Complain about a bad interviewer?

[DREC86]

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Would anyone say something to the admissions people if they had a really bad interview? I don't mean bad as in you sucked, blanked out and forgot your name, didn't have a response to something, or stuck your foot in your mouth. I mean bad as in due to your interviewer's lack of professionalism, in other words factors out of your control.

One of my interviews at my top school was like the latter, and I would hate to have this one person stand in my way of where I want to be. I'm hoping my other interview saves me since it went really well.

The only reason I am hesitant to say something is b/c I don't know if, and how, this might affect my chances of getting in. I hate to sound whiny, but I feel this situation warrants further attention.

What do you guys think? I appreciate any feedback.

 

[NotAndrew]

God no. You are going to tell a school that you want to go to how they need to run their admissions and then expect to get in? If I where a school I would view it as someone trying to blame another person because they did not get in. However bad this person may have been I would do nothing.

 

[binko]

If you think the interviewer was in violation of any laws or any of the school's policies, then report them. This would definitely include things like if they harassed you on racial, gender, or sexual orientation basis.

Otherwise, suck it up and do something to get your mind off it.

 

[AdmiralChz]

God no. You are going to tell a school that you want to go to how they need to run their admissions and then expect to get in? If I where a school I would view it as someone trying to blame another person because they did not get in. However bad this person may have been I would do nothing.

For a split second, I thought I was going to disagree with this statement and go into how and why you should say something to the adcom about it... but then I actually played the scenario in my head.

Unfortunately, this is life - not everyone you meet will be courteous, polite, or even professional. You just kind of have to roll with the punches here and do the best you can considering - I had the same situation at one of my interviews and ended up getting in after I thought for sure that my interviewer hated my guts. Keep in mind that he/she might be impolite to everyone interviewed, which wouldn't put you at a disadvantage. I could even see the adcom recognizing this and taking his advice with a certain grain of salt. There also might have been some external factor at work here, like a personal issue with your interviewer.

However, pleading your case and complaining about an interviewer could also be seen as unprofessional from the position of the adcom. After all, he/she did take time out of his/her (likely pretty busy) schedule to meet with you. A good lesson here is that you can't expect the best situation to come out in life and you can only control your own actions. The decisions of the adcom, your interviewer, etc... are things that you have no real additional input into - you just have to do the best you can do so that you give yourself the best chance of getting in. Hopefully this works out for you - good luck!

 

[njbmd]

Would anyone say something to the admissions people if they had a really bad interview? I don't mean bad as in you sucked, blanked out and forgot your name, didn't have a response to something, or stuck your foot in your mouth. I mean bad as in due to your interviewer's lack of professionalism, in other words factors out of your control.

One of my interviews at my top school was like the latter, and I would hate to have this one person stand in my way of where I want to be. I'm hoping my other interview saves me since it went really well.

The only reason I am hesitant to say something is b/c I don't know if, and how, this might affect my chances of getting in. I hate to sound whiny, but I feel this situation warrants further attention.

What do you guys think? I appreciate any feedback.

If you attempt to do this keep in mind a few things:

• You are not (were not) an objective participant in this process. Even the best interviewees have nerves that heighten some aspects of the process and dull others.
• You need to have specifics that add up to the charges that you make.
• You need to be sure that you have accurately and objectively assessed the process which is unlikely because of the situation.
• You need to stop rehearsing that interview in your head because every time you rerun, you add or leave out things.

If you are able to do the above, then by all means, notify the admissions office of your problems with the interview and allow them to handle the situation. This may not be the first time that there have been problems with a particular interviewer and thus, you may get another interview. Just be sure that you have specifics and can outline those specifics professionally and objectively before you lodge a complaint. Good luck!

 

[Textuality]

If it was something very blatantly illegal (sexual harassment etc) then I would mention it.

If he was just a rude jerk, then I don't think it's worth it. Chances are they'll take his side over yours, and you'll just sound whiny and weak. AND if your interviewer thought the interview went well, and gave you a positive interview score anyways, then you might have just shot yourself in the foot.

It's also pretty hard to write a note like that without sounding whiny unless you can quote the things he said that were blatantly illegal. It doesn't matter if he was offensive, rude, or overly aggressive because for all we know, that's their interview style to "test" people (some interviews still subscribe to stress interviews unfortunately).

 

[stixx]

OP, you have no idea how this interviewer felt about your performance. Yes, it's possible that he doesn't enjoy interviewing or even being in the presence of applicants. But in that case, the admissions committee would catch on when he rarely recommends any of his interviewees. More likely, he was trying to guage your response to his behaviour. In which case, you could've done better than you thought. Even if your interviewer was "unprofessional" would you be willing to screw up your chances of admission to report it?

