Failed attempts at humor during an interview

[captbadass]

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So I finally started getting some interviews this week, and I asked my friend, who went through the process last year, for some adivice. He told me a funny story about what happened at his first interview. Anybody who has watched meet the parents might remember owen wilson saying a similar line.

Anyways, hes talking to this old doc for about ten minutes and things seem to be going well. My friend feels like its safe to joke around a little bit, as the old guy had already made some off the wall comments. The guy asks my friend the age old, "Why medicine?" In response my friend says, "Well, on the drive over I saw a golden retriever with a gimp leg. It made me feel terrible, and I just wished there was something I could do about it." He went on to say he was joking and start explaining the real reason, but the old doc became irate for some reason and went on a long winded speech about the state of medicine and demanding what the hell a golden retriever has to do with it. Needless to say, my friend didn't get accepted there.

Anybody think my friend was out of line by doing this? I thought it was funny because I have seen meet the parents a thousand times and new what he was talking about, but I can see why the old guy would be like WTF. Well, this is just a reminder to everyone to gauge the interview situation a little more carefully.

CAPT

 

[drguy22]

So I finally started getting some interviews this week, and I asked my friend, who went through the process last year, for some adivice. He told me a funny story about what happened at his first interview. Anybody who has watched meet the parents might remember owen wilson saying a similar line.

Anyways, hes talking to this old doc for about ten minutes and things seem to be going well. My friend feels like its safe to joke around a little bit, as the old guy had already made some off the wall comments. The guy asks my friend the age old, "Why medicine?" In response my friend says, "Well, on the drive over I saw a golden retriever with a gimp leg. It made me feel terrible, and I just wished there was something I could do about it." He went on to say he was joking and start explaining the real reason, but the old doc became irate for some reason and went on a long winded speech about the state of medicine and demanding what the hell a golden retriever has to do with it. Needless to say, my friend didn't get accepted there.

Anybody think my friend was out of line by doing this? I thought it was funny because I have seen meet the parents a thousand times and new what he was talking about, but I can see why the old guy would be like WTF. Well, this is just a reminder to everyone to gauge the interview situation a little more carefully.

CAPT

lol

 

[Swack]

What were the actual lines in Meet the Parents again? I don't think I remember that part.

 

[Ypo.]

I have often pondered whether it is OK to joke around. I think I'm going to err on the side of caution - and be conservative, but not stiff. I don't think anyone will fault you for being tactful and taking questions seriously.

That guy sounds like kind of a prick - obviously the poor student was just trying to make a silly joke.

Personally, if I was going to blow my interview I would say "to get respect, earn lots of money, and retire by the time I'm 50, why the hell do you think I'm going into medicine?"

I'm so sick of being asked that question.

 

[bewitched1081]

i remember watching my interviewer make notes during our 60 minute interview. he was writing all over the place, turning the paper upside down and sideways and he kept underlining, circling, and boxing things. by the time i was supposed to leave he had ink all over his fingers. he said something about his notes and i said jokingly, "that is, if you could read them." i dont know why that came out but i immediately regretted saying it. i guess its safer to leave all sarcasm and joking out of the interview.

 

[Fusion]

I am somewhat older than the average applicant, and one piece of advice I can give regarding interviews or just interacting with ppl in a professional setting: Always think before you speak. Better yet, think quickly but speak slowly. Not to say that you should agonize over everything that you want to say, just stay on your toes and don't forget that you are trying to make the best impression. Using a little humor appropriately can help, but using it inappropriately can certainly hurt. Regarding humor in professional conversation, when in doubt, leave it out.

Your friend's comments about why he wants to be a doctor are pretty funny in and of themselves. But they would be more appropriate if he was in a casual setting or hanging out w/ friends, not in a medical school interview with an older physician. Medicine is the most conservative of all the professions, and was even more conservative in past generations than it is today.

I think that a good interviewer can adapt his or her own personality to that of the interviewer. It is known that people admire things in others that they admire in themselves. In other words, if a person w/ a no-nonsense type personality is interviewing you, it is in your best interest to be serious and succinct. If a more laid back, humorous person is interviewing you, it's okay to joke a little and maybe be a little more descriptive or anecdotal.

 

[Ypo.]

i remember watching my interviewer make notes during our 60 minute interview. he was writing all over the place, turning the paper upside down and sideways and he kept underlining, circling, and boxing things. by the time i was supposed to leave he had ink all over his fingers. he said something about his notes and i said jokingly, "that is, if you could read them." i dont know why that came out but i immediately regretted saying it. i guess its safer to leave all sarcasm and joking out of the interview.

Didn't you get accepted?