Smiling during interview

[cakebaker2]

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Hi everyone. My alma mater's career center has a virtual mock interview station set up, and I've practiced a couple of times using this. It's pretty neat - you choose questions to be asked and your responses are recorded and e-mailed to you. After watching these recordings, my family members think I look too serious and scared I guess I'm just really focused in trying to answer the question. Has anyone else had this problem...and what have you done to look more pleasant/smile more during your interviews?

Appreciate the help.

 

[Cali Anteater]

I've tried to treat interviews more so as conversations. Yes, I know the stakes are high but I've had my friends ask me tons of times why I wanted to be a doctor along with various other interview like questions. Try to simply converse and act natural...you are expressing your passion and love for medicine. I think this then opens up another level where when you are speaking upon something you want to do for a career - you just naturally feel pumped and joyful and hence the smile just might automatically occur. Of course, don't act giddy or over-smile as that there are serious topics of discussion - but there is plenty of time to express your inner passion - just let it come out also as a smile - since it appears you are already smiling inside.

Hope that helps.

 

[shadoctor]

during ALL my interviews, I was just so excited to be there that I couldnt stop smiling! 😀

 

[Funky]

Hi everyone. My alma mater's career center has a virtual mock interview station set up, and I've practiced a couple of times using this. It's pretty neat - you choose questions to be asked and your responses are recorded and e-mailed to you. After watching these recordings, my family members think I look too serious and scared I guess I'm just really focused in trying to answer the question. Has anyone else had this problem...and what have you done to look more pleasant/smile more during your interviews?

Appreciate the help.

relax and be yourself. I suggest you breathe during your interviews and dont be so tense. It's a good thing to be smiling often but if it's forced, the interviewer will spot it right away. Maybe you should think of it as another conversation that you're having with another human being.

 

[notdeadyet]

Maybe you should think of it as another conversation that you're having with another human being.

A common public speaking technique is to picture your audience naked. I don't think this really applies to interviews, but anything you can do to rachet down the feeling that you're speaking to an authority figure will help you be yourself.

I'd avoid hugs, though....

 

[foofish]

Hi everyone. My alma mater's career center has a virtual mock interview station set up, and I've practiced a couple of times using this. It's pretty neat - you choose questions to be asked and your responses are recorded and e-mailed to you. After watching these recordings, my family members think I look too serious and scared I guess I'm just really focused in trying to answer the question. Has anyone else had this problem...and what have you done to look more pleasant/smile more during your interviews?

Appreciate the help.

It sounds like perhaps you were responding to a computer/video camera, and not a real person? If so, you'll just be more natural when talking to a human 🙂....and in my experience, med school interviews tend to be more conversational as opposed to a tennis-match style Q&A, so smiling/laughing/etc. will come more naturally. I think mock interviews are helpful in learning what kinds of questions might be asked, and to get that "first interview" sensation out of the way, but don't over-analyze it or you'll come off scripted in the real thing. Definitely have an answer to why medicine/tell me about yourself, but don't get too, too wrapped up in it.

Just be positive and engaging....and if you can't swing smiling during the interview, in the very least smile when you introduce yourself and thank the interviewer.

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

A common public speaking technique is to picture your audience naked. I don't think this really applies to interviews, but anything you can do to rachet down the feeling that you're speaking to an authority figure will help you be yourself.

I'd avoid hugs, though....

Yup, I pretty much do something like this.

Personally, OP, I imagine that I'm on a blind first date with my interviewers. That is to say, I kind of "flirt" with them. Now by "flirt," I don't mean that my behavior is in any way sexual. I mean that I try to be clever, fun, witty, and sometimes just a teensy bit wicked (if my interviewer has a sense of humor). Being all of these things will naturally cause you to smile. I try to charm my interviewers by taking their personalities into account. If my interviewer is a quiet and mousy woman, I tone it down and try to come across as a bellydancing librarian. If my interviewer is a little old man, I try to come across as sweet and remind him of his granddaughter. If my interviewer is about my age, I try to come across as a really cool girl who cares desperately about her patients by day but throws rockin' parties at night. You get the idea. Just try to figure out what your interviewers might want on these "blind dates" and give it to them. Stop judging yourself and start appraising them... and subsequently catering to them.

Maybe it's the bellydancing talking (I swear, dance has effects on a person that extend far beyond the studio). But so far, I'm 4/4 on places I've heard back from, so I must be doing something right...

