"Being yourself" in an interview

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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bamtuba

bamtuba

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So a lot of people tell you to be yourself for the interview season. I've been through many interviews in my life and don't think I've ever really "rehearsed" answers or really "prepared" other than just getting ready to do my thing.

So is it best to have answers planned and risk sounding rehearsed or just be yourself and risk getting blind-sided by a random question?

My thought is to go with the latter and just be honest if there is something I don't know.
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bamtuba said:
So a lot of people tell you to be yourself for the interview season. I've been through many interviews in my life and don't think I've ever really "rehearsed" answers or really "prepared" other than just getting ready to do my thing.

So is it best to have answers planned and risk sounding rehearsed or just be yourself and risk getting blind-sided by a random question?

My thought is to go with the latter and just be honest if there is something I don't know.
Click to expand...

My worst fear is I'll be hit by some totally weird question out of the blue, and end up sounding like an idiot. I plant to prepare and reshearse before I actually go in, but that's me. I think preparation comes down to looking at SDN's Interview feedback, looking through the school website, and looking over your applications again. Nothing too strenuous, IMO. Anyways, that's how I plan to get ready.
 
BlueElmo said:
My worst fear is I'll be hit by some totally weird question out of the blue, and end up sounding like an idiot. I plant to prepare and reshearse before I actually go in, but that's me. I think preparation comes down to looking at SDN's Interview feedback, looking through the school website, and looking over your applications again. Nothing too strenuous, IMO. Anyways, that's how I plan to get ready.
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I understand what you're saying. I have been looking at the interview feedback for some places that I will be going to soon, but even after thinking about those questions I realize that, though I could have something "ready to go" I would almost rather not so I can just relax, "be myself," and let the chips fall where they may, being prepared to just suck it up and say "I don't know."
 
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I am afraid that whenever I do get an interview. The person is going to ask some random easy questions..

Them: So Poliscidoc, 2 +2 is?

My response-
 
are you making a 1985 reference? because that'd be awesome and very appropriate.
 
After 15 min I chime in with 4 and as I am screaming 4... He spills his coffee on his lap, burns his wang and now he is pissed and I never get into med school... Yea no worries
 
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Oh oh oh... 1985? Finally, Orwell made a come back.
 
:hijacked:

And what would Mr. Orwell say about the interview process...

:)
 
I thought Orwell's book was 1984. I love that book, BTW.
 
he's killing it these days. i heard there's a movie coming out for 1986. he just can't stop!
 
Orwell would not even go to the interview in fear that BIG brother would take him into the torture room in order to beat out his true intentions of being a doctor------------> take over the world!
 
bamtuba said:
So a lot of people tell you to be yourself for the interview season. I've been through many interviews in my life and don't think I've ever really "rehearsed" answers or really "prepared" other than just getting ready to do my thing.

So is it best to have answers planned and risk sounding rehearsed or just be yourself and risk getting blind-sided by a random question?

My thought is to go with the latter and just be honest if there is something I don't know.
Click to expand...
I had the same fear/anxiety so i did a little bit of both. I asked myself a couple of common questions that I was most likely to get asked or points I wanted to bring up, but I didn't "rehearse" because the only thing that can make you more nervous than not practicing a question is forgetting your "lines"
 
I have done 2 interviews so far. I have found that all of them have just been asking me various things about my application. I have NOT had any of the typical questions (tell me about yourself, why do you want to be a doctor, etc). I've decided not to even attempt to prepare for any other interviews because it seems to be a waste of time in the largely conversational interviews.
 
maeday said:
I have done 2 interviews so far. I have found that all of them have just been asking me various things about my application. I have NOT had any of the typical questions (tell me about yourself, why do you want to be a doctor, etc). I've decided not to even attempt to prepare for any other interviews because it seems to be a waste of time in the largely conversational interviews.
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Things about your application? Like your activities that you listed, PS, etc?
 
maeday said:
I have done 2 interviews so far. I have found that all of them have just been asking me various things about my application. I have NOT had any of the typical questions (tell me about yourself, why do you want to be a doctor, etc). I've decided not to even attempt to prepare for any other interviews because it seems to be a waste of time in the largely conversational interviews.
Click to expand...

There are interviews in which the interviewers know nothing about you ahead of time.
 
