Strangest Interview Questions

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Tigerz_Fan

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Hi all,

I thought we could start a thread posting strangest/funniest interviews on the interview trail. Can be from medical school, residency, or fellowship interviews. I have been listening to some of my friends who are interviewing for fellowship. Hopefully we can all give each other a good laugh. Here are a couple of my examples:

Residency interview question:
If you could be a color, what kind of color would you be and why?

Fellowship interview question (happened to a fellow resident):
If you could be a sandwich, what kind of sandwich would you be and why?
Applicant: Peanut butter and jelly
Interviewer: Why?
Applicant: Because everyone likes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Interviewer: So do you always try to conform to what everyone likes? (Ouch!)

Hopefully you all have some good stories! :laugh:
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Tigerz_Fan said:
Hi all,

I thought we could start a thread posting strangest/funniest interviews on the interview trail. Can be from medical school, residency, or fellowship interviews. I have been listening to some of my friends who are interviewing for fellowship. Hopefully we can all give each other a good laugh. Here are a couple of my examples:

Residency interview question:
If you could be a color, what kind of color would you be and why?

Fellowship interview question (happened to a fellow resident):
If you could be a sandwich, what kind of sandwich would you be and why?
Applicant: Peanut butter and jelly
Interviewer: Why?
Applicant: Because everyone likes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Interviewer: So do you always try to conform to what everyone likes? (Ouch!)

Hopefully you all have some good stories! :laugh:
Click to expand...

I'd have said because I'm a team player and therefore well liked by everyone.

For residency-what kind of fruit would you be and why?
 
When I was applying to medical school getting interviewing by a child psychiatrist:

Q: What was wrong with your childhood?
Me: Are you joking?

Needless to say, I didn't go to that medical school. Oh yeah, and that was the opening question.
 
How about worst answer-

PD: So why do you want to move to (warm city)?
Nervous me: Well, we can give one of our cats a bath and just put her outside and she'll air dry really quickly.
PD: (speechless)

I am sometimes a bit impulsive in speaking but that was way beyond my usual. I matched there, however!
 
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The Very first interview question I ever heard on the interview trail

PD: Are you healthy?

(Apparently they matched a categorical surgery resident a couple of years back that didn't tell them they were on dialysis three times a week)
 
I once heard the following story:

A jewish applicant to medical school had written extensively about her religious experience in her personal statement and was confronted by a religious christian in the interview who asked her...

"Why haven't you accepted your lord and savior Jesus Christ."

Understandably, and argument ensued, and she was not accepted

She later appealed the decision and was accepted to the school.

I don't know whether or not she actually matriculated.
 
My strangest residency interview went like this: Greeted by interviewer who shakes my hand and then refuses to let go of my hand as we walk into her office and sit down, she then continued to hold on for about a minute! I held on tight, I thought it was a test to see if she could make me uncomfortable. Then her opening statement was " I tasted blood, that's how I knew it was time to put on chap stick" no introduction, nothing, puts on chap stick, then she says "Do I look better with or without the chap stick"? then she points to a picture of a man in a zulu warrior type mask and asks me what I think of her husband! "Do you find his choice of mask strange" she asked. Then as if things cannot get any worse she starts conducting the interview in another language and starts quizzing me on what dialect she was using. Of course I didn't know, it was Mandarin, I'm so stupid I should have recognized it. Needles to say I didn't rank them highly and apparently I wasn't the only one that day that experiences these strange antics.
 
Every faculty that interviewed me at one program raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you REALLY think you would be a good fit in this program?". I was a little confused until I met with the PD who let me in on the fact that they had never had a caucasian resident in the program and they were a little confused by my interest in the program. :)
 
Here is another:

Interviewer opens the office door and without introductions:
"So, what school did you fail out of so that you would have to go to the Caribbean?" :eek:
I am speechless for a second, then my response:
"Well, it was very nice to meet you, but I think I will catch an earlier flight."
 
DonStracci said:
How about worst answer-

PD: So why do you want to move to (warm city)?
Nervous me: Well, we can give one of our cats a bath and just put her outside and she'll air dry really quickly.
PD: (speechless)

I am sometimes a bit impulsive in speaking but that was way beyond my usual. I matched there, however!
Click to expand...