On the other hand, it's possible you just didn't click with your interviewer. That's the way admissions go.

Some schools are very open to scheduling new interviews if the applicant felt uncomfortable. But usually you would have to talk to them about it the day of. You could always call anonymously and ask what their policy is.

 

[DrWookie]

Like other people have said,

Aside from illegal actions like sexual harassment, I wouldn't say anything. You have no idea if they were trying to "test" you or what. And even if they were just a jerk...that is no law against being an ******* and sometimes you have to deal with them.

 

[DOquestions]

Would anyone say something to the admissions people if they had a really bad interview? I don't mean bad as in you sucked, blanked out and forgot your name, didn't have a response to something, or stuck your foot in your mouth. I mean bad as in due to your interviewer's lack of professionalism, in other words factors out of your control.

One of my interviews at my top school was like the latter, and I would hate to have this one person stand in my way of where I want to be. I'm hoping my other interview saves me since it went really well.

The only reason I am hesitant to say something is b/c I don't know if, and how, this might affect my chances of getting in. I hate to sound whiny, but I feel this situation warrants further attention.

What do you guys think? I appreciate any feedback.

Just move on.

 

[T15]

Not really your situation, but I found an interviewer to be very rude and anti his school, so when combined with the rest of my visit I went and told the admissions after my interview that they might want to think of who they have representing their school, and withdrew. (If you have only one person representing the school and he can not give you one reason to go there it is not a good sign.) It felt great and I am not taking the spot of someone who really wants to go there.

 

[DOquestions]

Not really your situation, but I found an interviewer to be very rude and anti his school, so when combined with the rest of my visit I went and told the admissions after my interview that they might want to think of who they have representing their school, and withdrew. (If you have only one person representing the school and he can not give you one reason to go there it is not a good sign.) It felt great and I am not taking the spot of someone who really wants to go there.

And the very second you withdrew another person took your spot. The school most likely didn't care what you thought.

 

[235009]

Not really your situation, but I found an interviewer to be very rude and anti his school, so when combined with the rest of my visit I went and told the admissions after my interview that they might want to think of who they have representing their school, and withdrew. (If you have only one person representing the school and he can not give you one reason to go there it is not a good sign.) It felt great and I am not taking the spot of someone who really wants to go there.

this would be the exact opposite of OP's situation since you withdrew whereas OP wants to be accepted. However i feel that it isn't your place to criticize like that. If you got a bad impression...just thank them for the opportunity to interview and withdraw without making a big fuss.

As for OP's situation it really depends on what you mean by unprofessional as others have pointed out. Being challenged by the interviewer isn't a lack of professionalism on their part. A bit more detail would be helpful here.

 

[T15]

I don't mind that they don't care, I let them know the impression they are giving, and I don't see how it is a bad thing someone else immediately filled my spot. I am willing to bet there are lots of people here who appreciate people like me who withdraw when they really dislike like a place.

 

[virusgirl]

At my BU interview, we were specifically told to make it known if we felt, for whatever reason, we weren't "able to shine" during our interviews, and we could do another interview with a different person. Even so, I don't think I would have felt comfortable taking that route (and mine was fine). Unless an interviewer told me I had nice t*ts or something I would be hard pressed to say anything about it.

Unfortunately, while you can technically make an issue of the interviewer's behavior, you are on the losing half of a relationship where the power is not equally balanced. I'm not sure how unprofessional the person was, but unless you can show that it was objectively bad and not just your nerves, you won't do yourself any favors.

 

[Tiare208]

I also think that the school should know if one of their interviewers is misrepresenting them because they probably don't want to alienate a bunch of applicants.

 

[DREC86]

The situation didn't involve anything illegal, nor was the interviewer "testing me". For what it's worth, here are the details...

The interviewer picked me up a little over 15 minutes later than she was supposed to, giving us less than 15 minutes to converse (a strict 30 minute time limit was being adhered to). And she didn't even apologize for being late. It was an open file interview, but she clearly didn't know a thing about me. She even asked me where I was from (pretty basic, I think) and spent a significant amount of time browsing through my file. Yet, she didn't ask a thing about me. The majority of the conversation was about health care issues in which she dominated the conversation, and I barely got a word in.

So I know at this point everyone is thinking this isn't a big deal and nothing worth complaining over, but here is my favorite part...

