Having issues "connecting with interviewers"

[just1a]

In the past year, I have gotten feedback from admissions committees from 2 schools and it pretty much boiled down to my interview preventing me from getting accepted. One conversation was from last years cycle which ended in a rejection and the other phone call was a few months ago and am currently on the WL. Both schools stated everything else (grades, ECs) was fine or exceeds their bar.

For school 1 last cycle, the adcom told me they didn't feel there was a "personal connection with the interviewers." For school 2 this cycle, I was told my answers were "too short" and thus the interviewers "didn't get to know me very well."

Prior to these interviews, I have done mock interviews and the main feedback that I received was that I should show more enthusiasm. My answer length and content of my answers were generally fine. I'm a fairly mild mannered/introverted guy, but I did drink an energy drink before my last interview (the same one that ended up as a WL) to try to liven myself up more.

So what strategies should I use to overcome this? I've thought about using more anecdotes and how much I like working with other people as a team. Overall, I'm just looking for ways to "connect better" regarding 1, questions about my AMCAS activities and 2, questions about policy, ethics, and diversity?

Any advice would be appreciated.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Casper or PREview scores?

None of your mock interviewers gave you feedback that was actionable?

How did you prepare otherwise for your interviews? Were they both conversations? No MMIs?

 

[Goro]

Practice makes perfect.

You may be coming off as too stiff and inpersonable.

 

[karaya]

Have you tried going through a list of common medical interview questions, and writing down answers? The purpose isn't to memorize responses, but to have a handful of anecdotes that you can fall back on, that demonstrate your positive qualities. You can't force a connection, but you can equip yourself with talking points and a smile. As far as policy and ethics, I'd say know your state's law on euthanasia and also familiarize yourself with the 4 pillars of medical ethics.

 

[just1a]

Casper or PREview scores?

None of your mock interviewers gave you feedback that was actionable?

1st quartile Casper. Didn't take PREview since no schools I applied to required it. Neither school requires Casper as well.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

1st quartile Casper. Didn't take PREview since no schools I applied to required it. Neither school requires Casper as well.

Oh. How many of the schools in your list required Casper?

We don't have a WAMC to figure out more details. Are you a current reapplicant, or is this your first cycle?

 

[just1a]

Oh. How many of the schools in your list required Casper?

We don't have a WAMC to figure out more details. Are you a current reapplicant, or is this your first cycle?

Can't remember. 30+ schools. Applied a few times before. Stayed away from T-20 schools. One was my state school and the other was a private school.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Can't remember. 30+ schools. Applied a few times before. Stayed away from T-20 schools. One was my state school and the other was a private school.

Do your written essays reflect your oral communication? In other words, if I were to transcribe your answers to questions, would your "written" response sound like you?

What do your references say about your personality, I wonder.

 

[just1a]

I would say so. I personally wrote them. I did have people look through them and provide edits but I would say they “sound like I would talk.”

Do your written essays reflect your oral communication? In other words, if I were to transcribe your answers to questions, would your "written" response sound like you?

What do your references say about your personality, I wonder.

 

[j_diggity]

I have noticed something. In my interviews, there are usually two phases - the main questioning phase and the phase where I get to ask questions. In 90% of my interviews, the first phase is just something you have to "get through," answer genuinely and let your passion come through. I think I do a good job at that. But an interview goes from good to great at the end, where I get to ask questions. If I know anything about the interviewer, I start to ask them about their specialty, how they decided to work for that school, or anything else interesting.

For example:

• One of my interviewers was a former president of a major professional body. I asked them how they got there, what it was like, and if they had any advice for someone who might be interested in professional advocacy one day.
• Another interviewer was an older guy, and he talked about how things have changed since he went through training. He seemed good-natured, so I asked him "I heard you say that things have changed a lot, and I think that my generation tends to want to throw out all the old traditions. Sometimes that's good, but sometimes we throw out the baby with the bathwater. What are some things you wish the younger generation would keep?" I had to be careful how I worded this, but it went over well.
• One interviewer was a male OB/GYN. This is pretty atypical these days, and I enjoyed asking him about how he ended up there, what the experience was like. I also said that I don't know what specialty I'd want to go into (I am also male), but if I were interested in OB/GYN, what advice would he have for me?
• Another interviewer started several public health organizations in my area. I mean, big influential local organizations - it's hard to imagine a time before they existed. I asked him what challenges he faced in doing that, and if he had any advice for someone who might be interested in starting public health advocacy organizations in the future.