:thumbup: :laugh::laugh:
 
allendo said:
My strangest residency interview went like this: Greeted by interviewer who shakes my hand and then refuses to let go of my hand as we walk into her office and sit down, she then continued to hold on for about a minute! I held on tight, I thought it was a test to see if she could make me uncomfortable. Then her opening statement was " I tasted blood, that's how I knew it was time to put on chap stick" no introduction, nothing, puts on chap stick, then she says "Do I look better with or without the chap stick"? then she points to a picture of a man in a zulu warrior type mask and asks me what I think of her husband! "Do you find his choice of mask strange" she asked. Then as if things cannot get any worse she starts conducting the interview in another language and starts quizzing me on what dialect she was using. Of course I didn't know, it was Mandarin, I'm so stupid I should have recognized it. Needles to say I didn't rank them highly and apparently I wasn't the only one that day that experiences these strange antics.
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Hahaha. Absolutely outrageous! :laugh:
 
Tigerz_Fan said:
Here is another:

Interviewer opens the office door and without introductions:
"So, what school did you fail out of so that you would have to go to the Caribbean?" :eek:
I am speechless for a second, then my response:
"Well, it was very nice to meet you, but I think I will catch an earlier flight."
Click to expand...

Please tell me you stole something from that a-hole's office on the way out. :laugh:
 
soulofmpatel said:
Please tell me you stole something from that a-hole's office on the way out. :laugh:
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No, but the fact that I left him completely speechless with his mouth hanging open was satisfaction enough!
 
Medical school entrance interview: 'So, why do you want to go to medical school? My response: "Well, I don't want to go to medical school. I want to be a doctor. I HAVE to go to medical school".........accepted.
 
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bluealiendoctor said:
Medical school entrance interview: 'So, why do you want to go to medical school? My response: "Well, I don't want to go to medical school. I want to be a doctor. I HAVE to go to medical school".........accepted.
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haha...brilliant response!
 
This is an awesome thread.

1.) I had an interesting med school "interview" of sorts in undergrad. Applied to med school a year early during my junior year - had all the prereq's, grades, MCAT, volunteer, work, research experience, etc., etc. done. It was a solid application. Got an interview but didn't actually think I'd get accepted (was really just applying early to butter 'em up for the next year). And low and behold, I didn't get accepted. So I scheduled a post-non-acceptance visit with the dean of admissions. Ya know, talk things over. I thought I'd get some good advice, perhaps a wink/nod for next year. Oh no. I had a typo in my personal statement and this jack*** asked me (because of this) if I was honestly serious about medicine. Holy $%#@! I could not believe it. Funny thing is I did get accepted the next year, but turned the jerks down when I got accepted to another school. And I will bash this dip-weed the rest of my waking life - and thoroughly enjoy it.:smuggrin:

2.) Another one...Had an interviewer at a somewhat less than prestigous program tell me (after the interview was done) not to sell myself short when it came time to pick a place. My best guess was he was telling me not to go to his program.
 
All at residency interviews

1. If you could memorize every single word in a book, and know it so well you could recite the whole book, which book would you want to know and why?

2. What superpower would you want to have and why?

3. What job would you do if you weren't able to do anything related to medicine?


For all of my answers I got responses, "That's great! I've never heard that answer before."
 
I just remembered this:

I was a freshman in college interviewing for a position as a cashier at a grocery store:

Manager: Can you quickly add 45 cents and 55 cents?
Me: Of course! That is a dollar!
Manager: No, I'm sorry, it is $1.05 (he is serious)
Me: No really, you asked 45 and 55, it is a dollar.
Manager: I'm sorry, but you don't get the job.

I'm now a Junior still looking for a job, this time at a resturant:

Manager: Can you tell me what type of animal baby back ribs come from?
Me: Sure, a pig.
Manager: No, it's beef, you don't get the job, I'm sorry.
Me: Huh?

I then applied as a bartender. Got the job when I showed I could make a margarita!
 
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Not really an interview question, persay, but...

In the middle of a pediatrics residency interview that (I thought) was going smoothly, my calculator-watch wearing interviewer randomly began doing magic tricks. No more questions, just an impressive magic show that lasted the remaining 10 minutes, followed by an awkward handshake and escort to the next interview.

I was speechless, but pretty delighted. Hooray for social awkwardness!
 
