Phone went off during interview, RIP?

[Anonimus.Maximus]

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I switched it off immediately and apologized, and we went on like nothing had happened, but this was at one of my tippy-top choices (who doesn't tell anyone anything until March) so I'm angsting about it a bit. How bad is this?

 

[Goro]

I'd cut you some slack, but I could see some of my colleagues being appalled. After all, would you let that happen on Grand Rounds?

Teaching moment for all of you. Turn OFF the f**king phone on interview day.

 

[ciestar]

I'd cut you some slack, but I could see some of my colleagues being appalled. After all, would you let that happen on Grand Rounds?

Teaching moment for all of you. Turn OFF the f**king phone on interview day.

Or dont even bring it with you.

 

[Catalystik]

Or dont even bring it with you.

Or lock it in the car.

 

[CloverBale]

some dude on Reddit not long ago had their phone go off mid-interview and he still got accepted. so there ya go

 

[Pavlov'sDawg]

Or lock it in the car.

Or destroy it.

 

[mydogmolly]

Or destroy it.

just never buy a phone.

 

[arcus]

I switched it off immediately and apologized, and we went on like nothing had happened, but this was at one of my tippy-top choices (who doesn't tell anyone anything until March) so I'm angsting about it a bit. How bad is this?

send them a thank you card for granting you an interview, tell them how excited you are about their program, wax eloquently about x, y and z, and then devote less than 1 sentence to the cell phone. Then close on an upbeat note. Go for a hard close

IOW: suck it up.

By doing the above you are addressing your concern, you are showing them respect by addressing how the phone was disrespectful, and you are promoting yourself one more time to remind them of your existence. They will definitely remember you thereafter and hopefully in a good way

 

[SpoiledMilk]

devote less than 1 sentence to the cell phone

nahhh...don't spotlight a negative.

 

[narla_hotep]

I would agree. Send a nice thank you email but don't mention the phone! If they've forgotten about it or neglected to write it down as a checkmark against you, that email would certainly remind them.

 

[chemdoctor]

just never buy a phone.

Sell it. A Med school acceptance is better than owning a smartphone... You can later buy a smartphone again in residency

 

[infectiousdisease101]

I'd cut you some slack, but I could see some of my colleagues being appalled. After all, would you let that happen on Grand Rounds?

Teaching moment for all of you. Turn OFF the f**king phone on interview day.

Or just put it on silent or DND.

 

[Biological]

Useful rule of thumb for phones and interviews:
Acceptable reason to have your cell phone on you with the volume on during an interview: you're at the top of a transplant list and waiting for that call.
Acceptable reason to have your cell phone on you on do not disturb during an interview: family member is having major surgery that day.
Otherwise, your phone should not be on you during an interview.

 

[Catalystik]

1) Acceptable reason to have your cell phone on you with the volume on during an interview:
a. you're at the top of a transplant list and waiting for that call.
2) Acceptable reason to have your cell phone on you on do not disturb during an interview: family member is having major surgery that day.

1) b. Or mother of your soon-to-be-born child is in labor.

 

[drmantistobbogan]

Y'all are goofy. There are many instances where an interviewee will not have the ability to leave their phone somewhere, especially if you're interviewing at a school that is far and you didn't drive. You can just put your phone on airplane mode, problem solved.

 

[narla_hotep]

Yeah, let's not judge OP too harshly for this. Sometimes you need to have your phone on you, and weird things can happen even if you take precautions... During one of my interviews, I had my phone on me (yes, in airplane mode) but I forgot that I had set a silent daily alarm to take my birth control... Midway through an interview, it started vibrating in my purse, which I could feel because the bag was pressed against my leg. But it was almost silent, and I wasn't sure if the interviewer could hear it, so I toughed it out and pretended it wasn't happening for the rest of the interview instead of reaching down and fiddling with my phone to turn it off. Got accepted to the school anyway 😛

 

[HomeSkool]

1) b. Or mother of your soon-to-be-born child is in labor.

