Pre-Interview Dinner's : Important?

[Rubyc]

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Hey guys, I was wondering what you have heard and or experienced about how IMPORTANT the pre-interview dinners are? I am asking in regards to being able to attend them or not.

 

[fiestatrio99]

Hey guys, I was wondering what you have heard and or experienced about how IMPORTANT the pre-interview dinners are? I am asking in regards to being able to attend them or not.

I attended a couple of the social events last year, and was unable to attend others. I got the impression that they were really designed to help you, the applicant, get a better sense of the program without faculty being present. In that sense they were very helpful, because it was nice to interact with residents outside of work and to get their uncensored impressions of things. Plus, people are just different outside of work and it is nice to see if you think you would fit in socially at the program. But overall, I did not feel like attending or not made any difference in the final match outcome. Of course, if you went to a dinner, got drunk, or made a really bad impression somehow, it could probably hurt you. But I did not see anyone doing that. Hope that helps, good luck.

 

[Sweet Tea]

I attended a couple of the social events last year, and was unable to attend others. I got the impression that they were really designed to help you, the applicant, get a better sense of the program without faculty being present. In that sense they were very helpful, because it was nice to interact with residents outside of work and to get their uncensored impressions of things. Plus, people are just different outside of work and it is nice to see if you think you would fit in socially at the program. But overall, I did not feel like attending or not made any difference in the final match outcome. Of course, if you went to a dinner, got drunk, or made a really bad impression somehow, it could probably hurt you. But I did not see anyone doing that. Hope that helps, good luck.

Yep, this.

There are many reasons why you can't go to a pre-interview social event...planes, travel, lost, whatever. These events are more for you to ask questions and see people outside of work than they are interviews where you're being evaluated. Unless, of course, you do something to show that you're drawn to pediatrics because you still occasionally need to be put in time-out.

 

[BigRedBeta]

Like anything, program dependent. And even more so, it depends on the residents that are at the dinner.

In my program, resident feedback is taken very seriously and so if you make an impression (good or bad) that generates that feedback, it will affect your odds of matching. But like anything there's a wide variety of what that actually means. Certainly some residents are much more vocal than others. In my program, one of the residents is known to send in feedback after every single encounter with an applicant, be it dinner the night before, lunch during the interview day, or while giving a hospital tour. He lets the housestaff office know whether or not he thinks the applicant is cool enough to come to our program. On the other hand, there are some residents who publicly announce that they are literally there only for the free meal and that they will forget the applicant's face and name as soon as they get in their car after the meal. However, most residents fall in somewhere in between.

So what does that mean for you? Be on your best behavior, be friendly, but enjoy yourself. It's a time to relax, so as long as you to conform to standard social mores, you'll probably be just fine. And if you can't make it to the dinner, it's not something that's going to define you negatively, but also a lost opportunity to make a standout connection.

 

[Rubyc]

Thanks guys, your responses are helpful.

 

[coldflare]

Like others have said, the social event can help or hurt you. It's a chance for the residents at the program to get to know you and decide if they would want you for a colleague. At our program, the residents are emailed ratings forms for each candidate prior to the interview date. If a candidate makes an impression on them (good or bad), they can fill out the form and email it back. We weight these evaluations significantly.

Last year, we ranked several residents very highly based on the resident ratings - candidates who were not outstanding otherwise. We also eliminated at least two candidates from our rank list based only on the resident rating. These candidates had interviewed well and made good impressions on the faculty; however, one of the candidates told a racially cruel joke to one of the residents, and the other had a few too many and continually hit on one of the residents (who is engaged to be married) throughout the evening.

So I would encourage you to go, try to relax (we provide free drinks for a reason), and be yourself. But be on good behavior - anything that could get you fired from a job is probably not likely to get you ranked and hired ; )

 

[GetMeOutOfOhio]

So,
I have interviews scheduled almost daily from Dec-Jan (I'm couples matching with somebody going into RadOnc) and I'm going to be hard pressed to attend some of the dinners considering I have to fly all over the US. If you take the possibility of social faux pas out of the equation, would you say that I should just try to make the dinners at programs I'm really interested in matching in?

 

[Cuthbert]

Last year, we ranked several residents very highly based on the resident ratings - candidates who were not outstanding otherwise. We also eliminated at least two candidates from our rank list based only on the resident rating. These candidates had interviewed well and made good impressions on the faculty; however, one of the candidates told a racially cruel joke to one of the residents, and the other had a few too many and continually hit on one of the residents (who is engaged to be married) throughout the evening.

This.

If the residents are on your side, you may get in even if the faculty did not like you as much. The opposite is also very true. I was on the final selection board at my program for two years and saw this happen every year.

 

[Cuthbert]

So,
I have interviews scheduled almost daily from Dec-Jan (I'm couples matching with somebody going into RadOnc) and I'm going to be hard pressed to attend some of the dinners considering I have to fly all over the US. If you take the possibility of social faux pas out of the equation, would you say that I should just try to make the dinners at programs I'm really interested in matching in?

If you have any interest in the program, get your butt to that dinner.

 

[Lizzy Wurtzel]

I think it's unfair to jump to the conclusion that if you can't make a dinner you aren't interested in a program. Not everyone is rich enough to fly. If I have clerkship responsibilities until 3 pm and an 8 hour drive ahead of me, I'm not making the pre-interview dinner. I would imagine that most programs are cognizant of the fact that there are legitimate reasons not to be at the dinner.

 

[twilightdoc]

I think it's unfair to jump to the conclusion that if you can't make a dinner you aren't interested in a program. Not everyone is rich enough to fly. If I have clerkship responsibilities until 3 pm and an 8 hour drive ahead of me, I'm not making the pre-interview dinner. I would imagine that most programs are cognizant of the fact that there are legitimate reasons not to be at the dinner.

I agree- not going to the dinner is usually not perceived as a sign of disinterest. If it comes up during an interview ("Were you able to go to the dinner last night ?"), you have the opportunity to explain why you weren't there (travel glitches, etc.). The dinner is largely for the applicants to meet some residents and to have something to do at night in a potentially strange town. It isn't an essential part of the interview process. However, I would encourage attendance if possible- it is a great way to see the current residents outside of the hospital. And non-attendance by the house staff at the dinner may be notable as well. I have had advisees report back to me about their interview trips, and they notice when only a few residents (from large programs) came to the dinner. But also remember that you may be judged, fairly or unfairly, by your remarks, off-color or inappropriate comments, expressed lack of interest in the program, etc. while at the dinner. It is good to be "under control" instead of "out of control".