In retrospect the strangest situation in interviewing was not my cat comment above, but the PD who cried during my interview. She became very emotional about a question I asked (something about camaraderie between residents.) I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to comfort her, leave her alone? So awkward, and that place did NOT get ranked on my list.
 
Tigerz_Fan said:
No, but the fact that I left him completely speechless with his mouth hanging open was satisfaction enough!
Click to expand...

There sure are a lot of pathological beings in medicine, it seems. What makes it tough though is the claim of so called "stress interviews." So you can never know if you are being tested. Would you give up your spot at a great school if you think that a single interviewer is allegedly disrespecting you? Obviously, you can look at the tone of voice and body language, but perhaps you can get good actors sometimes.

In your situation, I would probably ask "Could you please repeat that?" And if he repeated the same thing over again, I'd probably attack him with questions, but in a friendly manner; such as "What makes you think that I have to go to the Caribbean?" "Have you already decided that I will not be able to get into your school?" By the way, if he says yes, you immediately excuse yourself and have a conversation with the administration. Prejudice is unacceptable. Who knows, some weird schools may be looking for students who challenge authority.
 
this happened to me...

the interviewer and I got into the conversation of her father being ill. So I asked: how is he doing now?

interviewer: he died 8 years ago

me:.......(i was thinking, crap!!!)

she kinda set me up for that though!
 
I had a classmate in med school with this experience:
Get into small groups with one resident from the program and 2-3 applicants and then interpret poetry while a clinical psychologist observes and takes notes

Needless to say she didnt rank them:thumbdown:
Again not a psych interview, it was for OB
 
Ashers said:
3. What job would you do if you weren't able to do anything related to medicine?
"
Click to expand...


I would want to be the suntan lotion boy for the Hawaiian Tropic swimsuit team, I have big hands!
 
1. Interviewer: Name the starting five players of John Wooden's first NCAA championship basketball team at UCLA.

Me: Uhhhhh ... ummmmm ... Gail .... uhhh ... Goodwin? Goodrich?

Interviewer: VERY good!


2. I was interviewing at a very prestigious east coast program back in January. I attended grand rounds in the morning. The topic of grand rounds was why east coast hospitals are better than west coast hospitals, and UCLA was the "example" used for a "bad" west coast hospital. That was kind of bizarre. The PD later apologized to me about grand rounds and clearly felt embarrassed that the speaker had insulted my home program.

After grand rounds, my first interview of the day was with the radiology chair. After shaking hands and introducing ourselves, we both sat down. The first words out of his mouth were: "Okay, let's just cut to the chase. Firstly and MOST importantly, are you married?" I was kind of offended by this question (since when is my marital status so critical in determining my potential as a resident?), but I just answered politely with "no." He then talked to me for 15 minutes about how there are lots of opportunities for female residents to meet single men in the city and how I shouldn't be worried about being single. It was a VERY awkward conversation and the whole experience is largely why I ranked the program 11th.
 
I interviewed at a pretty highly-regarded program that sent interviewees, three at a time, into a room with a resident and a psychologist. We were given large sheets of paper and markers, and told to draw a circle and then inside the circle to draw all the things that were important to us. Then we had to explain all the things we drew to everyone else. It was incredibly awkward as well as uncomfortable for those of us who have absolutely no art skills whatsoever.

It was pretty funny when the interviewee next to me had drawn as one item a picture of herself dancing... when explaining it, the resident asked what type of music she liked best and she responded that she liked almost every genre, as long as it was something she could "grind to."

Later I received a survey from the program (which I ranked LAST) asking me what I thought about their interview day and this activity in particular. I was honest and told them I found it awkward, uncomfortable, and that some people might suspect it was a way for programs to "ask" the forbidden questions--- did you draw a spouse? Your children?
 
soulofmpatel said:
I once heard the following story:

A jewish applicant to medical school had written extensively about her religious experience in her personal statement and was confronted by a religious christian in the interview who asked her...

"Why haven't you accepted your lord and savior Jesus Christ."

Understandably, and argument ensued, and she was not accepted

She later appealed the decision and was accepted to the school.

I don't know whether or not she actually matriculated.
Click to expand...

One of the urology attendings I was in the OR with told me that during his residency interview in Utah (i'm not sure which one), they asked him if he was Mormon. When he said no, she said, "oh," closed his file and that was the end of his interview....
 
Opening question after handshake...