These were all times that I connected pretty deeply with the interviewer. I haven't heard back from all the schools but I was accepted at two of the above schools.

Take an interest in the interviewer and find out what unique wisdom they have to offer. Ask them about it.

Note: You should also ask at least one school-specific question to demonstrate interest in the school.

 

[just1a]

Have you tried going through a list of common medical interview questions, and writing down answers? The purpose isn't to memorize responses, but to have a handful of anecdotes that you can fall back on, that demonstrate your positive qualities. You can't force a connection, but you can equip yourself with talking points and a smile. As far as policy and ethics, I'd say know your state's law on euthanasia and also familiarize yourself with the 4 pillars of medical ethics.

I have but the questions are different each time. My state school has thrown me some questions I was not expecting at all at times.

One question was along the lines of “describe a moment that defines/encapsulates who you are.” I was quite surprised at that question and maybe didn’t do the best job at improvising.

 

[purdey]

Hi there! Sorry to hear about your interviews. Hopefully that waitlist turns into an A. I'm just a fellow applicant but have been told I interview well and honestly I think a lot of it comes from sorority recruitment haha. You're forced to talk to strangers all day and by senior year I felt like I could carry a conversation with a brick wall. Obviously you can't go through recruitment lol but maybe if you try striking up casual conversation with strangers? Like a friendly chat while waiting to check out or in line for coffee. Maybe that way talking to a stranger and trying to connect during an interview will seem a little more old hand/natural? Just a thought

 

[just1a]

Hi there! Sorry to hear about your interviews. Hopefully that waitlist turns into an A. I'm just a fellow applicant but have been told I interview well and honestly I think a lot of it comes from sorority recruitment haha. You're forced to talk to strangers all day and by senior year I felt like I could carry a conversation with a brick wall. Obviously you can't go through recruitment lol but maybe if you try striking up casual conversation with strangers? Like a friendly chat while waiting to check out or in line for coffee. Maybe that way talking to a stranger and trying to connect during an interview will seem a little more old hand/natural? Just a thought

I have another interview in January which is the purpose of this thread lol. I think I'm fine in normal day to day conversations. It's more the odd questions I get during these interviews that trip me up and trying to sell myself in a way that's not ingratiating.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I would contact people from your school or your premed advising office and try to do as many mock interviews as possible. And then ask people to roast you because the adcoms are. Sometimes it's hard to introspect (no offense intended)

 

[Stuaccount]

One question was along the lines of “describe a moment that defines/encapsulates who you are.” I was quite surprised at that question

Why were you surprised? Do you have an answer for it now? Having specific anecdotes is good but if you don’t have one defining moment (or can’t think of one on the spot), I think it’s okay to say it (tactfully) but still answer the question of who you are and how you got there or how you reflect who you are in day to day life. We don’t always have defining moments or single events for various things we may be asked about but we all have an idea of who we are and how we got there and how we live it.

If you get in a similar situation again, think of what each question is getting at. Then try to address it in a thoughtful way without getting flustered by not being able to answer it in the exact way the interviewer asked it. A lot of the time, the personal questions are routine, like something you could talk about with most other humans, they are just phrased in a weird way.

 

[lacrossegirl420]

It’s also possible that was just a “cop out” answer, especially if you only got 2 interviews it’s likely there are other parts of your app you could strengthen. I’d be more concerned if you had 5+ interviews that all ended in rejections or something

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I have another interview in January which is the purpose of this thread lol. I think I'm fine in normal day to day conversations. It's more the odd questions I get during these interviews that trip me up and trying to sell myself in a way that's not ingratiating.

Don't forget to pay it forward and put your impressions in the Interview Feedback Database.

 

[eigen]

One thing I see a lot in students who I give similar feedback to in mock interviews (too short, lacking enthusiasm, aren't connecting well) is that they're often trying too hard to find "the right" answer, rather than using the question as a chance to show who they are as a person, what's important to them, and how they think.

This often results in a student giving "an answer" that they think is right, but it takes 30 seconds when they could have used another few minutes to use that answer to tell something about themselves, tell an anecdote about an experience they had, share a situation they've been in, or tie their response into something that shows/talks about what kind of physician they will be in the future.