Personally, I'll probably mostly wing it. I will definitely think about my answers to questions about my strengths, leadership history, motivation, and maybe some recent health care issues, but other than that I think they're more interested in knowing what kind of person I am and how I interact with others. I'll do better at conveying that if I just treat it as a conversation with a few topics prepared in my mind.
 
you don't have to memorize your answers, but practice interviewing with someone...it really helps. some find interviews easy...others need practice. you'd be surprised how a simple question can make you babble like a fool on the spot if you never thought about a possible answer. I understand the need to keep it real, but practicing and keeping it real are not mutually exclusive.

some questions that I found can be troublesome...
why do you want to be a doctor/how did you become interested in medicine?
(a clear answer is, uh, pretty important)

I had someone ask "do you really want to do this?"

where do you see yourself in 10 years?
(you don't have to know your specialty, but you might have an idea of the type of community you want to work in, academics vs. private, your current interests...and it's not just about career...you can also tell them about your life plans outside of medicine)

the dreaded "tell me about yourself"

some others...
why did you do X activity? what did you get out of it?
why would you come to our school? (have a good answer, sound excited, even if it's not your top choice)
how do you plan on achieving balance with your life?
 
I think it's helpful to do a little memorization in case you freeze up. Just think about the questions you'll almost certainly be asked (tell us about yourself, why medicine, what sets you apart from other applicants, etc) and memorize a sentence or two answer that you can elaborate on. If you have "I want to be a doctor because I like sewing and people, so I want to combine them" memorized, then you can circumvent the awkward pause where you're trying to think, and let your memorized sentence lead you into a more unrehearsed discussion.

Sorry for the terrible first sentence example; couldn't think of anything off the top of my head (see why I needed to prepare?).
 
If I was expecting a particularly hard question, I would outline an answer. Outlines allow you to organize your thoughts but escapes the risk of sounding like a robot repeating a memorized answer.
 
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nokTjEdaUGg[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heAibiOJ5NE[/YOUTUBE]

You want to be prepared with talking points. Or the above could happen.
 
TopSecret said:
[YOUTUBE]nokTjEdaUGg[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]heAibiOJ5NE[/YOUTUBE]

You want to be prepared with talking points. Or the above could happen.
Click to expand...

Can you imagine what would happen if McCain was elected, had a stroke, and she became president?
 
TopSecret said:
[YOUTUBE]nokTjEdaUGg[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]heAibiOJ5NE[/YOUTUBE]

You want to be prepared with talking points. Or the above could happen.
Click to expand...


i get embarrassed just watching these. especially the foreign policy one.
 
"Because our next-door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am-the- executive of." LOL.
 
MarinaS said:
Can you imagine what would happen if McCain was elected, had a stroke, and she became president?
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Jesus, that would have been a disaster. Who would've protected us when Putin rears his head into the airspace of America? Megan Fox?!!!

To the OP, I've found that none of my interview questions for any position have ever asked anything remotely difficult or interesting. Usually the interviewer has made a decision to support or reject you before he even shakes your hand.
 
BerlinDude said:
Jesus, that would have been a disaster. Who would've protected us when Putin rears his head into the airspace of America? Megan Fox?!!!

To the OP, I've found that none of my interview questions for any position have ever asked anything remotely difficult or interesting. Usually the interviewer has made a decision to support or reject you before he even shakes your hand.
Click to expand...

she does command the services of some rather impressive robots..
 
I appreciate some of the good things people have posted so far.

I agree that thinking through "talking points" is a great idea.

If there is one topic that throws me, it would be "discuss your research to a fourth grader" type scenerios.

I mean really, should I use fourth grade language? Assumed subject ignorance? I was a teacher for 5 years and couldn't tell you at what level a fourth grader is going to understand cancer.

Definitely don't want to go in over-thinking this.
 
BerlinDude said:
Usually the interviewer has made a decision to support or reject you before he even shakes your hand.
Click to expand...

In all seriousness, are you an adcom or med student? I'm really curious to know why you think the above is true.

What about closed-file interviews?
 
BerlinDude said:
Jesus, that would have been a disaster. Who would've protected us when Putin rears his head into the airspace of America? Megan Fox?!!!

To the OP, I've found that none of my interview questions for any position have ever asked anything remotely difficult or interesting. Usually the interviewer has made a decision to support or reject you before he even shakes your hand.
Click to expand...

What? If this is true, then what's the whole point of an interview?
 
BerlinDude said:
Usually the interviewer has made a decision to support or reject you before he even shakes your hand.
Click to expand...

First impressions are everything in this biz. It's important to look confident and have the persona of a doctor so they could at least visualize you in the role of an attending 7-11 years down the road who will be seeing 25-40 patients a day. If you show up as a shy hermit who has trouble connecting with people, you won't go far.
 