Meh. If you miss the birth, just make another kid. Much more fun than trying to get another II.

 

[LookForZebras]

This is not very bad. Don't let this worry you. Cell phones are so universal now, it's not even a surprise to people when they go off at inopportune times - meetings, presentations, interviews, etc. I honestly doubt the interviewer will even remember which applicant's phone rang during his long day of interviews.

I don't mean to sound like it's fine for stuff like this to happen. It's not, and it's unprofessional. I wish people in general would pay more attention to the noises their phones are making in various social situations. But the truth is most of us have become slightly immune to it. So all I'm saying is don't stress about it.

 

[Kingsmen2018]

I had an interviewers phone go off mid interview. He obviously didnt feel bad, got a rejection from that school.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Your admissions decision depends on the type of ringtone you have

 

[PreMedMissteps]

nahhh...don't spotlight a negative.

Right...do not mention it. Hopefully, the interviewer forgot about it.

 

[Ehhhwhatsup]

You'll be fine, it's a phone. Everybody has one and everyone forgets to turn them off at seemingly critical times. It's a human thing to do

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

**neurotic premeds reading this thread destroy their phones and don’t buy another one**

 

[JonathanHusky]

my student interviewer's phone went off during the interview lol

 

[3toedsloth]

I had an interviewers phone go off mid interview. He obviously didnt feel bad, got a rejection from that school.

I've had interviewers answer the phone mid interview three times now. Its not the end of the world when they do it.

I never have my phone with me tho.

 

[holdthemayo]

1) b. Or mother of your soon-to-be-born child is in labor.

You joke, but I kept my phone on me (on silent) during early interview season because my wife was pregnant. It ended up being way too close for comfort. She delivered more than a month early, a few days before I was scheduled to leave for an interview. I also got my first acceptance that same day, just a few hours before my son was born.

 

[Mad Jack]

F

 

[HomeSkool]

I've had interviewers answer the phone mid interview three times now.

That's just rude and unprofessional. If I were you, I'd send the admissions office a complaint about that (from an anonymous e-mail account, if that makes you feel better).

 

[narla_hotep]

What if it's for something important tho? Like if they're an attending and get a call from a resident or colleague or something, or other important hospital business.

 

[3toedsloth]

That's just rude and unprofessional. If I were you, I'd send the admissions office a complaint about that (from an anonymous e-mail account, if that makes you feel better).

I dunno. Each time, it was for something related to their kids, so it didn't really bother me.

 

[mydogmolly]

You joke, but I kept my phone on me (on silent) during early interview season because my wife was pregnant. It ended up being way too close for comfort. She delivered more than a month early, a few days before I was scheduled to leave for an interview. I also got my first acceptance that same day, just a few hours before my son was born.

"Way to make my birthday all about you, Dad."

Nah thats a great story tho, congrats!!

 

[notreallymyname]

What if it's for something important tho? Like if they're an attending and get a call from a resident or colleague or something, or other important hospital business.

I had an interviewer cut my interview short because his pager kept going off. He was pretty polite and apologetic about leaving early, and I ended up sitting alone in the common room for a good 30 minutes while everyone up finished their interviews. I was pretty upset about it (not to mention one gunner in our group kept bringing it up with me and saying things like “oh, I hope that doesn’t negatively affect your app, what if adcom just thinks you’re a bad interviewer,” etc.), but I did actually end up getting accepted there.

Emergencies do happen, so I’m sure adcom understands.

 

[BombsAway]

You can get digits from hotties if you don't have your phone with you. Also, the curriculum and financial aid briefings are the perfect time to cruise tinder and see if that school is even worth attending.

 

[s_med]

I've had interviewers answer the phone mid interview three times now. Its not the end of the world when they do it.

Happened to me three times during my MD/PhD cycle. Interestingly, all were PhDs picking up calls from their colleagues. I'm pretty sure one of those calls led to an acceptance, because the PI on the other end of the line happened to be on the admissions committee and my interviewer was waxing poetic about the research I'd done. It's not always bad...