Matching energy of MMI interviewer

[showkayaker]

Hi!

Would someone be able to elaborate on what it means to match the energy of the MMI interviewer? I am a rather enthusiastic person and tend to smile a lot and utilize my hands while speaking. Does this mean if I get a stoic interviewer I should scale back on these characteristics and behave more stoically? I never thought of changing the way I talk/act

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Can you cite where you got this piece of advice? It makes more sense in a traditional interview, but I'm not sure what you mean in MMI/short OSCE format.

 

[sunshower26]

I think this advice probably originates from the fact that you will have to interact with many interviewers in a short time span. Be yourself! Don't scale yourself back. I think it's more geared to say, if your interviewer is very bubbly and smiles a lot, you can crack offhanded jokes. If they are more serious, demonstrate more contemplation and seriousness in your answer. But don't change your mannerisms and who you are. I would caution against using hands excessively in a video interview format because the person on the other side won't see your full range of motion and it may come across as too much movement, though.

 

[Goro]

I think this advice probably originates from the fact that you will have to interact with many interviewers in a short time span. Be yourself! Don't scale yourself back. I think it's more geared to say, if your interviewer is very bubbly and smiles a lot, you can crack offhanded jokes. If they are more serious, demonstrate more contemplation and seriousness in your answer. But don't change your mannerisms and who you are. I would caution against using hands excessively in a video interview format because the person on the other side won't see your full range of motion and it may come across as too much movement, though.

Disagree. Be professional.

 

[gyngyn]

I strongly recommend against off-hand joke-cracking in the medical school interview.

 

[sunshower26]

Disagree. Be professional.

I strongly recommend against off-hand joke-cracking in the medical school interview.

So sorry I don't mean to contradict you, and it goes without saying that you have vastly more experience and expertise than I do. I would like to politely provide a different perspective from personal experience. A bit of humor and natural conversational ease and laughter actually helped me and made my interviews extremely enjoyable with great feedback at the end.

I think if you read the interviewer and the conversation naturally seems more conducive to light humor, then it can go a long way. This doesn't have to mean sacrificing professionalism but can present yourself as more affable and personable. I am also someone who naturally uses light humor though, so I guess this could be just me being myself. If you aren't accustomed to this, then trying to force it won't help.

Second treating students and faculty the same way. I actually found that students were more serious, and the faculty were more laid-back.

 

[gyngyn]

It's ok to disagree.

It can be very challenging to read an interviewer (especially under stress).
I have found that as hard as it is to make humor work in an interview, it's even harder to make it translate over Zoom.
One of my favorite candidates was dissed last year because her attempts at humor were misinterpreted.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

The context of the original post is for MMI (again, who suggested the advice?). The format emulates OSCE's [objective structured clinical exams] which by design are simulations of professional situations. There's not really much room for breaking out the joke book, and I even caution against it if your station is a quasi-traditional one. Hence, stay focused and professional.

 

[GorillaPanic]

You'll have a hard time "matching" the energy of an MMI interviewer because they are usually matter-of-fact in their demeanor, they aren't supposed to give verbal or non-verbal cues as to how well you are doing so the interviewers tend to come off as flat.

 

[showkayaker]

Can you cite where you got this piece of advice? It makes more sense in a traditional interview, but I'm not sure what you mean in MMI/short OSCE format.

From both here and reddit in the comments, a lot of people seem to suggest it when people are asking for tips. also I feel like ive read it on some consulting websites as “advice.” If you search up “last min MMI tips” you see a lot of people on reddit in the comments saying that advice

 

[showkayaker]

You'll have a hard time "matching" the energy of an MMI interviewer because they are usually matter-of-fact in their demeanor, they aren't supposed to give verbal or non-verbal cues as to how well you are doing so the interviewers tend to come off as flat.

Well I think thats where my question came from - I didn’t know if I’m supposed to be reflecting that “flatness” you speak of. I did have an MMI recently and I acted how I would act in any other interview, as my normal self, but I have others and wanted to know if I should be taking a different approach since I seem to see that “matching the energy” concept come up

 

[showkayaker]

Disagree. Be professional.

Disagree in what way? “Being myself” is being a person who is naturally enthusiastic and smiles, when interviewing for jobs I’ve always been complimented on that. I don’t know how that wouldn’t be professional.

 

[Goro]

Disagree in what way? “Being myself” is being a person who is naturally enthusiastic and smiles, when interviewing for jobs I’ve always been complimented on that. I don’t know how that wouldn’t be professional.

I was responding to the advice from Sunflower.

And you're not on a job interview. You're interviewing for a seat in a professional school. It's different.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Well I think thats where my question came from - I didn’t know if I’m supposed to be reflecting that “flatness” you speak of. I did have an MMI recently and I acted how I would act in any other interview, as my normal self, but I have others and wanted to know if I should be taking a different approach since I seem to see that “matching the energy” concept come up

I think it's fine to "be yourself" in the MMI, and if "being professional" is about reflecting that "flatness" from your evaluators, that's fine. I don't quite get the group-sourced advice though because it is not consistent with how evaluators are trained. (Evaluators in MMI format often express how they have to refrain from engaging by rule.) You'll learn how to adjust for different patients' personalities in due time, but I don't see that being gregarious gets you a higher score on an MMI rubric.

 

[MDMechEngr]

Hi!

Would someone be able to elaborate on what it means to match the energy of the MMI interviewer? I am a rather enthusiastic person and tend to smile a lot and utilize my hands while speaking. Does this mean if I get a stoic interviewer I should scale back on these characteristics and behave more stoically? I never thought of changing the way I talk/act

People with good emotional intellgence skills will know how to adopt and mirror their environment. Be like water.

 

[aldol16]

No you should not do that.

 

[showkayaker]

Thank you all for your contributions!

 

[fxryker]

I was my enthusiastic self during my MMI, and will keep you updated!

 

[Elite Medical Prep]

Just be yourself OP! Smiling and using your hands in an interview is good. Besides this, practice common interview questions with friends/family before going to the interview and research the school to be able to answer the "Why us?" question. Good luck

 

[sunshower26]

At the end of the day, just be yourself!!! Respond to the question asked and illustrate your thought process. They just want to see who you are besides what’s written down on paper to contextualize you as an individual. Trying to change how you act in the setting from how you typically are will just come off as being disingenuous and inauthentic. Don’t worry too much and just showcase your individuality in a professional, possibly collegial, way.

 

[LunaOri]

Because MMI interviewers are asked to be impassive/neutral, it would not be a good idea to try to match their energy. Be your usual self, whether that be thoughtful or energetic.

 

[showkayaker]

Because MMI interviewers are asked to be impassive/neutral, it would not be a good idea to try to match their energy. Be your usual self, whether that be thoughtful or energetic.

This is exactly what I was wondering and addressed my question perfectly. Thank you!