I see it a lot with ethical / scenario questions, where my students tend to think the goal is to give the right answer, when the goal is to show the interviewer how you approach the scenario, what you would think about / keep in mind, and how you would get to the answer.

 

[ByThe+C]

This often results in a student giving "an answer" that they think is right, but it takes 30 seconds when they could have used another few minutes to use that answer to tell something about themselves, tell an anecdote about an experience they had, share a situation they've been in, or tie their response into something that shows/talks about what kind of physician they will be in the future.

I feel like a lot of adcoms and physicians involved in admissions often forget that most applicants don't want to self-censor but strategically choose to do so because they think it is in their best interest to provide 'safe' answers that don't give interviewer reasons to reject them. While one interviewer might not appreciate 30 second answers that allow the interviewer more time to ask the applicant questions, another interviewer within the same school might penalize applicants who talk for 3-5 minutes.

I've read three interview books so far and the ridiculous number of innocuous things that you should avoid saying or doing in a medical school interview is overwhelming. Each book I've read can be boiled down to: "be authentic and likeable but don't say or do A, B, C, D, ..." which makes the medical school interview seem like a mine field instead of a conversation. I wouldn't be surprised if interviewees who were found to be more personable and authentic were more likely to have experiences that don't need self-censoring.

 

[eigen]

I've never run across that sort of advice, personally. Nor would I give it. Providing "safe" answers is almost always a ticket to being considered a generic applicant, and while it might not be a reason to reject someone it isn't likely to give a reason to accept them either.

And I'm not really aware of much need to "self-censor"? You want to make sure that you're presenting your experiences and perspectives thoughtfully and respectfully, and presenting yourself in such a way that the interviewer doesn't question your ability to equitably treat any patient you will be asked to treat in your career, but I'm surprised that this is translating to "self censorship".

The only advice I give about censoring things is to remind students that while it is about answering personally, they need to be sure that they're OK with talking about and answering questions about experiences they want to bring up. So, for example, some of the students I work with will choose to talk about SA, and some might not. Ditto time spent homeless, experiences with major medical issues, etc. It's not for the committee's benefit, it's because of what they feel comfortable doing and not doing.

IME, most interviewing comes down to "show how you will engage with patients when you're a physician". Things that indicate a poor bedside manner, a lack of ability to empathize, or a willingness to jump to conclusions rather than thoughtfully examine an issue are all detractors, as are indications that you don't have a solid grasp on what it means to be a physician, an inability to articulate why they want to be in this field specifically, and a lack of ability to converse about issues and ethics in medicine.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I feel like a lot of adcoms and physicians involved in admissions often forget that most applicants don't want to self-censor but strategically choose to do so because they think it is in their best interest to provide 'safe' answers that don't give interviewer reasons to reject them. While one interviewer might not appreciate 30 second answers that allow the interviewer more time to ask the applicant questions, another interviewer within the same school might penalize applicants who talk for 3-5 minutes.

I've read three interview books so far and the ridiculous number of innocuous things that you should avoid saying or doing in a medical school interview is overwhelming. Each book I've read can be boiled down to: "be authentic and likeable but don't say or do A, B, C, D, ..." which makes the medical school interview seem like a mine field instead of a conversation. I wouldn't be surprised if interviewees who were found to be more personable and authentic were more likely to have experiences that don't need self-censoring.

I agree with @eigen. Self-censorship just to appease what they think admissions interviewers want to hear is playing defense. I don't know how you can play defense and "stand out." It's a challenge to be afraid and express confidence. Try to over-rehearse and you risk sounding too inauthentic.

Faculty want to know if you are a student they want to see approach then for problems in classes or clinic. They want to know you are someone that is teachable and won't require a lot of extraneous effort to remediate. They don't want students who just tell them what they want to hear, exorbitant if it isn't authentic.

Yes you need to show you can adjust to different professors. Some want a very quick answer within 30 seconds. Others want more self-reflection. Either way, you need to remain likeable and appropriately humble to make those adjustments. These same faculty will write your clerkship evaluations that may dictate your future success in a given specialty. And there are enough mine fields to navigate in medical school that will make these other perceived interview minefields seem easy.

And then there is the variability among patients...

 

[ron_johnson]

You have to read between the lines of the questions and give a kind of answer that the school wants to hear basically. It's not about actually answering the letter of the question.