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Interview Superstitions

Started by MedPR
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MedPR

MedPR

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Anyone have any superstitions or rituals when it comes to attending interviews? Moving forward, I plan on wearing the same shirt/tie/boxers that I wore to my NSU interview. I'll wash them though... obviously.
 
I wore the earrings my Grandma gave me for my wedding, earrings her late husband gave her for their 30th anniversary. They're my good luck charms!
 
I do the same thing as MedPR. Also, I always wake up at 4:30am. I like giving myself enough time to shave and look good. Shaving is such an epic battle for me.
 
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my first three interviews, i'd spend 30-60 minutes tying and retying my tie till i luck out and it looks ok.

i finally figured it out so that's no longer necessary 👍
 
I have this specific braided hairstyle that I feel the most "me" in. I decided to bring out the curling iron and do something fancy to my hair for my first interview only for it to backfire on me as I ended up having to resort to a lame pony tail. I am superstitious that this may have contibuted to me feeling pretty nervous. ehh, on second thought, probably not🙄. For my AZCOM interview, even though I forgot to pack my entire makeup bag hence probably looked like a zombie😉 but did my braided hairstyle and felt much more confident for the rest of the day.
 
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chiddler said:
my first three interviews, i'd spend 30-60 minutes tying and retying my tie till i luck out and it looks ok.

i finally figured it out so that's no longer necessary 👍
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😱 How early did you wake up for your interviews?
 
Before a huge test, job interview, or anything important, I usually play guitar for about 30 min and take my mind off it completely. Relaxes me and gets me ready to dominate.
 
gmcguitar4 said:
Before a huge test, job interview, or anything important, I usually play guitar for about 30 min and take my mind off it completely. Relaxes me and gets me ready to dominate.
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I need to try this. It never even entered my mind. Though, I'm not bringing my guitar on the plane. It is such a huge burden.
 
MedPR said:
😱 How early did you wake up for your interviews?
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uhhh

5 AM

i've since upgraded to 6.30


gmcguitar4 said:
Before a huge test, job interview, or anything important, I usually play guitar for about 30 min and take my mind off it completely. Relaxes me and gets me ready to dominate.
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yeah i like to do the same but not really practical when traveling. however, i cannot relate to "gets me ready to dominate"
 
I wear the watch my girlfriend got me for my birthday/graduation from undergrad. I also have my pins from my medical fraternity tacked on my suit lapel. I also keep a good luck note from my girlfriend and mom in my wallet.
 
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ModernAlchemist said:
I need to try this. It never even entered my mind. Though, I'm not bringing my guitar on the plane. It is such a huge burden.
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Not if you get a travel guitar! Folds right up. I am thinking of bringing my uke instead to interviews cause it's so small.
 
It sounds weird but I keep one of my little girls socks (clean of course) in my pants pocket. Anytime I feel myself getting nervous throughout the interview day I stick my hand in my pocket and hold it. It helps keep me calm!
 
I also keep a good luck note written by my girlfriend in my suit.

hopefulMD9 said:
It sounds weird but I keep one of my little girls socks (clean of course) in my pants pocket. Anytime I feel myself getting nervous throughout the interview day I stick my hand in my pocket and hold it. It helps keep me calm!
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This is a cute one.
 
I watch a couple motivational videos I have saved. Then I jam out to pump up music all the way to the interview. At the interview I like to interact as much as I can with the people there...for me it helps calm me down and normalize the entire situation.
 
hopefulMD9 said:
It sounds weird but I keep one of my little girls socks (clean of course) in my pants pocket. Anytime I feel myself getting nervous throughout the interview day I stick my hand in my pocket and hold it. It helps keep me calm!
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That is the most adorable and manly thing I have ever heard. Absolutely no sarcasm. Much respect.

MedPR said:
I also keep a good luck note written by my girlfriend in my suit.
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JvZCb.gif
 
ModernAlchemist said:
That is the most adorable and manly thing I have ever heard. Absolutely no sarcasm. Much respect.
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Haha thanks. It works for me so its all good. It keeps me level headed too. We make such a huge deal (as we should) about getting into med school. Its pretty easy this time of the year to forget what really matters in life. Family and friends ftw! Hahaha
 
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hopefulMD9 said:
It sounds weird but I keep one of my little girls socks (clean of course) in my pants pocket. Anytime I feel myself getting nervous throughout the interview day I stick my hand in my pocket and hold it. It helps keep me calm!
Click to expand...

That's actually pretty cool honestly.
 
hopefulMD9 said:
Haha thanks. It works for me so its all good. It keeps me level headed too. We make such a huge deal (as we should) about getting into med school. Its pretty easy this time of the year to forget what really matters in life. Family and friends ftw!Hahaha
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+a gazillion
 
MedicalMBA said:
I watch a couple motivational videos I have saved. Then I jam out to pump up music all the way to the interview. At the interview I like to interact as much as I can with the people there...for me it helps calm me down and normalize the entire situation.
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This is true for me too. Anyone here who has interviewed with me can attest to the fact that I am a chatterbox and love to hear about other people and, above all, tell them about myself. Lol
 
Ok, since I've post-bombed this thread (dang lack of multiquote on this app!), ill share my own rituals.
I wake up at about 6:30 or so, check SDN (sad but true), shower with my suit hanging in the bathroom to try to steam out any little wrinkles, get ready and head out. I invariably leave a tad late and kind of panic the whole way to the school. I'm always shocked that there is much less parking than I saw the night before when I drove by. As I mentioned, when I get in, I talk with people and relax.
Yes, it's kind of boring.
 
dudeliness said:
This is true for me too. Anyone here who has interviewed with me can attest to the fact that I am a chatterbox and love to hear about other people and, above all, tell them about myself. Lol
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I wish I interviewed with people that loved to talk about themselves. I want to know what my competition is 😎

But then again, this could be discouraging. At one of my interviews, a fellow applicant talked about how they had already interviewed at Georgetown. Makes you wonder how strong an applicant you are.
 