TopSecret said:
First impressions are everything in this biz. It's important to look confident and have the persona of a doctor so they could at least visualize you in the role of an attending 7-11 years down the road who will be seeing 25-40 patients a day. If you show up as a shy hermit who has trouble connecting with people, you won't go far.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I could have misread, but I took the post in question to mean that the interviewer usually makes up his/her mind based on stats and the like before MEETING you in person.
 
bamtuba said:
Agreed. I could have misread, but I took the post in question to mean that the interviewer usually makes up his/her mind based on stats and the like before MEETING you in person.
Click to expand...

For the vast majority of applicants, getting an interview means they're academically qualified. Sometimes you'll encounter a disgruntled brainiac of a doctor who has terrible bedside manners and wants all doctors to be like him with superior numbers and all.
 
bamtuba said:
Agreed. I could have misread, but I took the post in question to mean that the interviewer usually makes up his/her mind based on stats and the like before MEETING you in person.
Click to expand...

yeah, that was the impression I got too.
 
someone once told me that if being yourself means being a complete dork/gunner/a-hole..it's advised to be "someone else"...o_O
 
Gogogirl said:
someone once told me that if being yourself means being a complete dork/gunner/a-hole..it's advised to be "someone else"...o_O
Click to expand...

:laugh:

That's actually some pretty great advice.

I wouldn't personally consider myself any of the above, but maybe there's something people just aren't telling me... ;)

Anyhow, the reason that I brought this up is that I have always done pretty well in interview situations and have been offered several teaching jobs and recently several research positions in the job search setting. I know this is not exactly the same thing as preparing for med school interviews, but I've always felt that I best represent my thoughts in a coherent and honest way when I go in "unprepared" and just relax.

I know some people like to go in ready for anything and some even rehearsed, but I wanted to get a feel for what those who may have done this before found successful just to consider my options now versus regretting what I could have done after the interview.
 
I didn't rehearse any answer, except for maybe the "why do you want to become a doctor" answer. Even then, I just memorized the gist of it, not the whole thing. There are lots of points I think are important to hit (each person will have their own) when answering that question, so I think it's important to remember them all.

Other than that, be youself [the polite, smiling, positive self].
 
TRN1983 said:
I didn't rehearse any answer, except for maybe the "why do you want to become a doctor" answer. Even then, I just memorized the gist of it, not the whole thing. There are lots of points I think are important to hit (each person will have their own) when answering that question, so I think it's important to remember them all.

Other than that, be youself [the polite, smiling, positive self].
Click to expand...

Good advice. Applicants who cannot answer the question "why do you want to become a doctor" with any sort of conviction probably don't belong in medicine. It's important to have that answer down pat.
 
TopSecret said:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nokTjEdaUGg[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heAibiOJ5NE[/YOUTUBE]

You want to be prepared with talking points. Or the above could happen.
Click to expand...

YipYipcopy.jpg
 
I would say that it is totally safe to prep for common interview questions but just practice a variety of answers and really THINK about why you want to say. That way you aren't coming off like you're rehearsing a script, but you have something you've already thought out to say.

The most important factor in my interview going well was doing a mock interview about a week before the real thing. Make sure you get the interview set up with someone you don't know, and preferably someone who will intimidate you somewhat. I totally freaked out during my mock interview, and at one point almost blacked out. But once it was over, and i got good feedback, it was so helpful. Then for the real thing I just practiced what had gone wrong in the mock interview and practiced answering questions from the interview feedback section for that particular school....the result?? AMAZING interview at my top choice, with an acceptance following just a few weeks later!!!
 
DrPhalange said:
I would say that it is totally safe to prep for common interview questions but just practice a variety of answers and really THINK about why you want to say. That way you aren't coming off like you're rehearsing a script, but you have something you've already thought out to say.

The most important factor in my interview going well was doing a mock interview about a week before the real thing. Make sure you get the interview set up with someone you don't know, and preferably someone who will intimidate you somewhat. I totally freaked out during my mock interview, and at one point almost blacked out. But once it was over, and i got good feedback, it was so helpful. Then for the real thing I just practiced what had gone wrong in the mock interview and practiced answering questions from the interview feedback section for that particular school....the result?? AMAZING interview at my top choice, with an acceptance following just a few weeks later!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Great advice. I just signed up for a mock interview.
 
BlueElmo said:
What? If this is true, then what's the whole point of an interview?
Click to expand...

Even though the admissions committee may not have made a decision on your application, the individual interviewer has already formed an opinion of you before you start the interview (based on both your application and your personal appearance). Everything you say or do during the interview will be interpreted in that light, making it hard to change anyone's mind.

I'm just speaking from personal experience.
 
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