How do you know you did well in an interview?

[sponch]

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I've read some posts on here where people have said that they or someone else "kicked ass", "did really well", etc., etc., on their interviews.

My question is: How do you know you did well on an interview?

All my interviews have been very pleasant conversations with some doctors, most of whom I felt would be good advocates for my application when their adcoms meet. Because all my experiences have been so similar, it has been difficult for me to judge. Do you think the interviewers are just pleasant to your face and keep their reservations to themselves? I would like to think that they are more forthright about how they feel, but maybe not. Any one have thoughts on this?

 

[UCLAMAN]

I don't think one can know for sure. I mean theres usually that vibe you get during the interview which can indicate how it went. But in the end, the interviewee doesn't know what the interviewer puts on their evaluation. And just because your interviewer is smiling and laughing along with you doesn't necessarily mean they like you. Conversely, just because your interviewer is giving you a hard time and may seem smug, doesn't necessarily mean they do NOT like you.

When I have interview people for various positions, volunteer progs. etc. I always smile and am courteous. I always try to make the interviewer feel at ease regardless if I like how they are answering their questions or not. Often, I'll even agree with them even if I really don't agree just to see how far they may take their answer.

In the end I think one can have a vibe/feeling about how an interview went which is a good indicator. But you never know what that interviewer will put on their eval.

 

[bridgie]

IMHO

A) you can never really know
and
B) it doesn't really matter anyway

I have heard an interview can keep you out of a shcool but it can't get you in. It is just a piece of the puzzle. If you have an interview you have the stats to get into a school and at ad comm i think they just look at the big picture including the interview. I think you can only mess it up by being really offensive, arrogant, unpersonable....

i don't know though, i have not gotten rejected post interview and i dont know anyone else who has eitehr. I feel like if you get an interview you are either waitlisted or accepted.

but i knwo nothing about this random process, i am just bored and typing.

interviews are so weird. i can never read them...

 

[tBw]

I don't think you can know unfortunately. Sometimes interviewers have specific red flags they want to ask you about - and if you don't satisfy them regarding that then they will still give you a poor overall evaluation even if the rest of the interview went well - you just never know which bits of the interview are important and which are not (as all interviews there will be one or two moments that stick in the interviewers mind and define it for them - and these may be completely different moments to what you remember).

So far I have come out of all of my interviews feeling that, whether tough or relaxed, I handled myself in a way I was happy with. Thats the best you can hope for. Talking to the other interviewees on those days all of them seemed happy too - and not ALL of us could have got accepted! So all you can do is prepare, then be yourself - and wait and see.

If anyone knows a better solution let me know!

 

[SuzieQ]

Just as everybody above me has said - you really don't know. My personal experience came this last December. The interview was very mundane, the three interviewers were nice, but not too nice, made suggestions about some answers (to ethic questions) but also said "good" a couple times. I left feeling very wishy-washy about the whole ordeal. Then 2 days later I got accepted by dean who said my interviewers were very excited about me and that it was one of the best interviews they had all day. I never would have guessed....

 

[Explosivo]

I have a rule about things like this and 90% of the time it can be applied to exams as well. I call it "Explosivo's Rule of Opposites."

Basically, if you're a screwy, hyper-anxious worrier such as myself then whenever you think you did really bad on an interview you actually did pretty good. Whenever you think your interview went well, or was "o.k." then you did not do so good. This rule only applies to me though unless you're unfortunate enough to be anything like me. For the rest of you though, it's probably useless.

So basically what I'm trying to say is most of the time it's useless to claim to have kicked ass in an interview much less think about it afterward b/c your impressions are usually wrong. Unless of course your interviewer flat out tells you you're either God's gift to medicine or are a total ass-clown and have no chance of being admitted.

My 2 pesos.

 

[manicmaven]

Yep...I'm sick of trying to second guess how I've done. I've had ones that felt great, ones that felt okay and ones that made me feel like poo. The results haven't correlated and have varied widely. If only there was a logical relationship. blah.

 

[Bob Dole]

You did well if the interviewer says something to show that they really liked you...

