How important is dinner the night before the interview?

[minniemo]

I looked at other threads on "How important is dinner the night before the interview?" but they don't quite address my specific question. I'm interviewing for a CAP position and I already know that the resident's are a fun bunch. This program's my number one choice and I was given the option of attending dinner on a later date if I wanted to. My question is how important is dinner the night before the interview, given that I'm going for a second look anyways. My conflict arises from doubts that it won't look good if I don't go, given that the program was nice enough to suggest I go on another day. The deterrent is I already had a grueling 8 hour interview and I won't enjoy having the spotlight on me yet again (I'd rather spend my evening doing something fun). That said I'll go if I have to. Please advise

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[hippiedoc13]

I would say just go. It's free food, and an hour (maybe 90 min at most) out of your life, and you will have already traveled all the way there for the interview anyway. If you already know the other fellows are fun, then it should be pretty enjoyable. Besides, half the point is to show them that YOU are fun and they would want to spend time around you.

 

[billypilgrim37]

It's bad form not to go without a very good reason, and "I don't wanna" isn't quite good enough. Mainly because people are funny in this world, and it just takes irritating the wrong person despite innocent intentions to result in you simply not getting what you otherwise might have been able to have.

 

[minniemo]

Thanks guys. I've decided to go to the dinner.

 

[sella turcica]

the only dinner that I am not going to attend is in a special situation. The program is interviewing me while I am on a visiting clerkship and they don't have the dinner/tour arrangements set up. Otherwise, I am going to every dinner, even when it means an extra hotel night (this is the case in two of my interviews).

 

[notdeadyet]

I'm trying to attend all of them, but sometimes travel makes it impossible. I'm attempting to schedule 2 interviews per week, but lots seem to offer only Thursday or Friday, which means having a couple back to back and couple of dinners close to impossible.

 

[peppy]

I agree with the others. Only skip the dinner if you can afford for them to hold it against you. I was forced to miss the dinner at a couple places due to interviewing as an intern, which I would think was a good enough reason for places to understand (surely they realize that interns don't have great control over their schedules). Alas, I did get the impression there were a couple of folks who didn't like it even when the program coordinator had assured me it was not a problem.

 

[minniemo]

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I'm usually drained at the end of the interview day and even during the day I'm tying myself in knots. Any tips on how to make this dinner pleasant and less stressful?

 

[notdeadyet]

The dinner's usually the night before the interview, no?

 

[atsai3]

The dinner's usually the night before the interview, no?

I think it varies by program. Some programs have it the night before. Other programs have it the day of.

-AT.

 

[atsai3]

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I'm usually drained at the end of the interview day and even during the day I'm tying myself in knots. Any tips on how to make this dinner pleasant and less stressful?

At many programs (adult psych or CAP) the dinner is really just a chance for you to get to know the residents/fellows and to see if they are a group of people you might enjoy spending time with. In my experience the dinners were the least stressful part of the day.

-AT.

 

[minniemo]

Notdeadyet, this dinner is on the day of the interview despite what the title reads.

Atsai, I come from a pretty informal program and the one i'm applying to is just the opposite. There's a part of me that worries that I'll pour coffee over myself or do something like eat a dollop of wasabi sauce (and I've actually done this during an interview). That's why I feel going to the dinner might actually jeopardize my chances. j/k

 

[hippiedoc13]

Notdeadyet, this dinner is on the day of the interview despite what the title reads.

Atsai, I come from a pretty informal program and the one i'm applying to is just the opposite. There's a part of me that worries that I'll pour coffee over myself or do something like eat a dollop of wasabi sauce (and I've actually done this during an interview). That's why I feel going to the dinner might actually jeopardize my chances. j/k

Even at a rather formal program, the dinner w/ the residents/fellows should be pretty kick-back. If you already know the fellows are cool people, as you say in a previous post, then why are you so nervous about this?

I would also say that if you are this worried about being uncomfortable in a social setting with these people, then are you sure this program is a good fit for you?

I don't know about you, but my ideal program would be one where if I did manage to dump coffee on myself or eat a whole dollop of wasabi, everyone would be nice and/or humorous about it, and then it would become one of those funny stories we would all tell about that thing I did when I interviewed...

 

[minniemo]

I don't know about you, but my ideal program would be one where if I did manage to dump coffee on myself or eat a whole dollop of wasabi, everyone would be nice and/or humorous about it, and then it would become one of those funny stories we would all tell about that thing I did when I interviewed...

Good point. I guess I get to test that out soon . I was partly kidding when I posted. I'm sure the dinner will not be as stressful as the interview.

 

[whopper]

The dinner should be a benefit to you in addition to the program. It could be an opportunity for you to gauge the personalities in the program. Yes, everyone will be on there best behavior but from time to time you can get at least something of a picture of what a program is like.

I wouldn't try to miss anything a program offered you during the interview phase if you were interested in that program.

 

[rgerwin]

I asked a PD who said only about 1/2-2/3 of people sctually make the dinner. Of all the things to stress about, with interviews and rotations, I don't think that should be it.

 

[sella turcica]

I don't know about you, but my ideal program would be one where if I did manage to dump coffee on myself or eat a whole dollop of wasabi, everyone would be nice and/or humorous about it, and then it would become one of those funny stories we would all tell about that thing I did when I interviewed...

+1. Life is too short for stressful pre-interview dinners. Plus, they just want to make sure that you didn't misunderstand the meaning of "addiction fellowship"

 

[cleareyedguy]

Go, don't quiz the residents too much, and be aware that any contact you make with anyone at the program is up for discussion and evaluation.

 

[minniemo]

Looks like the consensus is "Go", so go I will. Cleareyedguy, thanks for the tip on not quizzing residents too much.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Looks like the consensus is "Go", so go I will. Cleareyedguy, thanks for the tip on not quizzing residents too much.

Focus on lifestyle--where folks live, what they like to do for fun, etc...
That's more important than call schedules anyway, most of the time.