Interview SOS - Need Advice

[rejectedoncealready]

Hi, I've had 3 interviews (2 top 20) so far and after each one I come out feeling very unsatisfied with how the conversations went. Of course, I've made small adjustments with my answers/techniques since my first interview, but I still feel like I am unable to "crack" the interviewer and connect with them.

I'm not sure if I'm just getting unlucky with the interviewers I'm assigned because everyone else at these interviews talks about how everything was so casual and conversational and I don't feel like I've had a "conversation" with any of my interviewers. Typically, they ask me a question, I answer it, and then they ask me another unrelated question. No one seems to dig deeper or ask follow-up questions about the things I say. What am I doing wrong? What kinds of things should I tangibly improve? I definitely feel like I can get a little nervous and ramble sometimes, but I don't think I ever get off topic/on a tangent.

I worry that I will throw away all my hard work on terrible interview skills this cycle. If anyone has tips on how I could improve for my next 9 interviews, that would be very helpful. I don't want to throw my chances away and get waitlisted at every school for having a strong paper application but a weak interview.

(sidenote: my username is because I was rejected from an early admit pipeline program at my undergrad, this is my first time truly applying)

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[LizzyM]

If you answer a question thoroughly, there really isn't a need for a follow-up and the interviewer may want to move on to an unrelated topic in order to cover everything that needs to be covered in the time allotted. If you are rambling, it may be that you are saying so much that there is no need (or time) to ask more about that question. You could try to make your answers more concise but you also run the risk of being one of those people of whom it is said, "getting anything out of that one was like pulling teeth" and that is not considered a compliment.

 

[Goro]

Hi, I've had 3 interviews (2 top 20) so far and after each one I come out feeling very unsatisfied with how the conversations went. Of course, I've made small adjustments with my answers/techniques since my first interview, but I still feel like I am unable to "crack" the interviewer and connect with them.

I'm not sure if I'm just getting unlucky with the interviewers I'm assigned because everyone else at these interviews talks about how everything was so casual and conversational and I don't feel like I've had a "conversation" with any of my interviewers. Typically, they ask me a question, I answer it, and then they ask me another unrelated question. No one seems to dig deeper or ask follow-up questions about the things I say. What am I doing wrong? What kinds of things should I tangibly improve? I definitely feel like I can get a little nervous and ramble sometimes, but I don't think I ever get off topic/on a tangent.

I worry that I will throw away all my hard work on terrible interview skills this cycle. If anyone has tips on how I could improve for my next 9 interviews, that would be very helpful. I don't want to throw my chances away and get waitlisted at every school for having a strong paper application but a weak interview.

(sidenote: my username is because I was rejected from an early admit pipeline program at my undergrad, this is my first time truly applying)

Agree 100% with my learned colleague...not every question merits followup. I usually have a list of questions I run through, and save followup only if I hear bad answers, or the interviewees fall into rhetorical traps I set for them.

Practice makes perfect.

A note on your screen name. You have indeed been fortunate to get multiple IIs, but you have to approach this process as as if you're going to have 100% rejections and always have your Plan B ready, until you get that accept email in your Inbox.

 

[Med Ed]

Hi, I've had 3 interviews (2 top 20) so far and after each one I come out feeling very unsatisfied with how the conversations went. Of course, I've made small adjustments with my answers/techniques since my first interview, but I still feel like I am unable to "crack" the interviewer and connect with them.

I'm not sure if I'm just getting unlucky with the interviewers I'm assigned because everyone else at these interviews talks about how everything was so casual and conversational and I don't feel like I've had a "conversation" with any of my interviewers. Typically, they ask me a question, I answer it, and then they ask me another unrelated question. No one seems to dig deeper or ask follow-up questions about the things I say. What am I doing wrong? What kinds of things should I tangibly improve? I definitely feel like I can get a little nervous and ramble sometimes, but I don't think I ever get off topic/on a tangent.

I worry that I will throw away all my hard work on terrible interview skills this cycle. If anyone has tips on how I could improve for my next 9 interviews, that would be very helpful. I don't want to throw my chances away and get waitlisted at every school for having a strong paper application but a weak interview.

(sidenote: my username is because I was rejected from an early admit pipeline program at my undergrad, this is my first time truly applying)

The correlation between student perception of interviews and outcome is nonexistent. There are only a few ways to be sure you blew it: (1) the interview ends waaaaaay too early, (2) you get caught in a lie or significant embellishment, or (3) you have a complete emotional breakdown. That said, practice does help.

 

[Goro]

The correlation between student perception of interviews and outcome is nonexistent. There are only a few ways to be sure you blew it: (1) the interview ends waaaaaay too early, (2) you get caught in a lie or significant embellishment, or (3) you have a complete emotional breakdown. That said, practice does help.

Add:
4) Start to answer the question, and then going "Wait, what was the question?"
5) Calling the interviewer by their first name, unless it's a student or you have been instructed that first name basis is OK

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Add:
4) Start to answer the question, and then going "Wait, what was the question?"
5) Calling the interviewer by their first name, unless it's a student or you have been instructed that first name basis is OK

So “sup bro” isn’t a good salutation? Damn.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Goro]

So “sup bro” isn’t a good salutation? Damn.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

It might work on the Dean!

 

[altblue]

Hi, I've had 3 interviews (2 top 20) so far ...

I worry that I will throw away all my hard work on terrible interview skills this cycle. If anyone has tips on how I could improve for my next 9 interviews

It's extremely, extremely likely that you'll get an acceptance this cycle.

Just relax, make comfortable eye-contact, be friendly, and provide a reasonably well-thought out answer to each question. You'll be fine.

 

[rejectedoncealready]

Thank you all so so much. Your words have given me hope that maybe I didn't screw up too bad at these first three interviews. I will take all of your tips into consideration going forward!

 

[rejectedoncealready]

update: in case there are any future applicants who read this thread...I was accepted to the two top 20 schools I mentioned in this post and still have yet to hear back from my very first interview school. n=1, but clearly I didn't perform as poorly as I thought I did!