Interview feedback

[schlueme]

What type of feedback have people been receiving from programs after interviews? I have done 11 interviews with 2 remaining, all at primarily community based programs. So far I have received generic follow-up letters from the PD's at the majority of programs and one phone call several days after an interview from an attending that claimed they were very interested. I have heard from current surgical residents at several institutions that most programs contact applicants they are interested in. What have others heard or experienced? Is it to early at this point to be concerned about not receiving more personal follow-up then a post interview mass mailing from the PD? Or do programs not contact applicants at all? I sense that I have done well at interviews, but I guess I am sort of wondering at this point because of the lack of feedback. Curious as to others experiences.

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[Celiac Plexus]

I interviewed at about 10 places... I have been getting periodic letters from the chairman at one univ. program saying things like "you are in our top list of candidates"... I think that most surgery depts. are too busy to send out letters to all the applicants. Though, maybe they contact the very top, most desirable candidates. I wouldn't worry...

Besides, PDs who send out those kind of letters are probably full of **** anyway. They want to maximize their chances at getting the best applicants, or in some cases of just filling their slots. Likewise, applicants may tell all of the programs that they are very interested so as to maximize THEIR chances of matching well. I recently read an article about this very topic and one PD was quoted as saying something like, "I don't believe a word an applicant says because I've been burned so many times"...

 

[hotbovie]

My own program sent me an email practically begging me to come. A virtually identical one was sent to other applicants from my school.

I got one letter from a program, a generic one, with a handwritten note from the PD on the bottom.

All are university programs.

 

[fourthyear]

I have recieved 3 post-interview notes out of my 13 interviews, and i'm not what i think of as a top-tier applicant. I am always happy to recieve these because they are encouraging, but....I tend to think that the programs might be sending these to a lot of us. They also want to match high on their rank lists just as much as we do, so sending out this letter might be helping them get a few of us to slide them up a notch on our rank list. I don't know, I can't figure it out. I want to beleive they really want me, but I know we can't really read too much into things.

 

[blood&guts]

I also gotseveral notes from some programs that seemed very specific about me going there. I also got an email and 2 phonecalls. I guess they are serious? Not sure if i should trust them though.

 

[surg]

Ironically, I was just going to post a thread on this. We did our final rank list this week for our program, and had a fairly lively discussion as to whether we should begin formally contacting applicants. (Up until now we have traditionally not done anything organized, a few people might get called by people they already know to see if they have questions, etc. but that's really it).
We did not come to consensus, with about 1/2 of the people feeling that by not contacting applicants, our program was at a disadvantage, and the other 1/2 feeling that contacting put undue pressure on the students and that we should uphold the spirit of the match and not contact anyone who didn't contact us first with questions that needed answering, or request for 2nd look, etc.

We are hearing about aggressive tactics (calls from PDs and chairmen at students' homes in the evening, e-mails, letters, etc.). While we don't have any intention of getting as far as the "party bus" at one university that shall remain nameless for now, we certainly are interested in not falling behind our peers in recruiting if people think it makes a difference.

So, I ask here: are these recruiting calls/contacts that you didn't initiate, making a difference in how you structure your rank list? Would no contact make you rank a place lower? If we said upfront that we don't contact applicants 1st, would you a) believe us and b) be influenced by such a policy?

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

Hi surg-

Do you think it is too late for any last ditch effort to let a program know you are particularly interested? Seemed to me that there were a lot of great people on the interview trail, most of us in black suits with great #'s/letters/personalities who probably sent thank-you notes... so how can you tell us apart? Do you think post-interview contact made a significant difference, or did the interview or prior knowledge of a candidate weigh in more?

Of the programs I plan on ranking highly, one is nearby so I was considering taking an additional look on Thursday; I really liked this place and wanted to let them know that if they are interested in me, I would love to go there.

Anyways, regarding your question, I received contact via e-mail, regular mail, and phone from a few different programs. I actually appreciated hearing from them- I'm not sure how interested this really means that they are but it made me feel like I'm at least in the running at these places. There is one place I actually am ranking higher due to things that were addressed in the post-interview communication.

Thanks for any advice!

-F.C.

 

[UI2003]

To surg -
Well if I had a choice, I'd rather be the student who receives *any* feedback than none at all. Having said that, I'd probably think less of a program that says up front "we won't contact you after the interview" because a) most places told us to send them a note if we were interested (including Brigham and Women's Hosp) and b) I almost always thought of a few questions after the fact and contacted residents on my own - something that was encouraged by programs providing both the names and pager #'s to all of their residents. Hope that helps!

To Foxxy -
I called a program as late as Friday of last week and the program coordinator confirmed that it wasn't too late to re-iterate interest! Go for it!

 

[smithani]

surg, you talked about: the "party bus" at one university

What is up with that? I have never heard about this. I guess I missed out on the party circuit on my interviews.