 

[notdeadyet]

Maybe it's the bellydancing talking (I swear, dance has effects on a person that extend far beyond the studio). But so far, I'm 4/4 on places I've heard back from, so I must be doing something right...

Personally, I think trying to make judgements about the personality/style of an interviewer I've just met would be risky. The mousy-looking woman can be the lead in a ska band, the old man can be a raging single gay fellow who despises kids, and the interviewer your age may be an introverted bible-beater.

If you're four for four, keep it up, because something's obviously working for you. But for most folks, I think just being yourself instead of trying to maintain a persona for an hour is probably a lot more effective. If interviewers have lots of experience, they often know when a candidate is trying to put on a show.

 

[Darkshooter326]

Be relaxed, and if you don't take the interview as seriously, you won't look so serious. I know that sounds awful, but if you think about it too much you probably will do worse. Be prepared, so you don't have to worry about your responses, and you will be confident in their delivery.

 

[rlwebb]

I looked at it a different way. The interview is a very high-stakes moment. You've invested resources in getting to that point, the climax of the experience. I decided to embrace the tension and to remain business-like and poised in the conversation. I go in prepared to stay sharp. If you find that your interviewer is conversational, then you can back off.

 

[PugMD]

Hi everyone. My alma mater's career center has a virtual mock interview station set up, and I've practiced a couple of times using this. It's pretty neat - you choose questions to be asked and your responses are recorded and e-mailed to you. After watching these recordings, my family members think I look too serious and scared I guess I'm just really focused in trying to answer the question. Has anyone else had this problem...and what have you done to look more pleasant/smile more during your interviews?

Appreciate the help.

My family persuaded me to tape myself during a mock interview - and all it did was make me really nervous about the REAL thing. In reality, it only made my situation worse.

Best advice I can give is to make a list of possible questions - maybe 2-3 pages long. Go to the interview feedback for a particular school and copy down all of the 3 interview questions that some entries will show you.

Go through this list OVER and OVER and OVER. Discuss some of the more ethical questions with friends and family. Drill these questions into your head for the days leading to your actual interview.

You'd be suprised, out of the 4 interviews I been to for med school, I would guess that roughly 75% of the questions asked were generic and came right off my list. When you hear them spout off one of these questions you will feel confident in your answer and be more comfortable discussing it.

I must also add that if you are asked something that catches you off guard, acknowledge the the fact that you think its a hard question and sit there for a while... maybe 10 seconds at most to come up with a response. If you don't have a great answer, just say you dont and they will have more respect for you than if you try to bull**** your way out of it. They want you to think on your feet, but if you cant answer something, explain why.

Good LUCK - Pug

 

[notdeadyet]

I decided to embrace the tension and to remain business-like and poised in the conversation. I go in prepared to stay sharp. If you find that your interviewer is conversational, then you can back off.

Good advice. I'd just be sure to do enough mock interviewing to get unbiased feedback on how well I pull it off. Sometimes businesslike, poised, and sharp in a premed can come across as cold, anal and arrogant.

 

[Mr. Tee]

Smile! How you say it is equally or more important than what you say. Alot of communication is in body language.

 

[dsh]

One of my interviewers refused to shake hands and instead insisted on the WHO-approved elbow bump. We had a pretty good conversation.

 

[PugMD]

One of my interviewers refused to shake hands and instead insisted on the WHO-approved elbow bump. We had a pretty good conversation.

Thats beautiful.. I love you MDapps too, great stats.

 

[Mr. Tee]

Thats beautiful.. I love you MDapps too, great stats.

Yeah ok.

 

[Entirecropslost]

This is an interesting post. I think smiling is one of the best things you can do during an interview. Studies have shown (and common sense as well) that people like people who smile. I would consciously try to smile during my interviews and I could tell it had a big impact. One time I remember I was like oh crap remember to smile, and right when I did he did as well for the first time in the interview.

 

[cakebaker2]

Thanks everybody for all the great advice. I think part of my problem, as several of you said, is I wasn't treating the interview like a conversation (more like a timed race to say everything I had tried to memorize). Now I'm going to learn just a few key words, then practice with friends/family and let the words flow. Hopefully lots of practice with lots of different questions will translate into confidence and a smile.

Thanks again for your help. Good luck to all of you 😀

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Wow.....a lot of you need help. It's an interview....not an interrogation by the NKVD. RELAX. That is all.

 

[DoctorMom78]

Wow.....a lot of you need help. It's an interview....not an interrogation by the NKVD. RELAX. That is all.

LOL!👍