Did you 'prepare' for interviews?

[molten]

I recently came across someone who took a day's leave to 'prepare' for an upcoming interview.

What kind of preparation do you put in for an interview? I know they usually don't test your medical knowledge on interviews. So do you think a general conversation needs *preparing*?

Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[greg1184]

I did a mock interview, which was much harder than the interviews I have had so far. Also, I created answers to a list of high yield questions... "Tell me about yourself," "Why Specialty X," etc. Before each interview I skim through it just to get in the mindset. Otherwise, most of the interviews I have been have been purely conversational. Very positive experience.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I can't imagine needing a full day to "prepare" for an interview

Unless they meant to fly to the location, I guess.

 

[molten]

I did a mock interview, which was much harder than the interviews I have had so far. Also, I created answers to a list of high yield questions... "Tell me about yourself," "Why Specialty X," etc. Before each interview I skim through it just to get in the mindset. Otherwise, most of the interviews I have been have been purely conversational. Very positive experience.

Thanks. Did you feel your preparation helped? Didn't you think the 'tell me about yourself and why specialty X' questions could be answered spontaneously?

 

[greg1184]

Thanks. Did you feel your preparation helped? Didn't you think the 'tell me about yourself and why specialty X' questions could be answered spontaneously?

The last thing I want to think about during my interview is what to say. I have a basic outline of what I will talk about and then go spontaneous from there.

I also look over my PS and CV and make sure I know it well. After a bunch of interviews, however, preparation is less necessary.

This is my experience.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thanks. Did you feel your preparation helped? Didn't you think the 'tell me about yourself and why specialty X' questions could be answered spontaneously?

See, while I'm sure you COULD answer those spontaneously, you have to also do so succinctly; you don't want to spend 5 minutes answering "tell me about yourself." So like the user above me, I have a general outline of what I want to say to these common questions, but I try to not have them come out completely canned.

 

[QuacksterVu]

What worked for me:

Note: Less prep becomes necessary as you get deeper into the season. Got to the point where the only thing I did to prep was to lay my clothes out for the next morning.


-Reviewing possible interview questions and answers a few days prior. Made sure to hit a few points. Like GoSpursGo says, you want to be succinct since you'll have limited interview time and attention spans only last for so long.

-Thoroughly know your CV (leadership, research, interests, etc.). For example, I was asked about my thoughts on Federer vs Sampras, my research projects, and favorite types of photography and current camera.

-Read up on the program and interviewers' background if possible. Helps if you can find some common ground with interests.

-Be yourself. Personally, I find that interviews are much more relaxed for the interviewer and interviewee when you are visibly comfortable.

 

[Cali2]

The time to prepare definitely gets shorter by the end of the interview season.

Regardless, for all my interviews I would:
-Briefly review my application/prior research projects - less time by end of season, lots of time at the start.
-Review my "talking points" for common interview questions
-Read through the program website and briefly read-up on my interviewers' research/clinical interests if given their name ahead of time
-Prepare at least 2-3 program-specific questions
-I had a research heavy application, so I also tried to have the names in mind of a few people working in a similar research field at the program, though I was rarely asked about this.

I traveled a lot, so I typically used time sitting at airports or on trains/buses to do this prep work.

 

[winkleweizen]

I review the programs website and thats it.


I did look over my application and made sure I could answer Why Specialty X early on in the season.

 

[path12]

My application is strong in research too, and I try to read about the papers that the people interviewing me published but so far none of them have nothing in common with my research and on the other hand, I wasn't asked specifics on the subject....By the way this I've seen it more on the mid size programs.
Is it usually like this on the heavy academic (big) programs, or do this type of programs tend to ask more about publications and bench work?

 

[Law2Doc]

I recently came across someone who took a day's leave to 'prepare' for an upcoming interview.

What kind of preparation do you put in for an interview? I know they usually don't test your medical knowledge on interviews. So do you think a general conversation needs *preparing*?

Thanks.

1. Know your CV well. had an interviewer who seemed most intent on discussing an article I worked on many years ago that was hardly the most relevant thing on my CV.

