how mutual should conversational interviews be?

[Doctor~Detroit]

i've noticed that interviews tend to be quite conversational, with topics ranging from medical school to home town. often, the interviewer will mention some personal information about themselves, like where they are from, whether they have a family, where they went to medical school or residency, etc.

when this information comes up, should we treat the interview like a true conversation and ask the interviewer more about their personal background? or should we keep in mind that this is an interview after all, and keep the conversation relevant to our own background and school "fit"?

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[MirrorTodd]

I'm not sure, but in my case it would probably be best if we kept the converstion off of me for the entire interview.

 

[Rafa]

The sincerest form of interviewing is talking as much about the interviewer as possible. If you get the chance, keep the topic away from you.

 

[inside_edition]

the interviews are more about building rapport with the person interviewing you. in other words, they know that all interviewees are smart but do they have the social skills to become a doctor?

 

[Writer1985]

I've always let my interviewer guide the pace of the interview; several have chosen to share info (like where they went to med school, about their spouses, etc). Occasionally I have shared information about my family (I'm very close to them), nothing really personal, just the sort of thing you might say to a recent acquaintance.

That said, the interview is supposed to be about you and your aptitude for medicine. Don't steer every piece of information back to your application, but at the same time don't let them ramble on for 30 minutes about how when they went to med school, they did XYZ -- none of my interviewers have done that, but I've heard horror stories. In conversational interviews, where the focus is on your personal characteristics, it's probably best to just let things flow and glide.

 

[medanthgirl]

on the flip side, if the interviewer has offered up little to no information about themselves, are we supposed to politiely inquire about it, like towards the end? i don't know, i was going to for my first one, but then i started to get nervous and didn't. now i wish i had...

 

[modelslashactor]

i think it's good but not essential to work with what your interviewer tells you. if you are on a roll and forget to inquire further it's probably no big deal, but if you respond to what they say it shows you are a good listener. can't be a bad thing, right?