Being criticized the whole time during an interview for wearing expensive accessory ($2600 watch)?

[lotsaqs]

I stumbled upon this thread on Reddit where a student was criticized for flaunting his wealth during his interview. Some people are arguing that he should have been more conservative, while others are arguing the interviewer was out of line. What's everyone's opinions on the issue?

Thread in question:

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[CloverBale]

There are premeds out there with 2600 dollar watches ?

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Wow. Glad I left my Bling Ride at home...

 

[radiculating spines]

Honestly I'm mostly amazed that the interviewer could ID the watch without looking at it very, very closely. I saw that reddit thread and while expensive the Tag Heuer Calibre 5 is not the least bit flashy looking and the logo on it is quite small. I am a huge watch aficionado but only because I'm fascinated by anything mechanical, NOT as a status symbol (I do not own any expensive watches and don't actually desire to). Watch nerds like me can ID just about any high-end watch on sight but it's such a rare interest...99.9% of people would never notice the watch someone is wearing.

If I did own an expensive watch I wouldn't wear it to an interview out of fear of this exact scenario but that interviewee just got really, really unlucky in that his interviewer a) knows watches enough to ID it and b) decided to take him to task for it because it was expensive.

 

[DokterMom]

Agreed - I think this interviewee got really unlucky and happened to have been assigned to that rare interviewer who a) noticed, b) knew it was expensive, and c) really, really minded. For what it's worth, the interviewer sounds like a jerk -- OR he was calling bull****e on the applicant's "1st generation" (so low SES?) narrative.

That said, students are advised to leave flashy designer logos at home for just this reason. Perhaps if the applicant's story hadn't been "poor immigrant family" then the incongruity wouldn't have been so jarring.

 

[Goro]

Agreed - I think this interviewee got really unlucky and happened to have been assigned to that rare interviewer who a) noticed, b) knew it was expensive, and c) really, really minded. For what it's worth, the interviewer sounds like a jerk -- OR he was calling bull****e on the applicant's "1st generation" (so low SES?) narrative.

That said, students are advised to leave flashy designer logos at home for just this reason. Perhaps if the applicant's story hadn't been "poor immigrant family" then the incongruity wouldn't have been so jarring.

I agree with my young colleague. SDNers are advised to always remember that there are two sides to every story. "I don't even come from a wealthy background" indeed.

 

[djtallahassee]

You left out the >$400 pen lol

 

[radiculating spines]

You left out the >$400 pen lol

Yeah didn't see that at first glance. I bet that's what sunk him. My advisor had a Montblanc and they have a very distinctive logo prominently displayed on the end. I still don't think it was appropriate for the interviewer to attack him over this but he should've known better than to put a target on himself like that.

 

[LizzyM]

I do think that there are those who are not favorable in their opinions of people who appear to be entering medicine for the financial rewards. Being someone who flaunts luxury goods at an interview could be sending that sort of message. It could also seem to be incongruent with being from a poor, immigrant family (although not all first generation college students are necessarily from a low income family).

It may be a culture-clash at work here. The applicant's family believes that status symbols and dressing for the success one wants to achieve is the correct way to approach an interview while the interviewer, who may be an academic physician making considerably less than his private practice counterparts, sees this as conspicuous consumption that is out of place in an academic medical setting. (Keep in mind that 50% of all births in the US are paid for by Medicaid, health care coverage for people with little or no income, and the interviewer was an gynecologist. The patient population the doc may interact with may be mostly lower income patients.)

Would you wear that watch and use that pen in clinic? Then don't bring them to the interview. With the exception of the suit jacket, what you wear at the interview, I think, should correspond to what you would wear with your white coat in a clinical (outpatient) setting. Nothing flashy, nothing too precious or high fashion.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

As a watch guy in college that would rather save up for a nice watch than spend 40 dollars a weekend getting ****faced, this bothers me

 

[begoood95]

You left out the >$400 pen lol

Holy...they have pens that are $10,000!

Me after I see the prices on these (admittedly very nice) pens:

 

[LizzyM]

As a watch guy in college that would rather save up for a nice watch than spend 40 dollars a weekend getting ****faced, this bothers me

There is a time and a place for everything. Save the nice watch for social events. Unless you are working in an industry where it behooves you to make a conspicuous display of consumption, the fancy watch might not be well received by those with whom you interact.

