How have you explained your business job in interview?

[fastfingers]

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For those who got a job which isn't really related to healthcare such as i-banking, business consulting, business analyst or something of those sort and did it as a gap year, how did you explain it to your interviewer and what was usually the reaction?

do you usually put it off and say you didn't like the job in the very end when compared to a job in healthcare or how do people usually go about this?

 

[pkwraith]

Never be negative. Saying you didn't like the job may be honest, but it also starts the conversation on a negative aspect, which is never good. Your focus is on how much you would like healthcare better, and describe how it's better, and avoid saying how something is worse.

And you explain the job to your interviewer pretty much like how you wrote it on the Work List of AMCAS. It's a job with responsibilities or skills that you list. People gets jobs for all sorts of reasons.

 

[fastfingers]

but how about explaining why you took a business job in the first place? I guess the fear is that if I say i took it cause it pays well, then I would be perceived as someone going into medicine for money, but if it say I did it because i was interested in business, than adcom may think i'm not fully committed into medicine.

i've known people who did really well in med school committee process working as something in business during gap year, so i was wondering how they played out their business experience.

 

[FattySlug]

I got a degree in biology and works as a junior accountant. If asked I would be honest and saying that I initially took the job as a temporary measure but grew to like the people at work and the pay is good. I tried to look for biotech jobs but could not land a position that offers at least equal pay. I think if adcom live in the real world at all they would understand where you are coming from as long as you are honest.

 

[pkwraith]

but how about explaining why you took a business job in the first place? I guess the fear is that if I say i took it cause it pays well, then I would be perceived as someone going into medicine for money, but if it say I did it because i was interested in business, than adcom may think i'm not fully committed into medicine.

i've known people who did really well in med school committee process working as something in business during gap year, so i was wondering how they played out their business experience.

Money is a fact of life. There's nothing wrong with saying you worked for money--that is why we work in the first place. You just have to say it in the correct ways. There are tons of reasons that anyone can give: exploring professional working life and the real life, saving money for medical school, a good way of traveling, doing some growing up learning important life skills.

In the end, having worked in business is more of an advantage than a disadvantage. You get many of the skills required or important for physicians. You get practice in business acumen as well as in professional etiquette and behavior. You get immense practice working with diverse clients, dealing with conflict resolutions. You get practice with giving bad news, managing people's expectations. You get an understanding of timelines, priorities, and balancing projects. You have to work on managing a lot of responsibilities and stress, dealing with up to dozens of people in team. In a year, you might even get leadership experience depending on the company.

Business experience is just a treasure trove of answers. Secondaries are a piece of cake. "What conflicts have you resolved?" I can think of five great answers in a few seconds. "Greatest successes?" Projects measured in millions of dollars. Etc etc.

Just bring it all together into a full circle into why you would be a good fit for medicine. You have all the experiences, but you still have a passion for medicine.