2. Make sure you have a good list of questions so that when they inevitably turn the interview over to you, you have ammunition.

3. Look at the program website, particularly the CVs of anyone you might meet with to see if you have any common background with anyone that might be useful to play up in an interview.

 

[Knicks]

Hey everyone,

I know this may be program/specialty-specific but, can you guys list some questions to ask the interviewers?

Also, what are some high-yield questions they ask the interviewee?

Much thanks in advance.

 

[DreamingTheLive]

I really think it depends on what field you're going into. Otherwise, I disagree with a lot of the prep advice above. Overkill would be an understatement.

Know yourself, really well. Know what you want out of residency. Lol, "studying" for an interview...c'mon, really?

 

[Stellar Clouds]

I really think it depends on what field you're going into. Otherwise, I disagree with a lot of the prep advice above. Overkill would be an understatement.

Know yourself, really well. Know what you want out of residency. Lol, "studying" for an interview...c'mon, really?

Couldn't agree more with this post. You should already know what you put in your ERAS application, and at this point in time, you should be able to tell someone why you want to go into your chosen specialty.

Enjoy this time during 4th year. Don't spend it studying obscure articles written by someone who may interview you.

 

[Knicks]

I really think it depends on what field you're going into. Otherwise, I disagree with a lot of the prep advice above. Overkill would be an understatement.

Know yourself, really well. Know what you want out of residency. Lol, "studying" for an interview...c'mon, really?

Couldn't agree more with this post. You should already know what you put in your ERAS application, and at this point in time, you should be able to tell someone why you want to go into your chosen specialty.

Enjoy this time during 4th year. Don't spend it studying obscure articles written by someone who may interview you.

These 2 posts make a lot of sense.

Can others chime in on these posts?

 

[FrisbeeDocIM]

These 2 posts make a lot of sense.

Can others chime in on these posts?

I'm now done with all of my interviews (doing IM), and I can safely say that I 100% agree. I researched programs for my first few interviews, trying to find specific talking points that I could bring up/ask about during interviews & tours. Honestly though, anything I could have found online was presented in the morning slide show, and I never used any questions I prepared beforehand. I quickly stopped prepping for interviews.

Also, as for researching articles from your interviewers: the only place that provided names of my interviewers prior to the day of the interview changed one of my interviewers between that email and the interview day. Don't waste your time looking up anything other than their specialty, as it doesn't help & just wastes your time.

Relax, enjoy 4th year, and good luck on interviews!

 

[Law2Doc]

Couldn't agree more with this post. You should already know what you put in your ERAS application, and at this point in time, you should be able to tell someone why you want to go into your chosen specialty.

Enjoy this time during 4th year. Don't spend it studying obscure articles written by someone who may interview you.

Meh, you'll have quite a few months of fourth year to enjoy -- you can start that after rank lists are in.
You may not recall everything in ERAS if you had a Long history of accomplishments (not everyone has a plain vanilla ERAS with just 1-2 publications) so absolutely review the more remote things you considered less pertinent -- they do come up. And I'm not advocating reading the more obscure articles, but in certain specialties it doesn't take much work to figure out who might interview you, and so it pays to know that you both went to the same college, or both did research in XYZ, etc. That kind of stuff is a longshot, but can yield dividends in the interview.

 

[fahimaz7]

I read the website the night before the interview. Wrote down who the PD, APD, etc were and got to know the curriculum and training sites. Other than that, I went into the interview and just had a conversation. The questions that catch you off guard are not ones you can get from their website or their CV.

 

[foley12]

The best practice for interviews are actual interviews. I definitely feel that I was able to anticipate questions and polish my answers as the interview season progressed. That being said I highly recommend at least 1-2 "practice" interviews at programs that you do not have a strong interest in, early in the interview season.

 

[GoSpursGo]

These 2 posts make a lot of sense.

Can others chime in on these posts?

