Goro’s guide to interviews

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The cat would NOT stand for this!
Her brother and sister would; they're real people cats.
All of them would try to sit on my files while I try to do the interview, with their behinds pointing at us.

Remember, cats were once worshiped by the Egyptians...they've never let go of that!



Goro, do you bring your cat to your interviews? Do you look kind of like this????
Blofeld+You+Only+Live+Twice.jpg
 
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Showing that you're more interested in research than Medicine. This might be OK at Stanford, but it won’t fly at most other schools.

My neurotic pre-med senses flipped out at this. I included wanting to get into clinical research in my PS and my brain won't let me stop thinking about it -.-

Come to think of it, my app probably looks like I have no idea what I want to do in medicine. Is it completely unacceptable to admit openly that I'm keeping an open mind about what I want to do with my M.D.? I like working with patients, but I also know that I tend to find something I enjoy and run with it. I feel like right now this could be anything from primary care to bench research to ER/OBG/Ortho and I have no idea what I'm actually going to wind up enjoying.
 
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It's OK to ask about research' many interviewees ask out what projects are going on and can they do research. But some people just project this air that they want to do research more than see patients. This might be fine at Duke or NYU, but for schools that want to train Primary Care docs, it's a no-no.

tl,dr, interviewees are passionate, but your passion for Medicine should shine brighter than than for research.

My neurotic pre-med senses flipped out at this. I included wanting to get into clinical research in my PS and my brain won't let me stop thinking about it -.-

Come to think of it, my app probably looks like I have no idea what I want to do in medicine. Is it completely unacceptable to admit openly that I'm keeping an open mind about what I want to do with my M.D.? I like working with patients, but I also know that I tend to find something I enjoy and run with it. I feel like right now this could be anything from primary care to bench research to ER/OBG/Ortho and I have no idea what I'm actually going to wind up enjoying.
 
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Hey @Goro , pretty sure I already know the answer to this, but I have a question. During last year's interview cycle I was 15 minutes late to an hour long, one-on-one interview. The interview was at a regional campus, and I had stayed at a hotel close to the main campus an hour away (where we had toured the day before.) I left for the interview with what I thought was plenty of time, but, ultimately, I was late.

From your comments on the first page, I realized how easy it is for someone to get "rejected" written across the top of their file for demonstrating a flaw in character, such as showing arrogance or being unprofessional.
In your opinion, do you suspect that missing a quarter of my interview due to tardiness merited an immediate "Rejected" on my file? Obviously you cannot speak directly for the physician who interviewed me, but would this be grounds for an immediate rejection in your eyes? How would you view this type of behavior?
 
Hey @Goro , pretty sure I already know the answer to this, but I have a question. During last year's interview cycle I was 15 minutes late to an hour long, one-on-one interview. The interview was at a regional campus, and I had stayed at a hotel close to the main campus an hour away (where we had toured the day before.) I left for the interview with what I thought was plenty of time, but, ultimately, I was late.

From your comments on the first page, I realized how easy it is for someone to get "rejected" written across the top of their file for demonstrating a flaw in character, such as showing arrogance or being unprofessional.
In your opinion, do you suspect that missing a quarter of my interview due to tardiness merited an immediate "Rejected" on my file? Obviously you cannot speak directly for the physician who interviewed me, but would this be grounds for an immediate rejection in your eyes? How would you view this type of behavior?

I'm obviously not Goro, but I would reject anyone who couldn't show up on time. If other applicants are anything like me, they probably woke up at 4am frantically planning out every single detail of their day to ensure that they showed up an hour early to the interview. There really is zero excuse for being late.
 
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I'm obviously not Goro, but I would reject anyone who couldn't show up on time. If other applicants are anything like me, they probably woke up at 4am frantically planning out every single detail of their day to ensure that they showed up an hour early to the interview. There really is zero excuse for being late.

an hour early to an interview seems extremely unnecessary. 30 minutes I can understand, but a hour?
 