In the small amount of time we had, her phone rang 3 times (which she kept in her cleavage by the way... seriously?!?). And then she decides to answer when it rang a fourth time... further taking away from our time.

I wouldn't be making a big deal about it, but this is my top school =(. However, popular opinion seems to suggest that I should just suck it up. Oh well... here's hoping for the best!

 

[bluesmd]

i'm sorry, but i find it really hard to believe that she kept her phone in her cleavage. also, because of the phone call you could possibly complain, phone calls are distracting. if it was a pager and there was something urgent that would be okay. but just say you don't feel like you had enough time to express your interest, don't complain about the interviewer.

 

[135892]

The situation didn't involve anything illegal, nor was the interviewer "testing me". For what it's worth, here are the details...

The interviewer picked me up a little over 15 minutes later than she was supposed to, giving us less than 15 minutes to converse (a strict 30 minute time limit was being adhered to). And she didn't even apologize for being late. It was an open file interview, but she clearly didn't know a thing about me. She even asked me where I was from (pretty basic, I think) and spent a significant amount of time browsing through my file. Yet, she didn't ask a thing about me. The majority of the conversation was about health care issues in which she dominated the conversation, and I barely got a word in.

So I know at this point everyone is thinking this isn't a big deal and nothing worth complaining over, but here is my favorite part...

In the small amount of time we had, her phone rang 3 times (which she kept in her cleavage by the way... seriously?!?). And then she decides to answer when it rang a fourth time... further taking away from our time.

I wouldn't be making a big deal about it, but this is my top school =(. However, popular opinion seems to suggest that I should just suck it up. Oh well... here's hoping for the best!

You have no case here... let it be, and hope for the best

 

[AdmiralChz]

The situation didn't involve anything illegal, nor was the interviewer "testing me". For what it's worth, here are the details...

The interviewer picked me up a little over 15 minutes later than she was supposed to, giving us less than 15 minutes to converse (a strict 30 minute time limit was being adhered to). And she didn't even apologize for being late. It was an open file interview, but she clearly didn't know a thing about me. She even asked me where I was from (pretty basic, I think) and spent a significant amount of time browsing through my file. Yet, she didn't ask a thing about me. The majority of the conversation was about health care issues in which she dominated the conversation, and I barely got a word in.

So I know at this point everyone is thinking this isn't a big deal and nothing worth complaining over, but here is my favorite part...

In the small amount of time we had, her phone rang 3 times (which she kept in her cleavage by the way... seriously?!?). And then she decides to answer when it rang a fourth time... further taking away from our time.

I wouldn't be making a big deal about it, but this is my top school =(. However, popular opinion seems to suggest that I should just suck it up. Oh well... here's hoping for the best!

Heh... I think you're going to look back on this and laugh later on .

It is also the school's responsibility to pitch their school to you while your on the interview - lest you get lured away by someone else. Let's say you get accepted and you withdraw over it - while they might not "get their feelings hurt" they would definitely care if you (and others) withdrew because of a negative impression placed upon you by an interviewer.

While the spot would go to someone else, the fact is that you were kinda their first choice (rather than the next person) and schools are in direct competition with each other for students so it is in their interest to portray themselves as positively as possible (I could see people arguing against this for upper tier schools, but I have yet to have an overwhelmingly negative interview day where a school did nothing/obviously didn't care to impress). Just a few thoughts - if you want, you can let them know AFTER your decision comes in to give them a heads up, if you feel it necessary.

I also guarantee you that this won't be the first overtly rude doctor you'll encounter or work with 🙂

 

[DOquestions]

Heh... I think you're going to look back on this and laugh later on .

It is also the school's responsibility to pitch their school to you while your on the interview - lest you get lured away by someone else. Let's say you get accepted and you withdraw over it - while they might not "get their feelings hurt" they would definitely care if you (and others) withdrew because of a negative impression placed upon you by an interviewer.

While the spot would go to someone else, the fact is that you were kinda their first choice (rather than the next person) and schools are in direct competition with each other for students so it is in their interest to portray themselves as positively as possible (I could see people arguing against this for upper tier schools, but I have yet to have an overwhelmingly negative interview day where a school did nothing/obviously didn't care to impress). Just a few thoughts - if you want, you can let them know AFTER your decision comes in to give them a heads up, if you feel it necessary.

You got it backwards. Schools are not in direct competition for students, students are in direct competition for schools.

 

[AdmiralChz]

You got it backwards. Schools are not in direct competition for students, students are in direct competition for schools.