At one (and only one) of my interviews, the interviewer said, "Bob Dole, I want you to come here."

And Bob got in.

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by Bob Dole
You did well if the interviewer says something to show that they really liked you...

At one (and only one) of my interviews, the interviewer said, "Bob Dole, I want you to come here."

And Bob got in.

Do they do Viagra research at that school?

 

[daveyboy]

I had an interviewer say "Daveyboy, I want you to come here". That was good, but I still have my doubts. Since Im in Texas I have to wait a few more weeks until this is confirmed or denied.
Did Bob Dole decide to be a doc after washing out of politics, or has Bab Dole always dreamed of being a doc?

 

[Iffy premed]

my NYU interviewer told me "you would be great in medical school", well....I have been waiting since december...i know...it is only been one month...but if I was going to be so great...let me in already!

I think the best indicator of interview success is whether or not you feel that you have conveyed yourself fully, did you show how you are qualified to be a physician, and how you will be a good doc.

 

[wolferman]

Originally posted by Bob Dole
You did well if the interviewer says something to show that they really liked you...

At one (and only one) of my interviews, the interviewer said, "Bob Dole, I want you to come here."

And Bob got in.

I agree with Bob Dole. I think it needs to be a specific comment that couldn't have been given to anyone. For instance, in one interview I was asked to explain how I deal with people who are upset. So I started by talking about my job as a technical support agent and how I had to calm people down on occassion. I compared the job to that of a physician by explaining how at the start of our calls, we were required to gather all the computer information (CPU, RAM, etc.) much the way a doctor does a History and Physical. When I was done he said, "I like your comparison of gathering the information to taking an H&P." My point is that it wasn't just a smile and a nod, but rather positive feedback. In my experience, that's how you KNOW for sure.

 

[Random Access]

Hmmm...when I interviewed at a certain school for undergrad, the dude told me I'd get in... April 1? Waitlist (although I had called beforehand to ask, because I wasn't sure if I should accept a scholarship or not). Then several weeks later, a rejection. Guess it doesn't apply to med school, because the interview means a lot more probably...

 

[jalfredprufrock]

Um, you get in.

Sorry, couldn't help it.

 

[coldchemist]

I can't believe no one has said this yet...

YOU KNOW YOU DID WELL IF YOU GET THE FAT ENVELOPE!!!

HA HA Ha Ha ha haaa.....well, I thought it was funny.

 

[jalfredprufrock]

Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week. And by the way, try the salmon special.

 

[smilez428]

my student interviewer at Upstate said
"Something like 80% of my interviewees have gotten in..."

my faculty interviewer said:

"that clinical experience is going to help you more than you even know"

and guess what.... I got in Those were good interviews!

 

[sponch]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I guess the only thing to do now is wait. Perhaps this is the first lesson in being a doctor: be patient.

 

[TroutBum]

Originally posted by Explosivo
I have a rule about things like this and 90% of the time it can be applied to exams as well. I call it "Explosivo's Rule of Opposites."

Basically, if you're a screwy, hyper-anxious worrier such as myself then whenever you think you did really bad on an interview you actually did pretty good. Whenever you think your interview went well, or was "o.k." then you did not do so good. This rule only applies to me though unless you're unfortunate enough to be anything like me. For the rest of you though, it's probably useless.

So basically what I'm trying to say is most of the time it's useless to claim to have kicked ass in an interview much less think about it afterward b/c your impressions are usually wrong. Unless of course your interviewer flat out tells you you're either God's gift to medicine or are a total ass-clown and have no chance of being admitted.

My 2 pesos.

Explosivo, I operate under the same rules

What I thought was my best interview got me a waitlist, and what I though was my absolute worst got me an acceptance.

 

[Desdemona]

Mine have pretty much correlated with the response (or lack thereof) that I have gotten , with one exception, Emory. I interviewed with a cardiologist named Williams, I think? I interviewed at Emory the first day they did interviews, and he looked me in the eye and said to me 3 times, "Tell me what I can tell you to get you to come to Emory." I thought it was in the bag! He said he loved my personal statement, too, and we talked about whether I could do residency at Emory, too, etc. It was a great interview. I left thinking that I would for sure be accepted on the very first mailing of acceptances. Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything from them, so I guess we'll see, but I was really surprised. If I'm getting rejected from Emory, that guy REALLY misled me. Who knows...maybe he says that to every person he interviews?