So, when was the last time you were in jail?

I don't remember what I said, but I remember the rest of the interview being very pleasant.

And I went to Med School there.
 
Dejavu said:
Opening question after handshake...

So, when was the last time you were in jail?

I don't remember what I said, but I remember the rest of the interview being very pleasant.

And I went to Med School there.
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A friend and I were recently at an interview for medical staff privileges at a local hospital. It's the only one in the area that actually does an in-person interview with the board. After giving her a few minutes to summarize her CV, they followed up with "so tell us about those two years you spent in prison."
 
There wasn't a specific question I can remember, but one residency interviewer was acting odd when I first met him. Soon after we started, he walked with me out of the building and across the street to a coffee shop so he could get something to fix his current hypoglycemic episode. He was less odd after that.
 
thecampuslegend said:
One of the urology attendings I was in the OR with told me that during his residency interview in Utah (i'm not sure which one), they asked him if he was Mormon. When he said no, she said, "oh," closed his file and that was the end of his interview....
Click to expand...

Do did he get in? Thats an interesting story and it's funny because it's been pretty well-known that the U, both for medical school and many of its residencies, strongly prefer diverse (i.e. non-Mormon, non-Utahn) applicants.
 
st2205 said:
Do did he get in? Thats an interesting story and it's funny because it's been pretty well-known that the U, both for medical school and many of its residencies, strongly prefer diverse (i.e. non-Mormon, non-Utahn) applicants.
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He did not get in, this was probably 2 decades ago though. He basically only applied there because it was one of the few urology programs that was 1 year shorter. Anyways, he said it was the most abrupt ending to an interview he ever had.
 
thecampuslegend said:
He did not get in, this was probably 2 decades ago though. He basically only applied there because it was one of the few urology programs that was 1 year shorter. Anyways, he said it was the most abrupt ending to an interview he ever had.
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Isn't that discrimination? I would think that would be a violation of civil rights/equal opportunity laws.
 
Intersting thread. My medical school interviewer asked me this question. He was serious about it.
Inteviewer : Did you have an imaginary friend growing up ?
Me : Yes
Interviewer : Tell me more about your imaginary friend
Me : I told him how we would go on hikes together, play together etc
Interviewer : Do you still have that friend ?
Me : No

I got into the program.
 
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thecampuslegend said:
One of the urology attendings I was in the OR with told me that during his residency interview in Utah (i'm not sure which one), they asked him if he was Mormon. When he said no, she said, "oh," closed his file and that was the end of his interview....
Click to expand...
I have to call total BS on this one. The only university that has a medical school is University of Utah, and if anything being mormon hurts your chances of getting into most programs there.
 
at a small community hospital in Newyork
Question: Do you have Diabetes?
Me: No
Question: Do you have Hepatitis B or C?
Me: No
I was expecting "Do you have HIV/AIDS?" as the next question but he said "Ok thats fine".
 
One of the strangest questions I got was "If we tied your hands with a rope behind your back, how would you express yourself?" (I talk with my hands a lot). Needless to say, I got super freaked out and did not rank the program!
 
DrAwsome said:
One of the strangest questions I got was "If we tied your hands with a rope behind your back, how would you express yourself?" (I talk with my hands a lot). Needless to say, I got super freaked out and did not rank the program!
Click to expand...

Was there a copy of "50 Shades of Grey" on their desk?
 
thunder hawk said:
at a small community hospital in Newyork
Question: Do you have Diabetes?
Me: No
Question: Do you have Hepatitis B or C?
Me: No
I was expecting "Do you have HIV/AIDS?" as the next question but he said "Ok thats fine".
Click to expand...

Those questions are probably illegal. You can make a (weak) argument regarding Hep B/C as they are potentially transmittable.
 
DrAwsome said:
One of the strangest questions I got was "If we tied your hands with a rope behind your back, how would you express yourself?" (I talk with my hands a lot). Needless to say, I got super freaked out and did not rank the program!
Click to expand...

Had an attending who actually took a bet and tied his hands behind his back during a lecture since he talked with them a lot. He untied them mid-lecture, threw it away, and said, not trying that again.
 
Oprah, Barbara Walters, your wife. You gotta f*** one, marry one, kill one, go!
 
OK, just returned from a nephro fellowship interview. Got asked this one:

What specialty makes you cringe the most?
 
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