 

[surg]

Foxxy-- It may or may not be too late. Programs have to submit their rank list by the same time the students do, so most programs are probably having their final rank meeting right around now. I would certainly give them a call/e-mail if you you are interested in looking again. It doesn't cost you much to go, and it won't hurt (unless you yell at the program coordinator or something like that in which case you might fall off the list entirely!)

Overall, I think post-interview contact does make a difference. We rank people high based on how well we think they fit both academically and socially, thus the more we know you, the more likely we will feel that you fit in here. Having said that, our top few includes some that never contacted us again, purely based on their interview and record, so it is not necessary to contact us at least (can't comment on other programs), but I certainly think it serves as a tie-breaker and keeps people from forgetting about you.

UI- We give every applicant a list of all the faculty with their e-mail addresses, and quite a few took advantage of the list to communicate with us. It's not that we won't respond to inquiries, we just have traditionally not INITIATED contact without hearing first from the student. Does that affect your thinking at all?

Smithani - I probably shouldn't say any more than I have since I don't have first hand knowledge, but it isn't as bad as it sounds (no keg in the bus that I'm aware of!), but it is more like touring around the city with many stops, etc. Still, a lot more effort on their part. That's all I'm going to say on that subject.

 

[droliver]

I think most programs have already had their rank-list meeting by now. I was the only resident present here & it was really interesting. People who had really communicated interest got some special attention, especially if they were a stronger candidate. There was also some upward shuffling of the list for some people who had extraordinary stories & life experiences with lesser academic credentials. If I were asked on my best advice on how to overcome average CV's it would be to do a great externship month, arrange a 2nd visit, or choose the right person to make followup phone calls to. Some faculty end up being very strong advocates during our meeting for some candidates whom they liked on interview & stayed in touch with

 

[fourthyear]

I've had unsolicited contact from 7 of the 13 programs I interviewed at, plus contact from an additional one in response to my emails. As I said before, I am sure I am a middle-of-the-pack applicant, so I cannot think that these letters/emails mean they really have me at the top of thier list. A few letters were actually informative - like announcing a change in chairman or explaining an accredidation situation - and I certainly appreciated this type of communication to avoid any surprises after match.

Surg - NONE of these places making or not making contact has changed my rank list. It does feel good though to build up hope when a program I want sounds like they might want me too.

I think they type of contact most useful to me where a resident emailed me in late January and asked if I had any more questions - it was just a polite gesture and gave me an easy opportunity to ask any last-mintue questions. Plus it reminded me of how comfortable I felt with the residents I met there. The generic form letter from the PD just doesn't have that same pull for me at least.

 

[hotbovie]

I've had contact from about 1/3 of my programs by now. Mostly it seems to be generic. One place sent a hand written letter followed by a phone call. I don't think that's influencing me.

But what is influencing me is LACK of response from one place. I emailed a program coordinator, not once but twice (giving several days after each one) to ask about a second look. Then after no response I called and was told, "Oh, yes, I replied to your emails" (I didn't believe it). We then discussed potential dates and I was told that I would be contacted again after she spoke to the PD and other faculty involved. I waited a week and no contact. I called again, but by this time it was really too late. to make travel plans. I was offered a chance to speak to the PD, but what I really wanted was to be able to spend more time with the residents and to get a better feel for the atmosphere at the place. At my interview, I didn't like the place as much as I had thought I would, but there was a snowstorm that day as well, so I wanted to give it a better chance. But the lack of response from the coordinator is giving me much hesitation, especially since a classmate had a very similar experience with the same program.

 

[fourthyear]

wow hotbovie - that would influence me too. I would think they should make it easier for you to spend more time there. It makes you wonder if they are just disorganized or if they don't want you to come b/c they are hiding something? Especially if you didn't get a good feel on your first visit - maybe you should go with your gut and not rank this place too highly.

 

[UI2003]

Originally posted by surg
UI- We give every applicant a list of all the faculty with their e-mail addresses, and quite a few took advantage of the list to communicate with us. It's not that we won't respond to inquiries, we just have traditionally not INITIATED contact without hearing first from the student. Does that affect your thinking at all?

Well in my experience, the vast majority of programs made it clear that they'd like to hear from us, so I wouldn't think that your program's approach is a bad one. Applicants do not want to go UnMatched nor do programs, so the more communication between the two groups, the better!

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

UI2003- I agree; what do you have to lose at this point? I contacted my program of choice yesterday and they suggested e-mailing one final letter stating my interest. So I thought got nothing to lose and did it.

surg- thanks for the advice. I can understand with the # of applicants programs see, I'm sure they like to see who is interested as much as we do. However, I gotta say I'm sorry I missed out on the place with the party bus

Good luck to all!
-F.C.