 

[TheBiologist]

interviewer was out of line imo

 

[LizzyM]

I also come from a poor immigrant family who made it and became rich in the US. For us, showing wealth is a point of pride, the achievement of the American Dream. It doesn't sound like this guy's watch was "flashy," just expensive. I'd rather wear nice than crappy things any day of the week as long as they don't scream "look at me!!" (I don't think this guy's watch did based on what other posters are saying). It sucks for the guy that his interviewer was insecure and decided to give him crap. What about a woman with a large engagement ring? Or a man with a really nice suit? I think it speaks more to the interviewer's insecurity than anything else. Also, why is it always obgyn? Someone didn't get hugged enough or something.

And that's where the general public and the dominant culture clashes with your culture. Some people do not trust physicians because they are rich and making money by recommending and providing expensive treatments that are needed to preserve health or even save one's life. A physician who is showing wealth through expensive clothing and jewelry may have a hard time obtaining the trust of patients.

 

[calivianya]

I have started leaving my engagement ring at home and just wearing my wedding band to interviews for this reason.

The ring is in no way indicative of my husband's spending power because it was free, but I did have it appraised for insurance purposes for around five figures, so I'm thinking people might make some assumptions about it. However, even if myself or my husband DID pay for it, there's no reason to assume that just because my ring is expensive that I'm going into medicine for the money. It really sucks that people have these kinds of biases.

 

[Piglet2020]

...I’m still stuck on the part about a $500 pen.

As someone who A) loses pens, pencils, erasures regularly and B) gets asked by classmates to borrow stationaries (then never returns it), I’m shook.

 

[radiculating spines]

For the record, this is what a Calibre 5 looks like (super bling-bling right?)

https://cdn2.jomashop.com/media/cat...bre-5-black-dial-mens-watch-war211afc6180.jpg

 

[DexterMorganSK]

This is the next gift this poor kid is receiving

 

[IlDestriero]

This is ridiculous. I would have had to laugh at this guy. Unless I had cried poor, which of course I wouldn’t.
That watch is as subtle as it gets. It could pass as a seiko or a timex. Very bizarre behavior.
People spend their money on whatever they want. I don’t wear my nice watches to work, but I’d feel fine wearing them to an interview. It’s hard to alienate patients when your not around them. That’s a good answer if confronted. And if they suggest you’re going into Medicine for the wrong reason, just tell them you already have plenty of money, as evidenced by a fancy watch and suit. I went to to school with a few former finance guys, they still knew how to spend money.


--
Il Destriero

 

[Lannister]

Wow, that interviewer was way out of line. I really don't understand what's wrong with wearing expensive clothes/accessories to a med school interview. I would not automatically assume that someone who owns a $2000+ watch is pursuing medicine for the money. In fact, I would assume any young person who owns a watch that expensive comes from a very wealthy family, and in my experience, people who come from very wealthy families are NOT pursuing medicine for the money. They're either pursuing medicine out of genuine passion, or they're not pursuing medicine at all, because to the truly wealthy medicine is not really all that lucrative of a career.

 

[DJ Khaled's Pet Tiger]

And that's where the general public and the dominant culture clashes with your culture. Some people do not trust physicians because they are rich and making money by recommending and providing expensive treatments that are needed to preserve health or even save one's life. A physician who is showing wealth through expensive clothing and jewelry may have a hard time obtaining the trust of patients.

Agreed... one ought to remember that “pride” is a vice in many cultures (especially those from Christendom-esque backgrounds). Thus, the very fact that it is a point of pride for you to display luxurious wealth likely means it is a dangerous decision for an interview.

 

[LizzyM]

I think that there was a disconnect between the written application which the applicant said played up his immigrant background and first generation college student status and his accessories which signalled a high disposable income. (Where I come from that watch would cover 3 months rent for an immigrant family.)