I think it runs both ways to an extent, especially interviews and after - financial aid packages are another way schools compete with each other. Don't forget they can see who you're holding acceptances at - several somewhat "lower" tiered schools will offer more assistance to lure away those thinking about attending "higher" tiered schools... although I hear this practice has been decreasing quite a bit.

EDIT: I probably should qualify my statement with schools are somewhat in competition for good, solid ("better") applicants. Obviously a school won't be hurting for numbers!

 

[DREC86]

Lol I swear, it was in her cleavage... I was more amused than anything b/c I do that when my hands are full... but for her to do that in such a professional situation?!? Yeah, I probably wouldn't believe it myself if it hadn't happened to me.

 

[bluesmd]

Lol I swear, it was in her cleavage... I was more amused than anything b/c I do that when my hands are full... but for her to do that in such a professional situation?!? Yeah, I probably wouldn't believe it myself if it hadn't happened to me.

:troll:

 

[drizzt3117]

Here I was thinking this was going to be like the aecom story and it's about a doctor that keeps her phone in her cleavage... What school was this at? :inlove:

 

[eyang22286]

Lol I swear, it was in her cleavage... I was more amused than anything b/c I do that when my hands are full... but for her to do that in such a professional situation?!? Yeah, I probably wouldn't believe it myself if it hadn't happened to me.

was your interviewer hot?

there, i asked it, someone was going to do it soon if i didn't 😀

 

[UVAbme2009]

Suck it up. Doctors get busy, and don't have time to do what they may have planned. I had an 8 minute interview at Jefferson. Did I complain? No. She seemed very busy, so I understood.

The whole phone in boobs thing is odd. But did that really negatively affect your interview? No.

 

[235009]

was your interviewer hot?

there, i asked it, someone was going to do it soon if i didn't 😀

my guess is that she's old

 

[RoyBasch]

The situation didn't involve anything illegal, nor was the interviewer "testing me". For what it's worth, here are the details...

The interviewer picked me up a little over 15 minutes later than she was supposed to, giving us less than 15 minutes to converse (a strict 30 minute time limit was being adhered to). And she didn't even apologize for being late. It was an open file interview, but she clearly didn't know a thing about me. She even asked me where I was from (pretty basic, I think) and spent a significant amount of time browsing through my file. Yet, she didn't ask a thing about me. The majority of the conversation was about health care issues in which she dominated the conversation, and I barely got a word in.

So I know at this point everyone is thinking this isn't a big deal and nothing worth complaining over, but here is my favorite part...

In the small amount of time we had, her phone rang 3 times (which she kept in her cleavage by the way... seriously?!?). And then she decides to answer when it rang a fourth time... further taking away from our time.

I wouldn't be making a big deal about it, but this is my top school =(. However, popular opinion seems to suggest that I should just suck it up. Oh well... here's hoping for the best!

Believe it or not sometimes in the interview they are trying to evaluate something other than your actual answers to the questions. I'm not saying it was a deliberate "test" in your case, but in medical training you will be subjected to a fair amount of "hurry up and wait" and other humiliations at the hands of superiors. Perhaps showing patience, deference, and humility with the situation is better than any answer you could have said.

n=1 anecdote: I talked to a guy who told me at an interview after the basic introductions the interviewer just talked about his research for 45 minutes. All the guy who interviewed did was listen. 2 weeks later he was accepted.

Also to echo the previous sentiments, unless they did something legally actionable like sexual harassment it generally looks very poorly to complain about an interview no matter how crummy it was due to forces out of your control.
-Roy

 

[ParthVader]

Believe it or not sometimes in the interview they are trying to evaluate something other than your actual answers to the questions. I'm not saying it was a deliberate "test" in your case, but in medical training you will be subjected to a fair amount of "hurry up and wait" and other humiliations at the hands of superiors. Perhaps showing patience, deference, and humility with the situation is better than any answer you could have said.

n=1 anecdote: I talked to a guy who told me at an interview after the basic introductions the interviewer just talked about his research for 45 minutes. All the guy who interviewed did was listen. 2 weeks later he was accepted.

Also to echo the previous sentiments, unless they did something legally actionable like sexual harassment it generally looks very poorly to complain about an interview no matter how crummy it was due to forces out of your control.
-Roy

I sort of agree w/ this. The interviewer could of just been observing how you would react under this kind of situation. In either case, unless it was something huge like sexual harassment, bringing it up with the adcom is a bad idea.. They might think that you lack maturity or something; not to discredit you, but they'll probably believe the interviewer over you in most cases... unless it was a serious claim like the one mentioned above.