I'm obviously not Goro, but I would reject anyone who couldn't show up on time. If other applicants are anything like me, they probably woke up at 4am frantically planning out every single detail of their day to ensure that they showed up an hour early to the interview. There really is zero excuse for being late.
I can assure you few applicants are anything like you
4 am? What just what
 
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Hey @Goro I have a question. During last year's interview cycle I was 15 minutes late to an hour long, one-on-one interview.
I would reject anyone who couldn't show up on time..
Every adcomm wouldn't have a knee jerk reflex to reject such a candidate. Wouldn't you listen to the explanation? Wouldn't you judge him partially by how he presented himself and behaved in light of such a stressor?
 
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Every adcomm wouldn't have a knee jerk reflex to reject such a candidate. Wouldn't you listen to the explanation? Wouldn't you judge him partially by how he presented himself and behaved in light of such a stressor?

the inability to follow simple instructions on what might be that person's most important day yet in their academic career wouldn't warrant that? i mean, if there is a good excuse, i would assume the applicant would call the office and notify them that he is running late. maybe i just dont like having my time wasted?
 
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ok good just checking
Never underestimate the neuroticism of our generation. Like, seriously..

lol that was kind of the point i was trying to illustrate. apparently it was too early in the morning for me when i made that post.
 
strange situation- I had an interviewer yesterday who seemed disinterested in asking me any questions. He appeared tired (was already yawning before I sat down)
kept looking elsewhere, and only asked me one interview-esque question that he forgot halfway and had to look at his phone to check. However, he did keep saying (in a rather flat voice) did you have any questions for me?

To which I asked as many (relevant questions) as we i could about the school, the curriculum and the questions and he seemed more excited about answering those than he did in asking me. He spent a good 10 mins talking about each question
and we went over time a by 10 mins (I was the last one) Is this normal? He made no notes, did not have my file open, and left pretty quickly after. He did tell me to email him if I had more questions.

In context, he was faculty, not an md and was pulled last min to do interviews.
Could I have possibly been judged based on the questions I asked? Thanks!

Also: Should I email thank you's or write and send thank you notes?
 
strange situation- I had an interviewer yesterday who seemed disinterested in asking me any questions. He appeared tired (was already yawning before I sat down)
kept looking elsewhere, and only asked me one interview-esque question that he forgot halfway and had to look at his phone to check. However, he did keep saying (in a rather flat voice) did you have any questions for me?

To which I asked as many (relevant questions) as we i could about the school, the curriculum and the questions and he seemed more excited about answering those than he did in asking me. He spent a good 10 mins talking about each question
and we went over time a by 10 mins (I was the last one) Is this normal? He made no notes, did not have my file open, and left pretty quickly after. He did tell me to email him if I had more questions.

In context, he was faculty, not an md and was pulled last min to do interviews.
Could I have possibly been judged based on the questions I asked? Thanks!

Also: Should I email thank you's or write and send thank you notes?

Wait you already had an interview for this cycle?! Wow...thats fast. What school?
 
Wait you already had an interview for this cycle?! Wow...thats fast. What school?
I was the second round of interview, in texas :)
 
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This would be a huge red flag.

Do you think that someone would be able to get a job at, say, Genentech or Ford Motor Company by being 15 mins late for a job interview?

I wouldn't reject someone before the entered the room, but I'd ask what happened, and if extenuating circumstances occurred ( I was locked out of my hotel room due to a defective key; the cab had a flat, the student guiding me here got lost himself), I might understand.

But simply getting lost? Or as in your case, not allowing for enough time to go from Point A to Point B? You're an adult and expected to be able to both know where you're going and allow yourself ample time to arrive.



Hey @Goro , pretty sure I already know the answer to this, but I have a question. During last year's interview cycle I was 15 minutes late to an hour long, one-on-one interview. The interview was at a regional campus, and I had stayed at a hotel close to the main campus an hour away (where we had toured the day before.) I left for the interview with what I thought was plenty of time, but, ultimately, I was late.

