pay for mock interviews?

[Oh_Gee]

esteemed SDN'ers, pre meds and faculty, how much would you pay for a mock interview (would you even pay for it?) with a current medical student?

i ask because i have an interview next month and my skills at interviewing are quite shoddy. came across a post from a medical student offering his services. i already have a free mock MMI at my undergrad in a few weeks but i want more experience telling my story to people i don't know, but whom have gone through the process

kinda don't wanna ask my friends who are currently in medical school because i know neither of us would take it seriously and would start laughing at any moment

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[Spector1]

just buy a book and practice with friends and family. being a med student doesnt make you an interview genius

 

[Lucca]

Nothing considering most university career centers have a medical school mock interview service gratis.

 

[tea guzzling traveler]

Yeah, probably wouldn't pay for it personally. I'm planning on recruiting my SO and friends.

 

[panda16]

Interesting how your uni has an MMI mock but not a full length! Maybe call them up and ask if there's anyone on their staff who does or could adapt their interviewing for a med school setting.

 

[nwts]

I probably wouldn't pay for a mock interview, especially if there is no really good evidence that this person is good at judging and critiquing interview responses.

 

[Goro]

concur.

Also, your school should have an advising or career counseling center to provide you with these services for free!

If anyone in your family knows someone in an HR setting, that might be a person to hit up for a mock interview.

If you can line up some mock interviewers, have them read through the Interview feedback forums to get a sense of what to ask.

just buy a book and practice with friends and family. being a med student doesnt make you an interview genius

 

[WingedOx]

esteemed SDN'ers, pre meds and faculty, how much would you pay for a mock interview (would you even pay for it?) with a current medical student?

i ask because i have an interview next month and my skills at interviewing are quite shoddy. came across a post from a medical student offering his services. i already have a free mock MMI at my undergrad in a few weeks but i want more experience telling my story to people i don't know, but whom have gone through the process

kinda don't wanna ask my friends who are currently in medical school because i know neither of us would take it seriously and would start laughing at any moment

Is is that "doctorpremed" kid at NYIT? He sounds sleazy as f-ck. Don't waste your money. He was already banned from SDN for trying to peddle his crap here.

 

[mimelim]

esteemed SDN'ers, pre meds and faculty, how much would you pay for a mock interview (would you even pay for it?) with a current medical student?

i ask because i have an interview next month and my skills at interviewing are quite shoddy. came across a post from a medical student offering his services. i already have a free mock MMI at my undergrad in a few weeks but i want more experience telling my story to people i don't know, but whom have gone through the process

kinda don't wanna ask my friends who are currently in medical school because i know neither of us would take it seriously and would start laughing at any moment

If you are truly difficult to interview, doing prep work is worth it. And yes, even paying for help is not crazy. But, the number of applicants every year that need that level of help is relatively small. As most others have said, most schools have programs setup for this kind of thing. I've even heard about people doing job interviews as prep (not that I would recommend that). I wouldn't trust a random medical student to be particularly helpful in this regard. I'm sure there are decent pay services. Someone peddling on internet forums, not so much.

 

[NewHorizons]

If you are truly difficult to interview, doing prep work is worth it. And yes, even paying for help is not crazy. But, the number of applicants every year that need that level of help is relatively small. As most others have said, most schools have programs setup for this kind of thing. I've even heard about people doing job interviews as prep (not that I would recommend that). I wouldn't trust a random medical student to be particularly helpful in this regard. I'm sure there are decent pay services. Someone peddling on internet forums, not so much.

Slightly off topic but I'm really curious... are most of the interviews panel oriented or MMI? I find that practice for the MMI is considerably more important since it definitely helps to have more awareness and background knowledge to draw from when constructing a response.

 

[mimelim]

Slightly off topic but I'm really curious... are most of the interviews panel oriented or MMI? I find that practice for the MMI is considerably more important since it definitely helps to have more awareness and background knowledge to draw from when constructing a response.

I don't know. This has been shifting the last several years. The best way to find out is to either call schools prior to going for an interview or look at old school specific SDN threads. MMI was relatively new when I was applying and I only have real experience with admissions at the one school I was at.

 

[NewHorizons]

I don't know. This has been shifting the last several years. The best way to find out is to either call schools prior to going for an interview or look at old school specific SDN threads. MMI was relatively new when I was applying and I only have real experience with admissions at the one school I was at.

Interesting.... most Canadian schools now use MMI for pretty much any allied health program: med, dent, PT/OT, even pharmacy is starting in some places....

It just seemed like the status quo so I was always a little bit confused when I hear more about panel in the US.

For panel I can understand people not wanting to pay since there's only so much one can ask you. For MMI I feel that the practice is useful, along with personal preparation through active reading and diverse scenarios. I've paid to do intensive MMI practices before and found it to be useful as a starting point... though you still need to put in the brunt of the work. No class is a substitute for hard work and knowledge.

 

[nwts]

Interesting.... most Canadian schools now use MMI for pretty much any allied health program: med, dent, PT/OT, even pharmacy is starting in some places....

It just seemed like the status quo so I was always a little bit confused when I hear more about panel in the US.