Graduation gifts?? My kid's graduation gift was a GRE study guide. #nopressure

 

[Kingsmen2018]

U should have offered it to him

 

[rabbott1971]

And that's where the general public and the dominant culture clashes with your culture. Some people do not trust physicians because they are rich and making money by recommending and providing expensive treatments that are needed to preserve health or even save one's life. A physician who is showing wealth through expensive clothing and jewelry may have a hard time obtaining the trust of patients.

I had not heard this notion that doctors should project a monastic, self-effacing image to downplay their relative economic advantage lest their hickish patients risk their own health in a fit of envious rebellion against the doc's advice.

I mean, the white coat/scrubs dress code is good for obscuring finery, but people know doctors make money -- the secret is out. I don't think it is problematic, because most people want to go see the successful doctor, and they expect that their doctor is a high achiever.

I think obsessing on the accessories for 45 minutes is unprofessional, and that the interviewer perhaps let his/her personal feelings get in the way of conducting a serious interview.

And unless OP specified his pen, then it could have cost as little as $100. Just as there are watch nerds, apparently, there are ink pen nerds, and Montblanc has innumerable products ranging from $100 or so up to infinity. So just seeing the snowy crest shouldn't exactly trigger a Bernie-esque rage fit.

 

[bananafish94]

I strongly suspect this is fake. I might be biased because I wouldn't recognize or know the value of a Tag Heuer watch or Mont Blanc pen if they showed up at my front door with price tags on, but regardless. The chances of somebody A) noticing something like that, B) knowing the value, C) caring at all, and D) being unprofessional enough to act on those feelings at a medical school interview are slim to none.

On another note, I used to wear an expensive watch because my dad bought a watch in the early 80s that happened to be discontinued shortly thereafter and increase a lot in value. He wore it for decades and then gave it to me, and I would have given it to my future son. My dad decided that it made the most financial sense for our family to sell it, but I would have kept it forever because I couldn't care less about how much it was worth. It was an important family heirloom and there's no way I would go to a medical school interview or do anything else without wearing that watch. I have no doubt that I was probably made fun of at various points in my life for wearing a ~$1500 watch, but I don't care because they didn't know the story, and neither does the interviewer in this very real anecdote. But I digress. At least my Timex has indiglo.

 

[de Ribas]

I stumbled upon this thread on Reddit where a student was criticized for flaunting his wealth during his interview. Some people are arguing that he should have been more conservative, while others are arguing the interviewer was out of line. What's everyone's opinions on the issue?

Thread in question:

I think there might be more to the story than just expensive watch and a golden pencil. Something could have come across in interviewee's body language or other behavior.

 

[BombsAway]

I don't wear a watch at interviews for fear of looking at it.

 

[VincentAdultman]

This kids showing bad judgment just by going around with a Montblanc Pen.

 

[TheWolfOfMainStreet]

https://cdn2.breitling.com/media/image/0/base/asset-version-8e9773bf44/navitimer-01-46mm-2.png

Wore this to my last interview. I debated it for the reasons mentioned here, but ultimately decided I didn't care what the interviewer or school thought. I was going to wear what I wanted and they could reject me if they wanted. I refuse to pretend to be someone else for an acceptance. (I got in!)

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Graduation gifts?? My kid's graduation gift was a GRE study guide. #nopressure

That’s you (me too, btw). I know more than a couple people who come from lower SES backgrounds whose parents saved for a long time to get them really nice graduation presents as a symbol of how much they support them and how proud they are of the accomplishment. Just because you or I don’t agree with it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen with some regularity.

 

[radiculating spines]

https://cdn2.breitling.com/media/image/0/base/asset-version-8e9773bf44/navitimer-01-46mm-2.png

Wore this to my last interview. I debated it for the reasons mentioned here, but ultimately decided I didn't care what the interviewer or school thought. I was going to wear what I wanted and they could reject me if they wanted. I refuse to pretend to be someone else for an acceptance. (I got in!)

The thing is I bet no one noticed your watch and if they did they couldn't ID it as a Breitling, and if they could do that they didn't know how much it was worth AND if they did they didn't care. BTW are you Doug Stamper?

 

[LizzyM]

That’s you (me too, btw). I know more than a couple people who come from lower SES backgrounds whose parents saved for a long time to get them really nice graduation presents as a symbol of how much they support them and how proud they are of the accomplishment. Just because you or I don’t agree with it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen with some regularity.