I would not suggest that you sit around and study for two hours to prepare for the interview. However, I don't have the exact numbers that we found for my research projects off the top of my head. I don't want to hem and haw about my 3 greatest strengths on the spur of the moment. There are other minor points in my application that I've forgotten. But looking over a document with these things, by the end of interview season, shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes, and then maybe another 10-15 minutes to browse the website looking for questions to ask for the next day.

While I agree that by and large the interviews really are just a conversation, for example, I did have one interviewer ask me about every single research project on my application including the three I did in college. I definitely would not have been able to remember much about those projects off the top of my head if I didn't at least glance at my cheat sheet the night before. So in retrospect, the 20-25 minutes I spent prepping for the interview was well worth it.

Personally I don't advocate going deep on pubmed stalking your interviewers, as I feel like that would come across as more weird than anything, but I don't know if that would be reasonable in other specialties

 

[Law2Doc]

I would not suggest that you sit around and study for two hours to prepare for the interview... but looking over a document with these things, by the end of interview season, shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes, and then maybe another 10-15 minutes to browse the website looking for questions to ask for the next day... So in retrospect, the 20-25 minutes I spent prepping for the interview was well worth it...:

My point is that the person with a CV say 4-5 times as long as yours (ie. Perhaps a nontrad with extensive work and research history) who does the same degree of per document review is going to hit the two hour mark pretty easily. You can't use yourself as the frame of reference and say "two hours" is too much if you are indicating a 10 minute per document timeframe. Review time is a function of what you have to review.

 

[GoSpursGo]

My point is that the person with a CV say 4-5 times as long as yours (ie. Perhaps a nontrad with extensive work and research history) who does the same degree of per document review is going to hit the two hour mark pretty easily. You can't use yourself as the frame of reference and say "two hours" is too much if you are indicating a 10 minute per document timeframe. Review time is a function of what you have to review.

You're welcome to disagree. However, I really did feel that after the first 3-4 interviews I really just needed a brief refresher on the exact numbers that we found for my research projects, as after talking about it a few times I knew how I was going to talk about the project reasonably well off the top of my head. I suppose if you know you are interviewing for a physician scientist track or going into a field where it might be reasonable to be grilled on the nitty-gritty details of your project you might need to review in greater detail. Nevertheless, I think it is reasonable to say that the vast majority of applicants needn't review more than 20-25 minutes for an interview including looking over a program's website, let alone 2 hours.

 

[Knicks]

I'm now done with all of my interviews (doing IM), and I can safely say that I 100% agree. I researched programs for my first few interviews, trying to find specific talking points that I could bring up/ask about during interviews & tours. Honestly though, anything I could have found online was presented in the morning slide show, and I never used any questions I prepared beforehand. I quickly stopped prepping for interviews.

Also, as for researching articles from your interviewers: the only place that provided names of my interviewers prior to the day of the interview changed one of my interviewers between that email and the interview day. Don't waste your time looking up anything other than their specialty, as it doesn't help & just wastes your time.

Relax, enjoy 4th year, and good luck on interviews!

I would not suggest that you sit around and study for two hours to prepare for the interview. However, I don't have the exact numbers that we found for my research projects off the top of my head. I don't want to hem and haw about my 3 greatest strengths on the spur of the moment. There are other minor points in my application that I've forgotten. But looking over a document with these things, by the end of interview season, shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes, and then maybe another 10-15 minutes to browse the website looking for questions to ask for the next day.

While I agree that by and large the interviews really are just a conversation, for example, I did have one interviewer ask me about every single research project on my application including the three I did in college. I definitely would not have been able to remember much about those projects off the top of my head if I didn't at least glance at my cheat sheet the night before. So in retrospect, the 20-25 minutes I spent prepping for the interview was well worth it.

Personally I don't advocate going deep on pubmed stalking your interviewers, as I feel like that would come across as more weird than anything, but I don't know if that would be reasonable in other specialties

Thanks, guys.


Interesting post:

I read the website the night before the interview. Wrote down who the PD, APD, etc were and got to know the curriculum and training sites. Other than that, I went into the interview and just had a conversation. The questions that catch you off guard are not ones you can get from their website or their CV.