From your comments on the first page, I realized how easy it is for someone to get "rejected" written across the top of their file for demonstrating a flaw in character, such as showing arrogance or being unprofessional.
In your opinion, do you suspect that missing a quarter of my interview due to tardiness merited an immediate "Rejected" on my file? Obviously you cannot speak directly for the physician who interviewed me, but would this be grounds for an immediate rejection in your eyes? How would you view this type of behavior?
 
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Even if pulled in for relief, the man who interviewed you displayed a lot of unprofessional behavior and you should complain to the Admissions Dean. It's the only way we can get rid of bad interviewers.

strange situation- I had an interviewer yesterday who seemed disinterested in asking me any questions. He appeared tired (was already yawning before I sat down)
kept looking elsewhere, and only asked me one interview-esque question that he forgot halfway and had to look at his phone to check. However, he did keep saying (in a rather flat voice) did you have any questions for me?

To which I asked as many (relevant questions) as we i could about the school, the curriculum and the questions and he seemed more excited about answering those than he did in asking me. He spent a good 10 mins talking about each question
and we went over time a by 10 mins (I was the last one) Is this normal? He made no notes, did not have my file open, and left pretty quickly after. He did tell me to email him if I had more questions.

In context, he was faculty, not an md and was pulled last min to do interviews.
Could I have possibly been judged based on the questions I asked? Thanks!

Also: Should I email thank you's or write and send thank you notes?
 
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Even if pulled in for relief, the man who interviewed you displayed a lot of unprofessional behavior and you should complain to the Admissions Dean. It's the only way we can get rid of bad interviewers.

What he explained is a pretty rare occurrence I'm hoping?
 
Even if pulled in for relief, the man who interviewed you displayed a lot of unprofessional behavior and you should complain to the Admissions Dean. It's the only way we can get rid of bad interviewers.
when "reporting" an interviewer, should we make it sound as passive as possible so we don't sound like a complainer
 
Even if pulled in for relief, the man who interviewed you displayed a lot of unprofessional behavior and you should complain to the Admissions Dean. It's the only way we can get rid of bad interviewers.
:( I didn't expect this. I already felt nervous when the first thing he said to me..after a long pause because I was waiting for questions, was "well, what do you want to know from me?"
in the interview he did mention how one thing about the students here was that they complained about his teaching style and his accent, and then afterwards a current student told me not to worry because they had issues with his style in class and he might come off harsh but was a nice person.

Do you have any pointers on how I should even frame the report?
 
I would pay exorbitant amounts of money to be interviewed by a cat.

As I said, I dreamed I was interviewed by Goro.

The fact that I was unphased by a talking black cat calling my name (and wearing a small bow tie), walking behind the aforementioned black cat leading me to his office, and then being interviewed while the cat stood on the desk, I think really says a lot about how tolerant I am of people of all shapes and sizes. ;)
 
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Absolutely smashing material. Can we rally for this to be stickied?
 
What's an appropriate way to answer describe yourself? What exactly are they looking for when they ask this.
 
Hey @Goro , pretty sure I already know the answer to this, but I have a question. During last year's interview cycle I was 15 minutes late to an hour long, one-on-one interview. The interview was at a regional campus, and I had stayed at a hotel close to the main campus an hour away (where we had toured the day before.) I left for the interview with what I thought was plenty of time, but, ultimately, I was late.

I've had multiple dreams in the last few weeks of being late to my interview. Gosh, I will probably be up at 4 A.M. :(
 
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I've had multiple dreams in the last few weeks of being late to my interview. Gosh, I will probably be up at 4 A.M. :(
I had one where I showed up to a local mixer for students applying to a few schools, and then it turned into 'surprise! Interviews!' halfway through only everyone else had known ahead of time, so I'm sitting there wearing booty shorts (which I never wear anyway) while they're suddenly in suits. I tried to change in the corner of an empty room but then suddenly a kid and his interviewer walk in. I freeze, the interviewer doesn't see me because I end up behind him after he sits down at the desk, but the poor kid stammered his way through simple questions, thrown off by the fact that I was standing there naked in the corner trying to silently put my ugly pink booty shorts back on, mentally cursing myself for stripping down to my birthday suit just to change pants - and for forgetting that I had no suit to change INTO once I had stripped!

