorry, still no interview.” More likely: they read all your stuff and your application gets the undivided, critical attention it didn’t get the first time around. If you’re borderline for an interview, this could make a huge difference.

you see, this is exactly what my intuition tells me. and believe me, i am definitely in that borderline category. i mean, i like to think i am god's gift to pathology and on paper i'm strong, but not that strong . . .

thanks for the input