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Do you keep it in sight of the webcam during interviews or is it either below level of camera/off to side?
MD & DO co'21 Residency Panic thread
Started by kraskadva
This may have been brought up already, but couldn't a silver lining of top-tier candidates hoarding interviews this cycle mean that you're more likely to match at the interviews you have already, especially if they're not top-tier programs? I'm not saying it's an overall advantage but I think things can even out in terms of match rates and people may not need as many interviews to match this cycle.
It's small enough that if you put it on the desk in front of you, no one should see it, and you'll still get great audio. You don't have to be right up on it for it to pick up your voice. Edit: full disclosure, I'm only an MS2--but I have used it for things on webcam, and no one even realized I was using it.
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deleted645092
Theoretically you could probably cross off the top people off the rank list for programs that really shot for the moon, and that would cause the programs to fall down their rank lists further than usual.
My Webcam is situated in a weird place (keyboard) that makes everyone look up my nose or gives me a triple chin. I definitely bought one... anything Logitech is worth it, imo. I went with the c615 because it folds small so I can take it to work. Doubles as a nice little cam for the practice laparoscopy setup I've gotten for myself!
Out of sight, you can't see it but it is directly in front of me and one of the nice things about the blue yeti is it has directional recording options. So it dramatically reduces background noise if you had any. My webcam is positioned so when I am looking at the interviewer it looks like I making eye contact as well.
Also as an aside, I have heard from a few residents that the blue yeti is the ultimate dictating mic and works flawlessly with dragon.
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Awesome thanks for the insights. What webcam do you use??
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deleted697308
yeah i feel like they'd ask the away rotator to provide insight
logitech c920 its good not great there are better ones but that was about as much as I was willing to spend.
What genius designed that?
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#6! A miracle.
7 in...and I am over this. Why can’t program just let me know immediately if they want me or not then I can stop interviewing and give the interview spots to someone else...
Honestly, the Zoom interviews have actually been useful in figuring out residency cultures that are on either extremes(really great, or bad) but man it is not helping me sort in terms of my middling interviews.
also kinda crazy how like each rank leads to this new geographical reality. Like I could be in the northeast one minute, the next I’m in the Deep South— it’s crazy how we are betting our next years on a zoom event!
also kinda crazy how like each rank leads to this new geographical reality. Like I could be in the northeast one minute, the next I’m in the Deep South— it’s crazy how we are betting our next years on a zoom event!
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AnatomyGrey12
The meet and greets the night before are what is killing me. They are often longer than the interview itself and are largely useless.
yeah. I wish there was more programs would do video tours or something.
I interviewed at one program that did a simple video tour of the walk to the hospital, call rooms, resident rooms, clinic etc etc and it made me feel a lot of better about potentially working there.
Oh my gosh yes. Then sometimes you have one student asking all the questions with a coy laugh... "oh my gosh like sorry for another question, but do you guys have like moonlighting opportunities? Whats your curriculum like? Do you feel supported? Free parking? Food? Is there mental health at your program? But whats your curriculum like?" *giggle*
Most of which is already in the interview packet. Im. So. Over. It.
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It sucks when they don’t even do it the night before but like a week post-interview or two days before an interview. Or even worse, the dreaded post interview Q&A after you already attended a meet and greet.
how many questions can I really muster up?
That’s genius.
Today I had a 30 minute session, just me and 2 faculty, only dedicated to questions I had. Had to really scrape the barrel to get through the time.
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deleted697308
Yeah i don't get how that helps them decide if they really want you in their program. honestly seems like interviews are more of a screening thing this year lol. This exact situation has happened to me so many times.
I sure af blacked out ON match day. I wasnt happy with my results... oops
Did it get better?
Yes it did. I fell really far on my rank list but things are working out and im with some really wonderful people
Out of all possible stable pairings, applicants get their best possible match. I’ve heard few stories of people matching somewhere and hating it, but I’ve heard a lot of stories of people being really disappointed with their match on match day and then discovering that it’s a great place for them.
