Nervous about Upcoming Interviews

[JBtt]

Hey, guys! So I'm very personable and easy to talk to. I've been told this many times by friends, colleagues, professors, and also during interviews to my undergraduate school. I thought as long as I get an interview to med school, I have absolutely nothing to worry about.

So I got my first interview invite to TCOM in August and prepped for my interview accordingly. I went into that interview with confidence..Of course, I was a little nervous, but I felt good about my interviewing skills. I had two interviews, and one of them went very well. The other was not so good. My interviewer kept interrupting me, asked me questions and then told me my answer was terrible. He basically made the whole interviewing experience very uncomfortable and awkward for me. I handled the situation to the best of my ability. Back in December, I got rejected from TCOM. I have no idea if it was due to my interview or if they just decided my stats weren't high enough, etc. Now I have two interviews next week..and I feel like my self esteem is very low due to my experience at TCOM. I'm been preparing and doing mock interviews, but I don't feel ready. Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm just very nervous, and I've never been this nervous before an interview.

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[Bokeh]

Hey, guys! So I'm very personable and easy to talk to. I've been told this many times by friends, colleagues, professors, and also during interviews to my undergraduate school. I thought as long as I get an interview to med school, I have absolutely nothing to worry about.

So I got my first interview invite to TCOM in August and prepped for my interview accordingly. I went into that interview with confidence..Of course, I was a little nervous, but I felt good about my interviewing skills. I had two interviews, and one of them went very well. The other was not so good. My interviewer kept interrupting me, asked me questions and then told me my answer was terrible. He basically made the whole interviewing experience very uncomfortable and awkward for me. I handled the situation to the best of my ability. Back in December, I got rejected from TCOM. I have no idea if it was due to my interview or if they just decided my stats weren't high enough, etc. Now I have two interviews next week..and I feel like my self esteem is very low due to my experience at TCOM. I'm been preparing and doing mock interviews, but I don't feel ready. Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm just very nervous, and I've never been this nervous before an interview.

First, are you from TX? I only ask because the state requires something like 90% of their students to be residents. Second, that particular type of interviewer is not the norm in my experience. Otherwise realize that it may be a strategy used by interviewers to test you under stressful conditions. Keep your confidence. Feel free to PM me with additional questions. Best of luck!

 

[JBtt]

First, are you from TX? I only ask because the state requires something like 90% of their students to be residents. Second, that particular type of interviewer is not the norm in my experience. Otherwise realize that it may be a strategy used by interviewers to test you under stressful conditions. Keep your confidence. Feel free to PM me with additional questions. Best of luck!

I am from Texas, and both of my upcoming interviews are at Texas medical schools, so hopefully I have an advantage. I thought it might be a stress interview at first, but the interviewer told me after the interview, he had never interviewed anyone before, so I have no idea what was going on there. Thanks, I'm trying not to worry too much! Any personal advice from your own interviews?

 

[Goro]

Go dig up my post on "Guide to Interviews".

Not to pick on you, but a lot you SDNers seem to get perplexed by their interviewers interrupting them. It might be that you're babbling on, that you're you're not answering the question, or the interviewer is, like me, from NY and short of patience. Deal with it.

Hey, guys! So I'm very personable and easy to talk to. I've been told this many times by friends, colleagues, professors, and also during interviews to my undergraduate school. I thought as long as I get an interview to med school, I have absolutely nothing to worry about.

So I got my first interview invite to TCOM in August and prepped for my interview accordingly. I went into that interview with confidence..Of course, I was a little nervous, but I felt good about my interviewing skills. I had two interviews, and one of them went very well. The other was not so good. My interviewer kept interrupting me, asked me questions and then told me my answer was terrible. He basically made the whole interviewing experience very uncomfortable and awkward for me. I handled the situation to the best of my ability. Back in December, I got rejected from TCOM. I have no idea if it was due to my interview or if they just decided my stats weren't high enough, etc. Now I have two interviews next week..and I feel like my self esteem is very low due to my experience at TCOM. I'm been preparing and doing mock interviews, but I don't feel ready. Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm just very nervous, and I've never been this nervous before an interview.

 

[JBtt]

Go dig up my post on "Guide to Interviews".

Not to pick on you, but a lot you SDNers seem to get perplexed by their interviewers interrupting them. It might be that you're babbling on, that you're you're not answering the question, or the interviewer is, like me, from NY and short of patience. Deal with it.

You're right, I did let it get to me. It wasn't just the interruption, it was the fact that I would start my answer and two sentences into it, the interviewer would interrupt me to say what he thought a good answer to the question was. I felt that I couldn't get my point across, so that frustrated me. But I guess now I'm prepared if I do get another interview like that.

 

[yanks26dmb]

You're right, I did let it get to me. It wasn't just the interruption, it was the fact that I would start my answer and two sentences into it, the interviewer would interrupt me to say what he thought a good answer to the question was. I felt that I couldn't get my point across, so that frustrated me. But I guess now I'm prepared if I do get another interview like that.

speak more directly during your next interview.

 

[j4pac]

Mock interview with someone objective...preferably a professional. Maybe you are a good talker and nice, but a bad interviewee.

 

[costales]

TCOM rejects about half of the people they interview. I have an MD friend who was rejected by TCOM. I wouldn't dwell on it too much. I hope you get to stay in Texas.

 

[costales]

speak more directly during your next interview.

Or ask for a moment to think. It's perfectly acceptable to take a moment to collect your thoughts before answering a question. (This technique is also highly useful on rotations.)

 

[Samir Desai]

What puzzles me here is that the interviewer interrupted you after only two sentences. It's hard to evaluate an answer after just two sentences unless you're saying something inappropriate or ridiculous right from the start. And I don't get that impression from reading your post. It seems as if the problem rests with the interviewer.

In terms of interview experience, agree with Bokeh, this is not the norm. It does seem that it was jarring enough of an experience that it's affected your confidence. Right now, that's where you need to devote your efforts - to restore your confidence. I would focus on reminding yourself how well the first interview went at TCOM, and on the feedback you've been receiving after your mock interviews.

If you've been doing mock interviews with people who have experience in this area and you're receiving positive feedback on your interview skills, I would hold on to that. Consider the TCOM second interviewer an outlier. This is definitely not the norm from my experience as an admissions committee member.

 

[crossfit4lyfe]

My first interview went horrible, I made sure to take the questions I struggled with and think about them and improved greatly for the rest! That's all you can do, learn from your mistakes and grow!

 

[HealthStudies11]

First, being nervous is a good thing. Everyone is prior to an interview. View it as your body and mind preparing you to reach your peak potential and then HAVE FUN. Sounds simple but I really enjoyed all of my interview experiences and felt like this mentality really had a lot to do with it. Your TCOM interview experience is unusual and not the norm(for D.O schools which are my only experience). All of my interviews were for the most part relaxed and seemed as if the schools were selling themselves to me. Ultimately, you should go in trying to get to know the school just as much as they are trying to get to know you. Be yourself, yes initial nervousness and all. Good luck!