I applaud the poor, flustered, imaginary premed in my dream, though, because he never did rat me out even though it tanked his interview!

*note: the dream was far more complex, with a full lead-up story as to why I had that ridiculous outfit, a last-second mixer invite, and my own encounter with my own interviewer, but this gets the gist of it across!
 
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@Goro for those of us who are non trad or been out of school longer, will you ask about older ECs or just the most recent?
 
I have 3 years of research experience and I talk a lot about how passionate I am about research and that I want to integrate it into my career as a physician. I understand I may be asked why MD instead of PhD which I can answer pretty easily. However, I am worried I might be asked why MD over MD/PhD (or DO vs DO/PhD). The truth is, I am not sure if I love it enough at this point to commit an extra 3-4 years to get the extra formal training and I also don't have the super high stats typically necessary to get into these type of combined degree programs.

These are pretty lame answers and I think it might undermine how much I enjoy research and how dedicated I am to achieving my goals. Any advice on how to answer this type of question more appropriately? thanks!
 
I have 3 years of research experience and I talk a lot about how passionate I am about research and that I want to integrate it into my career as a physician. I understand I may be asked why MD instead of PhD which I can answer pretty easily. However, I am worried I might be asked why MD over MD/PhD (or DO vs DO/PhD). The truth is, I am not sure if I love it enough at this point to commit an extra 3-4 years to get the extra formal training and I also don't have the super high stats typically necessary to get into these type of combined degree programs.

These are pretty lame answers and I think it might undermine how much I enjoy research and how dedicated I am to achieving my goals. Any advice on how to answer this type of question more appropriately? thanks!
Just explain why you love research but you want it to be an activity you do in addition to seeing patients, and not the other way around (assuming your main interest in medicine is to see patients).
 
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I had a dream once where I was interviewed by Goro.

I was so nervous in the dream that it didn't dawn on me it was Goro. This is despite being interviewed by a black cat and being asked indirectly about things I've told him privately here, but are not on my application. Near the end of the interview, it dawned on me who it was, then I woke up. Never did find out if I was accepted to his school. ;-)
LOL. I needed that. Thanks. Also, I've had similar dreams (but with different avatar interviewers).
 
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anyone know any tricks to not get intimidated by other interviees? (other than punching them or something..serious answers plz!)
 
anyone know any tricks to not get intimidated by other interviees? (other than punching them or something..serious answers plz!)

Be confident in yourself...? Why on earth would you punch someone.
 
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competition...

Never a good reason unless you're in a boxing ring.

To answer your question, I'll make a disclaimer that I haven't actually interviewed yet, but from what I've heard, interview day is generally a genuinely good opportunity to get to know people who may be your classmates next year. There should be no reason for them to intimidate you and vice versa, and if you find an interviewee intimidating anyway, just leave them alone and focus on learning about the school.
 
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Never a good reason unless you're in a boxing ring.

To answer your question, I'll make a disclaimer that I haven't actually interviewed yet, but from what I've heard, interview day is generally a genuinely good opportunity to get to know people who may be your classmates next year. There should be no reason for them to intimidate you and vice versa, and if you find an interviewee intimidating anyway, just leave them alone and focus on learning about the school.
very helpful thanks! Guess I'll save my karate skills for adcoms who reject me? (jk)
 
They're NOT competition. Stop thinking like a gunner.

At interview, the ten people there are not interviewing for two seats. They're interviewing for ten seats. If they pass muster, they're all accepted.

The only person you should be competing with is yourself.

Take some acting or speech classes, or join the debate team.

competition...
 
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They're NOT competition. Stop thinking like a gunner.

At interview, the ten people there are not interviewing for two seats. They're interviewing for ten seats. If they pass muster, they're all accepted.

The only person you should be competing with is yourself.

Take some acting or speech classes, or join the debate team.
never thought about this before..you are very reassuring!
 
anyone know any tricks to not get intimidated by other interviees? (other than punching them or something..serious answers plz!)
Calm down there IK Enemkpali.
 
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