 

[scootad.]

I'm sorry but there's something a little bit creepy about all these interviewer's looking in the applicant's eye and begging the applicant to come to their school. A similar thing happened to me at one of my state schools where the interviewer said something like, "most applicants of your caliber say yes they are interested and then they reject our acceptance offer. how do i know you are no different."

what are these interviewers thinking?? dont they realize saying such things makes their school look desperate and less appealing.

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by scootad.
I'm sorry but there's something a little bit creepy about all these interviewer's looking in the applicant's eye and begging the applicant to come to their school. A similar thing happened to me at one of my state schools where the interviewer said something like, "most applicants of your caliber say yes they are interested and then they reject our acceptance offer. how do i know you are no different."

what are these interviewers thinking?? dont they realize saying such things makes their school look desperate and less appealing.

It's a common occurrence. For example, at Eastern Carolina, they'll ask if ECU is your top choice. They know that a lot of people want to go to Carolina, so they want to figure out who really wants to go to ECU. Why should they accept you if you don't really want to go there? Every school wants to increase their yield.

 

[scootad.]

Yes, but I feel by saying it the way they do, it achieves the opposite of what they want. Nobody finds beggars appealing. It makes you run the other way. Human nature.

 

[johnstoner]

schools do look desparate if they do that but i think students who apply should do that without thinking it is desparate b/c schools do the choosing not the students...well in most cases...that means that you have to really come off as wanted to be there. as always...beggars can't be choosers.

 

[natureboy503]

i interviewed in the spring, and after the interview the professor said, "let me give you my card in case you have any questions over the summer." just listen to see if you interviewers give you a hint. most of the time, the interviewer isnt going to say "yeah you're in", or "please come here". then again sometimes you just have to wait and see.

 

[Mutterkuchen]

One of my interview concluded with "I think that you are a very strong applicant." The end result was that I was put on hold. We'll see what comes of it. For the most part, I think that you should take the feedback with a grain of salt.

 

[Chemguync]

One of my interviewers said "I'll accept you if you sign a contract right now." When I refused, he got very upset, screaming at me to get out of his office. Later, when I was walking to my car, he shot me from the top of the hospital, right in my a$$. Still trying to decide if I should send thank-you notes and a letter of intent.

 

[darkmatter]

I agree with Natureboy. If the interviewer offers something for you to keep in touch, that's two thumbs up. Don't forget to write a thank you note too.

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by Chemguync
One of my interviewers said "I'll accept you if you sign a contract right now." When I refused, he got very upset, screaming at me to get out of his office. Later, when I was walking to my car, he shot me from the top of the hospital, right in my a$$. Still trying to decide if I should send thank-you notes and a letter of intent.

Yes, you must always send thank you notes to all your interviewers! You will never get in without them! You still have a chance!

 

[samenewme]

Originally posted by Chemguync
One of my interviewers said "I'll accept you if you sign a contract right now." When I refused, he got very upset, screaming at me to get out of his office. Later, when I was walking to my car, he shot me from the top of the hospital, right in my a$$. Still trying to decide if I should send thank-you notes and a letter of intent.

Oh, you must send a thank-you note. No point in burning your bridges. And be sure that when they dig the shot out of your ass you enclose that in the note. It's school property and you should really return it.

 

[relatively prime]

Originally posted by Bob Dole
You did well if the interviewer says something to show that they really liked you...

At one (and only one) of my interviews, the interviewer said, "Bob Dole, I want you to come here."

And Bob got in.

This isn't true either... I got those kind of comments from 2 or the 3 schools I am now waitlisted at.

 

[samenewme]

Originally posted by relatively prime
This isn't true either... I got those kind of comments from 2 or the 3 schools I am now waitlisted at.

Getting waitlisted doesn't mean you didn't do well. Getting REJECTED outright means you didn't do well. Getting waitlisted just means that some people did BETTER Than you did.