How much does your photo/looks help in getting interviews?

[uhmocksuhsillen]

I feel like on the day to day, I'ma solid 7.5, maybe jumping to 8 if I'm looking especially dapper. Add a little photoshopping to that ERAS photo and I'm bordering on weak 9 territory.

Does a shower of interview invites typically await such genetically gifted individuals?

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[funtertaining15]

I feel like on the day to day, I'ma solid 7.5, maybe jumping to 8 if I'm looking especially dapper. Add a little photoshopping to that ERAS photo and I'm bordering on weak 9 territory.

Does a shower of interview invites typically await such genetically gifted individuals?

How to respond to this...


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[st2205]

We had all the photos thrown into a computer program that sorted and ranked them. Granted, it wasn’t super sensitive or specific, but with thousands of applications, you need some level of automated filtering just to be able to parse down the work load. We’d have absolute exclusion criteria (less than 5.5 was a no-go), but things that were 5.5-6.8 required human sorting, which requires a 2/3 agreement for interview. However, the human raters could vote ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘undecided.’ In the event of an ‘undecided,’ the program would appeal to the quantity of requests a photo would generate on a dating website.

It wasn’t a perfect process, but it allowed our attractiveness metrics to be standardized enough to compare them with LORs, board scores, and the MSPE.

 

[FlowRate]

We had all the photos thrown into a computer program that sorted and ranked them. Granted, it wasn’t super sensitive or specific, but with thousands of applications, you need some level of automated filtering just to be able to parse down the work load. We’d have absolute exclusion criteria (less than 5.5 was a no-go), but things that were 5.5-6.8 required human sorting, which requires a 2/3 agreement for interview. However, the human raters could vote ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘undecided.’ In the event of an ‘undecided,’ the program would appeal to the quantity of requests a photo would generate on a dating website.

It wasn’t a perfect process, but it allowed our attractiveness metrics to be standardized enough to compare them with LORs, board scores, and the MSPE.

Although this was a joke, google eigenfaces for a way of training this sort of program.

I'll just say that it probably helps to show up looking like your picture. You don't want your interviewers to know you're going to poison the local tinder pool.

 

[wolfvgang22]

I submitted this photo. It worked 60% of the time, every time.

 

[Trismegistus4]

We had all the photos thrown into a computer program that sorted and ranked them. Granted, it wasn’t super sensitive or specific, but with thousands of applications, you need some level of automated filtering just to be able to parse down the work load. We’d have absolute exclusion criteria (less than 5.5 was a no-go), but things that were 5.5-6.8 required human sorting, which requires a 2/3 agreement for interview. However, the human raters could vote ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘undecided.’ In the event of an ‘undecided,’ the program would appeal to the quantity of requests a photo would generate on a dating website.

It wasn’t a perfect process, but it allowed our attractiveness metrics to be standardized enough to compare them with LORs, board scores, and the MSPE.

At my program, we did have committee meetings where we would evaluate all photos ourselves, and we would only interview 7s and above. I argued that this wasn't quite fair, so my program director did allow us to consider a 6 on a case-by-case basis, but only if everyone agreed she looked like she was DTF. And once I was at a resident social event and met this smoking hot girl who ended up matching at the program across town; we had passed on her because she was only like a 4 in the face but when you saw her in person you could tell she had a 9 bod! After that happened, we started insisting on full body bikini photos of all applicants so as not to miss out on the butterfaces.

 

[uhmocksuhsillen]

We had all the photos thrown into a computer program that sorted and ranked them. Granted, it wasn’t super sensitive or specific, but with thousands of applications, you need some level of automated filtering just to be able to parse down the work load. We’d have absolute exclusion criteria (less than 5.5 was a no-go), but things that were 5.5-6.8 required human sorting, which requires a 2/3 agreement for interview. However, the human raters could vote ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘undecided.’ In the event of an ‘undecided,’ the program would appeal to the quantity of requests a photo would generate on a dating website.

It wasn’t a perfect process, but it allowed our attractiveness metrics to be standardized enough to compare them with LORs, board scores, and the MSPE.

What a fabulous system, thanks for sharing.

And agree with the hard 5.5 cut off. I generally don't enjoy, nor do I work well with those <5.

 

[whopper]

Per the science attractive photos help whether or not people admit to it or are even aware of it.

There is a science behind this.
Employment Interview (Industrial-Organizational Psychology) IResearchNet

I mentioned this before many times. We physicians like to think of ourselves as scientists but to my knowledge no medical school or residency program has yet to tap into the vast data of Industrial Psychology in helping them to pick applicants. Why not given how important this process is?

Why would a field so into evidenced-based practice not utilize that same approach in picking applicants?

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

Not submitting a photo is an option for applicants, but I don't suggest doing that. If you sit in a selection committee meeting and see someone without a photo, only half of the people the applicant met will be able to remember who is being talked about. When you project an applicant's photo there is always a chorus of "Oh yah, I remember him/her". It does make a big difference for we senior people with failing memory and a task that includes interviewing a hundred people.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

We keep photos hidden until we've actually invited.
And we take fresh pix on the interview day so that DMV picture doesn't follow you through the process.

 

[st2205]

Not submitting a photo is an option for applicants, but I don't suggest doing that. If you sit in a selection committee meeting and see someone without a photo, only half of the people the applicant met will be able to remember who is being talked about. When you project an applicant's photo there is always a chorus of "Oh yah, I remember him/her". It does make a big difference for we senior people with failing memory and a task that includes interviewing a hundred people.

Sort-of not related, but in hospital systems where you submit or upload your own photo for a chart, it’s highly, highly correlated with an axis II diagnosis.

My current system takes pictures of (most) patients at the front desk, so it’s predictive value is fairly meaningless.

 

[Candidate2017]

I feel like on the day to day, I'ma solid 7.5, maybe jumping to 8 if I'm looking especially dapper. Add a little photoshopping to that ERAS photo and I'm bordering on weak 9 territory.

Does a shower of interview invites typically await such genetically gifted individuals?

This thread is worthless without pics.

 

[Evidence Based]

My program contracted with Tinder to build our applicant review software. It gives your picture, your Step 1, and the first 9 words of your personal statement to an app on our phones. You must have 2/3 of residents swipe right in order to even be considered for an interview.

 

[phonyreal98]

My program contracted with Tinder to build our applicant review software. It gives your picture, your Step 1, and the first 9 words of your personal statement to an app on our phones. You must have 2/3 of residents swipe right in order to even be considered for an interview.

"It's a match!"

 

[SeniorWrangler]

I dunno, sometimes you try to recruit a resident who's out of your league, you try to match and never hear from them again... years later you see them at a conference, presenting their research with some other attending. Breaks my heart, it does.