Icy Snow said:
I wish I interviewed with people that loved to talk about themselves. I want to know what my competition is 😎

But then again, this could be discouraging. At one of my interviews, a fellow applicant talked about how they had already interviewed at Georgetown. Makes you wonder how strong an applicant you are.
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I have noticed that many people are a little reluctant to share much or talk about themselves. It's kind of sad. I try to draw people out, it's a fun challenge.
 
dudeliness said:
I have noticed that many people are a little reluctant to share much or talk about themselves. It's kind of sad. I try to draw people out, it's a fun challenge.
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Yeah, who doesn't love to brag about themselves?

I guess I will see how things differ when I go on my MD interviews.
 
dudeliness said:
I have noticed that many people are a little reluctant to share much or talk about themselves. It's kind of sad. I try to draw people out, it's a fun challenge.
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I'm one of those. I'll share if you ask me direct questions, but I'm not volunteering anything on my own.
 
people love to talk about themselves. way easier for me to talk to somebody by asking them to talk about their life. i don't think it has anything to do with competition and the like.
 
Icy Snow said:
I wish I interviewed with people that loved to talk about themselves. I want to know what my competition is 😎

But then again, this could be discouraging. At one of my interviews, a fellow applicant talked about how they had already interviewed at Georgetown. Makes you wonder how strong an applicant you are.
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You obviously weren't in my group at Western haha. Everyone in that group now has a nickname for me. Sometimes I talk too much...
 
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I wear an emerald ring my grandmother gave me. In my home country, emerald is the physician's stone and my grandfather was a physician and gave the ring to her. She gifted it to me a couple years ago and I always wear to difficult tests, I wore to the MCAT and now to my interview in which I was accepted. Makes me feel like my grandparents are with me and it is so pretty too!

edit:
just looked up what the emerald symbolizes: the healing arts, clearness of mind, fertility, and immortality. It also represent the seasons of nature and its' constant evolution and change. (bare with me it's a translation)

I also brush my teeth when I am nervous. I get this bad taste in my mouth and need to brush my teeth to get it out and feel better.

Weird....I know...
 
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Pre-interview is one of the only times I don't check SDN.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
 
MedicalMBA said:
I watch a couple motivational videos I have saved. Then I jam out to pump up music all the way to the interview. At the interview I like to interact as much as I can with the people there...for me it helps calm me down and normalize the entire situation.
Click to expand...

doing this definitely makes me feel less nervous. Before I had been to any interviews, for some reason, I had this picture in my head of all the fellow interviewees being extremely cold to one another, staring at each other's soul to make others nervous, nobody says a word to another person, etc. I guess this maybe because I have come across some crazy gunner premeds who severely lack in interpersonal skills in my undergrad. Fortunately, majority of my fellow interviewees have been extremely nice and fun to talk to.
 
angldrps said:
doing this definitely makes me feel less nervous. Before I had been to any interviews, for some reason, I had this picture in my head of all the fellow interviewees being extremely cold to one another, staring at each other's soul to make others nervous, nobody says a word to another person, etc. I guess this maybe because I have come across some crazy gunner premeds who severely lack in interpersonal skills in my undergrad. Fortunately, majority of my fellow interviewees have been extremely nice and fun to talk to.
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I think MD will be like this.. especially at more competitive schools.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
 
MedPR said:
I think MD will be like this.. especially at more competitive schools.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
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Yea my MD interview isnt at a competitive school but I have this feeling that it will be full of cold gunner type people.
 
I wonder how if there will be a difference in the friendliness of the applicants at MD schools vs. DO schools? I've been on two DO schools and the applicants were nice and fun to talk to. Have my first MD this coming week, so we'll see what happens.
 
virtuoso735 said:
I wonder how if there will be a difference in the friendliness of the applicants at MD schools vs. DO schools? I've been on two DO schools and the applicants were nice and fun to talk to. Have my first MD this coming week, so we'll see what happens.
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Same here. Good luck!
 
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I eat a large breakfast the morning of the interview to ensure that I'll be full for the whole day. I have this fear of getting super hungry in the middle of the interview itself. I'm scared that the interviewer will ask, "So why do you want to be a physician?", and instead of me giving my answer, my stomach will be like, "How about I sing to you the song of my people instead"

I hate it when my stomach grumbles!
 
Icy Snow said:
I wish I interviewed with people that loved to talk about themselves. I want to know what my competition is 😎

But then again, this could be discouraging. At one of my interviews, a fellow applicant talked about how they had already interviewed at Georgetown. Makes you wonder how strong an applicant you are.
Click to expand...

This happened to me at my TCOM interview. Everyone there had multiple MD interviews, publications etc. One guy had interviews at Georgetown and Baylor. I felt pretty inadequate in that group. Lol
 
dudeliness said:
This is true for me too. Anyone here who has interviewed with me can attest to the fact that I am a chatterbox and love to hear about other people and, above all, tell them about myself. Lol
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OMG if this is true then you and I are going to be out of control in Des Moines this Wednesday. I tend to talk too much too. 😀
 
Same thing as MedPR. In addition, I always wake up at 4:30 in the morning. I like to give yourself enough time to shave, and look good. Shaving is such an epic battle for me.
 
Before interviews, I also like to pray that the NFL ref lockout will end. Gets worse and worse every weekend with these terrible officials.
 
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