For panel I can understand people not wanting to pay since there's only so much one can ask you. For MMI I feel that the practice is useful, along with personal preparation through active reading and diverse scenarios. I've paid to do intensive MMI practices before and found it to be useful as a starting point... though you still need to put in the brunt of the work. No class is a substitute for hard work and knowledge.

My big issue with the service OP is describing isn't so much paying, it's more that it is unclear whether or not we can be sure that the person offering the service is reputable.

 

[NewHorizons]

My big issue with the service OP is describing isn't so much paying, it's more that it is unclear whether or not we can be sure that the person offering the service is reputable.

Ok that's fair.... if you do pay you definitely need to vet it thoroughly. I was fortunate to hear a lot about mine from past med students and dug up on the people doing the course.

Assuming something is really legit and has a strong track record, I wouldn't mind paying in the hundreds, but I'd aim for at least >10hrs of practice.

 

[WingedOx]

Ok that's fair.... if you do pay you definitely need to vet it thoroughly. I was fortunate to hear a lot about mine from past med students and dug up on the people doing the course.

Assuming something is really legit and has a strong track record, I wouldn't mind paying in the hundreds, but I'd aim for at least >10hrs of practice.

Yeah, if it's coming from a medical student, it isn't going to be "legit" my any standard.

 

[NewHorizons]

Yeah, if it's coming from a medical student, it isn't going to be "legit" my any standard.

I'd be skeptical too for any student, but if there's a way to see the person's skill without paying... like a free test drive... might be worth a shot.

 

[WingedOx]

I'd be skeptical too for any student, but if there's a way to see the person's skill without paying... like a free test drive... might be worth a shot.

Given that I have a pretty good idea the person that OP is referencing... and @Oh_Gee should correct me if I'm wrong... but based on some of his other postings on the internet, this guy is known more for his marketing and bravado than his insight.

 

[Holmwood]

Just video record yourself asking MMI/ Trad interview questions and replay it back.

While answering "yourself", record your answer. You never know how ridiculous you sound until you've recorded yourself. And you can't count on friends giving you "sound" advice. : P

 

[Oh_Gee]

Is is that "doctorpremed" kid at NYIT? He sounds sleazy as f-ck. Don't waste your money. He was already banned from SDN for trying to peddle his crap here.

lol not him. i do subscribe to his emails though. what was his SDN handle? i'd love to kill some time reading his posts

 

[Oh_Gee]

Just video record yourself asking MMI/ Trad interview questions and replay it back.

While answering "yourself", record your answer. You never know how ridiculous you sound until you've recorded yourself. And you can't count on friends giving you "sound" advice. : P

idk, some of my friends are brutally honest with me. maybe i'll just end up asking them

 

[Holmwood]

idk, some of my friends are brutally honest with me. maybe i'll just end up asking them

Part of it is seeing how you look to the other person. I never knew how weird I looked until I saw myself in a PSA. I make imaginary sculptures with my hands. >: (

 

[caffeinemia]

If you are truly difficult to interview, doing prep work is worth it. And yes, even paying for help is not crazy. But, the number of applicants every year that need that level of help is relatively small. As most others have said, most schools have programs setup for this kind of thing. I've even heard about people doing job interviews as prep (not that I would recommend that). I wouldn't trust a random medical student to be particularly helpful in this regard. I'm sure there are decent pay services. Someone peddling on internet forums, not so much.

I mock interviewed my siblings for college and made both of them cry. LOL. They both did pretty well on the real interviews though. Helps to have thought about and articulated the "tell me about yourself" and "where do you see yourself in X years" ... etc. etc. I also do it with all the applicants that I mentor and they find it to be great prep. So paid help is not unreasonable, if you ask me.

 

[mimelim]

I mock interviewed my siblings for college and made both of them cry. LOL. They both did pretty well on the real interviews though. Helps to have thought about and articulated the "tell me about yourself" and "where do you see yourself in X years" ... etc. etc. I also do it with all the applicants that I mentor and they find it to be great prep. So paid help is not unreasonable, if you ask me.

I agree. I think being forced to articulate things really helps.

 

[caffeinemia]

I agree. I think being forced to articulate things really helps.

I totally used to be that awkward kid who had great thoughts and then let it out like a bucket of word vomit. I'd suspect a lot of people are like that and don't even realize it.

 

[Oh_Gee]

I mock interviewed my siblings for college and made both of them cry. LOL. They both did pretty well on the real interviews though. Helps to have thought about and articulated the "tell me about yourself" and "where do you see yourself in X years" ... etc. etc. I also do it with all the applicants that I mentor and they find it to be great prep. So paid help is not unreasonable, if you ask me.

how'd you make them cry

 

[caffeinemia]

how'd you make them cry

Nitpicked their responses. Caught them and threw it back in their faces when they were just talking out of their asses, contradicting themselves, sounding like arrogant buttheads. Exaggerated when body language cues so they could realize when they were being boring/mumbling/fumbling/sounding *****ic.

Essentially, giving them the harsh analysis that all your friends would never want to tell you, but all the interviewers are thinking about...