Absolutely agree that it does happen! But wearing $3K Tiffany cufflinks to an interview might be interpreted the wrong way even if it was a thoughtful gift from proud parents.

It isn't that physicians and applicants should adopt a monastic appearance (@rabbott1971 ) but walking around with luxury brand logos on one's garments or accessories might be interpreted in a way that one does not intend.

Optics matter which is why the "what to wear to interview" threads here are so long and so frequently visited.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Absolutely agree that it does happen! But wearing $3K Tiffany cufflinks to an interview might be interpreted the wrong way even if it was a thoughtful gift from proud parents.

It isn't that physicians and applicants should adopt a monastic appearance (@rabbott1971 ) but walking around with luxury brand logos on one's garments or accessories might be interpreted in a way that one does not intend.

Optics matter which is why the "what to wear to interview" threads here are so long and so frequently visited.

Totally agree. I just think it’s ironic that the interviewer blasted him for flaunting his wealth in a way that would alienate patients while refusing to even think of the possibility that the watch was the result of many months of saving from immigrant parents. I’d think he was doing it on purpose to show the applicant how the patients might feel, but it sounds like he was just being a d-bag.

 

[bioboy23]

I would say the pen is a little much, but dick move by the interviewer regardless

 

[Mad Jack]

I had not heard this notion that doctors should project a monastic, self-effacing image to downplay their relative economic advantage lest their hickish patients risk their own health in a fit of envious rebellion against the doc's advice.

I mean, the white coat/scrubs dress code is good for obscuring finery, but people know doctors make money -- the secret is out. I don't think it is problematic, because most people want to go see the successful doctor, and they expect that their doctor is a high achiever.

I think obsessing on the accessories for 45 minutes is unprofessional, and that the interviewer perhaps let his/her personal feelings get in the way of conducting a serious interview.

And unless OP specified his pen, then it could have cost as little as $100. Just as there are watch nerds, apparently, there are ink pen nerds, and Montblanc has innumerable products ranging from $100 or so up to infinity. So just seeing the snowy crest shouldn't exactly trigger a Bernie-esque rage fit.

The point is that displays of excess wealth tend to alienate many patients and make them distrusting. Wearing a bunch of fancy **** says to many patients that the only reason you're seeing them is to make a buck, which makes them trust the tests and other things you order because they figure you're probably making a cut off of them. You want as much trust and as few barriers as possible between yourself and your patients, so projecting the appropriate level of attire for your clientele is critical.

 

[TheWolfOfMainStreet]

The thing is I bet no one noticed your watch and if they did they couldn't ID it as a Breitling, and if they could do that they didn't know how much it was worth AND if they did they didn't care. BTW are you Doug Stamper?

Haha, you're probably right. Ultimately though, I think that the line for appearances should come from style rather than cost.

Should you wear a gold watch encrusted with giant diamonds? No. (but the same logic applies to a fake gold watch encrusted with zirconia)
Should you wear a black strapped silver dial watch? Sure. The style works so it shouldn't matter then if it's Swatch or Breitling.

And I wish I was as talented as Doug. Probably more of a Raymond Tusk/Frank Underwood crossover than anything else

 

[VincentAdultman]

To paraphrase one of my favorite shows, going around flaunting brand names is "gauche as sh--"

 

[IlDestriero]

https://cdn2.breitling.com/media/image/0/base/asset-version-8e9773bf44/navitimer-01-46mm-2.png

Wore this to my last interview. I debated it for the reasons mentioned here, but ultimately decided I didn't care what the interviewer or school thought. I was going to wear what I wanted and they could reject me if they wanted. I refuse to pretend to be someone else for an acceptance. (I got in!)

That’s a classic. Nice choice.
I may own a very similar one as well.



--
Il Destriero

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

If your application says you walk with a limp, and you run into the interviewing room, everyone would look at you funny too.

 

[Med Ed]

I stumbled upon this thread on Reddit where a student was criticized for flaunting his wealth during his interview. Some people are arguing that he should have been more conservative, while others are arguing the interviewer was out of line. What's everyone's opinions on the issue?