Sorry this happened to you...this is what I am scared of. Meeting the # of interviews yet match low on the list at somewhere not optimal or no match.
Definitely disagree. You can add me to your few story list.
Yeah 16 interviews, 8th on my ROL. I was very....distraught.
Still better than going unmatched though? Also depending on your specialty, its only few years to put up
Is anyone else worried that they have been performing suboptimally during interviews and will just go the entire interview season without knowing this? I’ve done a mock interview and gotten good feedback, but in my real interviews, there’s always at least one question that stumps me and that I don’t have a good answer for. I’ve also had some interviews where the interviewer doesn’t seem enthusiastic at all about what I’m saying, and I’m worried that I’m bombing them. I can’t tell if I’m just being overly anxious or if I should actually schedule some more mock sessions to practice. :/
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True. You got me there.
I mean it’s literally how the algorithm works. I’m not doubting you, just saying that the algorithm is designed to favor stable pairings to the applicant. Nothing’s perfect though and people will have bad outcomes. Sorry that happened to you. 🙁
It’s honestly just lazy interviewers. I agree it looks bad if an applicant has literally zero questions to ask. But it looks super bad when they can’t even ask a generic question.
After 20 consecutive minutes of me asking questions and carrying the entire conversation today, I flipped the script and said “Well geez I’ve been talking your ear off. What questions do you have for me?”
How did that go over?
Well the interviewer sat up straight for starters lol. Then he asked some pretty generic questions I think we’re sort of all prepared for.
Agreed they blurred out faces and computer screens but it was nice getting an online tour of the hospital .
I feel the same...I hate interviews lol...
Why isn't the match program proposing then?
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deleted697308
Everyone feels the same. Yes, there are some interviewers who mesh with you. I had a few where we just clicked and the conversation was natural. But always have one interviewer who says something rude or has a weird face while i talk. It happens. I doubt you're bombing them. As long as you aren't rude or ignorant, you're probably fine.
So step 2ck was a bust - scored a few points higher than I did on step 1, but I'm guessing my percentile would actually be lower (haven't had the heart to look it up). Still, I already had all the interviews I really wanted and at least it was a passing score so I shrugged it off. Then I got an interview invite from my most reach program. Seriously? You just wanted to see that crudola score in order to interview me? This whole process is insane. Don't get me wrong, I'll take the interview. Sad thing is a good friend of mine would give an arm to interview at this program (and honestly would probably rank it higher, though we'll see how interview day actually goes) but 1) it would be a jerk move to ask "hey, did you also get this interview?" and 2) no acceptable way to tell the program that this other person would be a better fit...
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Thats how it used to be. It was changed to favor the applicants instead of the programs.
Interviewed at my number 1 program today. They only had one 30 minute interview, which went really well, but I didn't stress to the interviewer that this was my number 1. Was planning on waiting until February before sending an update email, but at the end of the interview the PD told us that they had a strict no post-interview communication policy, and that interviewees shouldn't even send thank you notes!!
What do I do????
What do I do????
If it's truly your #1, send dat shiii
I sent thank you emails to my #1 place right after interviewing with them. But, if they would have said they have a strict no post-interview communication policy I'd most likely not be sending them thank you notes. I feel like if it's your #1, you best take that seriously
That would be true if it were program proposing. Since it’s applicant proposing, the applicant ends up with their best match. I can write up a more detailed explanation if you want.
You’ve got it backwards, but it seems like you don’t want to know why so I’ll let it go. But there are a few easy to read explanations of why the applicant proposing algorithm yields best match to the applicants if you’re interested.
Bad advice lol...If the program already said no post-interview communication policy and you send one, it shows you can't even follow simple instructions.
I would kinda hint at it during (like kinda indirectly say it through saying a lot of positive things you like about the program and how you’d like living wherever it is) then also send that love letter in Feb.
You're right.
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