good questions to ask interviewer

[lovepickles]

Hi all,

I have an interview coming up and one of my interviewers is someone who's involved in healthcare administration but isn't a physician. What are some good questions to ask him?

Thanks!

 

[deleted1075353]

I always like to ask "what kind of student succeeds at this school?" since you can infer what the culture is like from their response.

I've also noticed in my interviews that they are way more excited to talk about what it's like to live in their city rather than random crap about their school that no one really cares about.

 

[reizh]

I always like to ask "what kind of student succeeds at this school?" since you can infer what the culture is like from their response.

I've also noticed in my interviews that they are way more excited to talk about what it's like to live in their city rather than random crap about their school that no one really cares about.

For me personally, the second part of your comment actually turns me off a lot. The schools I have found myself liking a lot post-interview were ones where my interviewers were extremely passionate about the school and talked a lot about it instead of just how the city it's in is a great place to live (I can live there after residency but right now, I want to know about the school!)

 

[deleted1075353]

For me personally, the second part of your comment actually turns me off a lot. The schools I have found myself liking a lot post-interview were ones where my interviewers were extremely passionate about the school and talked a lot about it instead of just how the city it's in is a great place to live (I can live there after residency but right now, I want to know about the school!)

That's fair and to each their own. I was just describing my experience with interviewers. I will say though that in my opinion, most med schools are pretty much the exact same (research, free clinics, global health, yadda yadda yadda) so I think weather/cost of living/recreation are more of a distinguishing factor.

@OP, you can also ask about your interviewer's career if you don't have anything about location or school. Could be easy to segue into if you get asked any healthcare system questions earlier.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Don't research the interviewer and ask about their research or their specialty. Ask about the opportunities the school has for things you are interested.

 

[lovepickles]

thank you everyone for your help!

 

[M&L]

interviewing is like dating, the school is evaluating you, but you are also evaluating the school.
Dont worry about asking the questions that you think might make a good impression. Instead, sit down and try to find out what do YOU want to know? what is important to YOU. Lets say you are accepted to several schools, - what sort of criteria would you use to choose between the schools?

 

[Goro]

Hi all,

I have an interview coming up and one of my interviewers is someone who's involved in healthcare administration but isn't a physician. What are some good questions to ask him?

Thanks!

Physician or not, try some of these:

• Goro's Guide to YOUR Interview Questions (2018 edition)

And hopefully these might be of some use. Good luck!!!

• Goro's Guide to Interviews
• Goro's Guide to Interviews: The View from Behind the Curtain

 

[Deltasidearm]

While I was interviewing, I started off by thinking of questions in advance that I wanted to know, but I found that I often had time to get these answered in advance of the interview (at the many Q&A sessions provided throughout each day). Then, I felt somewhat awkward asking questions I already knew the answer to.

Instead, at the suggestion of my roommate (who is a PGY2 resident), I started letting questions come naturally during the interview and were much more personalized to the interviewer. This ended up being much more conversational and I felt like I was better able to connect with my interviewers (while still gaining valuable knowledge) than when I came in with pre-planned questions. Those interviews were also more fruitful for me.

I definitely would not stress about it, though. Just make sure YOU get some value out of the question and you do not sit there and say nothing.