There is nothing to be gained from wearing/carrying $3,000 in accessories to a medical school interview. It literally has no upside.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Also Montblanc is such a prissy choice for a pen. Paying 400 for something that a 150 dollar Lamy/Pilot could oupreform. Totally not worth it.

 

[Terry Toma]

I think it's best to just realize that this perception exists among some people and leave the fancy accessories at home. An interviewer is over the line to spend 45 minutes raking an interviewee over the coals about his watch, but right or wrong, he's certainly not the only interviewer who would make a judgement like that. Cant help. Might hurt. Don't risk it, even if it seems unfair or silly.

Honestly, medicine is very lax when it comes to fashion sense and fashion rules. Let's just be glad that whether to leave a $3K watch at home is our concern rather than, like, whether our pocket squares go with our ties and are properly folded.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Am I the only one who ditched their watch after getting a $50 smartphone and never looked back?

 

[drmantistobbogan]

I'm calling BS. I have a feeling that this is either highly exaggerated or just made up.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

I think that there was a disconnect between the written application which the applicant said played up his immigrant background and first generation college student status and his accessories which signalled a high disposable income. (Where I come from that watch would cover 3 months rent for an immigrant family.)

Graduation gifts?? My kid's graduation gift was a GRE study guide. #nopressure

Agreed. There can be a disconnect between the story of starving immigrant family and one that established a business here (dry cleaner, nail shop, convenience store, restaurant) has a good bit of cash flow, and can give those kinds of gifts. It's also not unusual to find the strange disconnect that they're still claiming to be low income yet their nice homes were paid for in cash. I've seen this scenario more times than I can count.

That said, just because dad thinks the student should wear/bring high dollar items to an interview, that does not mean that the student actually has to do so. Dad is not there.

You're not interviewing for Wall Street. You're interviewing for a career path where you get your hands dirty.

My kids got new laptops/tablets for grad school and med school.

 

[joeception]

I understand where the interviewee is coming from. I know many people that are on EBT or other forms of governmental assistance that are willing to go into debt even further to buy their kids something that is expensive/name brand. There are cultures where having these expensive items is the way of actually being able to get a decent paying job so having the father insist that he wear it to the interview is something I could completely see. I find it interesting how many medical schools will preach diversity and culture competency, but then pull a 180 like this (obviously this is just one example and many schools are doing exactly the right thing).

 

[@Hazel-rah]

I'm with @drmantistobbogan and @bananafish94 : fake/exaggerated story
Uncommon things: sitting in a posture that your watch is noticeable, having a 45 minute long interview, and bringing a pen (and using it) on an interview. Also, an interviewer behaving like that. People with nice things deserve the same respect as anyone else. Very hypocritical to look down on someone for owning something nice.
But the message is undebatable: minimal non-distracting accessories on med school interviews

 

[PreMedMissteps]

I'm with @drmantistobbogan and @bananafish94 : fake/exaggerated story
Uncommon things: sitting in a posture that your watch is noticeable, having a 45 minute long interview, and bringing a pen (and using it) on an interview. Also, an interviewer behaving like that. People with nice things deserve the same respect as anyone else. Very hypocritical to look down on someone for owning something nice.
But the message is undebatable: minimal non-distracting accessories on med school interviews

I too thought that using a pen during an interview seemed unusual but perhaps this applicant came in with notepad and pen thinking he had to be prepared to write something down.

Who knows if the story is real or fake. It would not surprise me to hear that an immigrant's family would insist on some particulars for an interview or really anything. I've had immigrants' children tell me that they can only apply to top 10 or top 20 schools or that they can only major in engineering or become doctors.

 

[William Shakespeare]

I’m thinking the pen was the trigger. I wouldn’t think a nice watch would be something to piss an interviewer off. Maybe a bling’d out diamond Rolex would, but not a Tag Heuer

 

[boogiecousins94]

I think if you wear a watch wear one with a leather strap- the reason the Breitling above probably wasn't noticed because it was leather and I doubt the interview would be so close to look at the wings logo.

If you wear a diamond bezel Patek that shines in the light obviously someone will see. If you wear one with a bracelet it may be very shiny and attract more attention.