Stress interview or just a bad interviewer?

[Lannister]

So I'm just going to copy and paste what I posted in the school-specific thread for the sake of time. My interview today was absolutely awful, the interviewer was acting like a huge jerk the entire time.

I was talking about how my experiences shadowing and volunteering taught me how to communicate with patients and how important that skill is for doctors, and he said something along the lines of, "well, communicating with patients isn't really that important, it's knowing the hard sciences that's important for a physician". He then proceeded to tell me that my research was useless because it wasn't related to medicine, and that my shadowing was useless because I did most of it in "Peru" (told him I actually studied abroad in Chile about 10 times and he kept saying Peru) and therefore know nothing about US medicine. He then summed it up by saying my application gave no indications that I had any interest in medicine.

He didn't have access to my GPA but implied several times throughout the interview that he didn't think I was good at science because I'm a Spanish major. He spent 15 minutes making me tell him all the AP classes I took in high school (???) and when I couldn't remember one or two he just sat there and stared at me. Then he made me go through all the honors societies I was in, but in high school, not in college. He seemed disappointed when I told him I was in National Honor Society and graduate Cum Laude, as if that wasn't good enough. I asked him if classes were P/F, and his answer was a 15 minute diatribe about the process of med school and residency, did not even answer my original question. Then, possibly the worst part of the whole interview was the very end. We said our goodbyes, I thanked him, and we shook hands. He grabbed onto my hand, held onto it for at least 30 seconds if not more, all the while staring at me and saying nothing. It was EXTREMELY uncomfortable, I actually tried to pull away because it was so uncomfortable but he still wouldn't let go.

He did not give any indication or anything at the end of the interview that it was supposed to be a "stress" interview. So I have no idea if it was supposed to be that way, or if he truly just hated me. What do you guys think?

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[cactusinmyhead]

report, report, report!!!! Totally unprofessional!!!!

 

[Lannister]

report, report, report!!!! Totally unprofessional!!!!

I am certainly tempted to report, and I gave him bad reviews on the survey afterwards but that was anonymous. But what if I report, and it turns out that it was supposed to be a stress interview? Would that look bad?

 

[Me.D.]

Sorry you felt that way 🙁 If you felt uncomfortable or even harassed you might want to let said SOM know they have a rouge/rude interviewer.

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

Sorry you felt that way 🙁 If you felt uncomfortable or even harassed you might want to let said SOM know they have a rouge/rude interviewer.

He grabbed onto my hand, held onto it for at least 30 seconds if not more, all the while staring at me and saying nothing. It was EXTREMELY uncomfortable, I actually tried to pull away because it was so uncomfortable but he still wouldn't let go.

This is in no way a "stress" interview. This is inappropriate, and I would recommend you report this immediately. I am so sorry this happened to you Lannister. It ain't right, no doubt about it from what you report.

 

[raiderette]

Wow! What a bad experience. I would report it as well, though maybe later.

 

[Me.D.]

I am certainly tempted to report, and I gave him bad reviews on the survey afterwards but that was anonymous. But what if I report, and it turns out that it was supposed to be a stress interview? Would that look bad?

That definitely wouldn't look bad. If said SOM isn't receptive to you feeling like your interviewer overstepped your personal physical boundaries then you shouldn't go there anyway.

 

[Me.D.]

I am certainly tempted to report, and I gave him bad reviews on the survey afterwards but that was anonymous. But what if I report, and it turns out that it was supposed to be a stress interview? Would that look bad?

If you report now they might be able to schedule you another interview while you are in town 🙂

 

[Lannister]

He grabbed onto my hand, held onto it for at least 30 seconds if not more, all the while staring at me and saying nothing. It was EXTREMELY uncomfortable, I actually tried to pull away because it was so uncomfortable but he still wouldn't let go.

This is in no way a "stress" interview. This is inappropriate, and I would recommend you report this immediately. I am so sorry this happened to you Lannister. It ain't right, no doubt about it from what you report.

Wow! What a bad experience. I would report it as well, though maybe later.

That definitely wouldn't look bad. If said SOM isn't receptive to you feeling like your interviewer overstepped your personal physical boundaries then you shouldn't go there anyway.

Yeah it was definitely the hand shake thing that truly made me uncomfortable. The rest of the interview I dealt with fine, and I think I interviewed well, even if he was being rude. I was definitely thinking about reporting it later, but how long should I wait? I feel like if I wait until I get deferred it will be too late for them to do anything about it.

 

[Lannister]

If you report now they might be able to schedule you another interview while you are in town 🙂

Unfortunately my flight leaves in two hours so that's definitely not possible. I won't be back here again until late December.

 

[Pastamahn]

I say definitely report them. In my opinion, stress interviews should never make you so uncomfortable as to seriously think about reporting them. I've always just seen them as when the interviewer is always asking for better answers, not making you feel the level of discomfort you did or not even answering your questions.

 

[rocklobstr]

I wonder what @Goro thinks of this

 

[Affiche]

Please don't quote this because I'll probs delete it later

I recently had an interview that left me wondering if it was a meant to be stressful or not. The guy was totally unimpressed with every word that came out of my mouth, told me I didn't understand "how it is in medicine", told me I would never have autonomy as a physician, and then bashed the ACA for the remainder of the interview. Oh, and when I forgot the exact month that I started an activity 6 years ago, he asked me if I actually did any of the activities I listed on my AMCAS lol. I ended up reporting it unintentionally...a current student asked me about the interview and I told him what happened (in jest) and he, thinking it was incredibly inappropriate, reported it to the dean. I ended up getting accepted so it all worked out.

 

[BphysDoc]

My God.... what a rude interviewer...

 

[Spector1]

that sounds a bit creepy.

 

[johnnytest]

@Lannister a friend of mine had a tough interview at Loyola last cycle. They asked her questions like why don't you go back to your home country and study medicine. She definitely said she felt attacked for one of her interviews. She did not report anything and was accepted. She was familiar with some of the people at the school.

Nevertheless, I would listen to the adcoms on here more than anyone else on whether you should report this or not. I'm sure they know what stress interviews are suppose to be like.

 

[Lawpy]

There's a difference between a stress interviewer and an interviewer acting like an unprofessional jerk.

He then proceeded to tell me that my research was useless because it wasn't related to medicine..... .... .. he didn't think I was good at science because I'm a Spanish major. Then he made me go through all the honors societies I was in, but in high school, not in college.......... We said our goodbyes, I thanked him, and we shook hands. He grabbed onto my hand, held onto it for at least 30 seconds if not more, all the while staring at me and saying nothing. It was EXTREMELY uncomfortable, I actually tried to pull away because it was so uncomfortable but he still wouldn't let go.

I wonder what @Goro thinks of this

Probably these

Totally unacceptable

The only way the system can get rid of bad interviewers is to inform the Admissions dean.

 

[BluMist]

Done!

Please don't quote this because I'll probs delete it later

@Lannister: sorry that this happened to you... 🙁

 

[Lawpy]

@Lannister a friend of mine had a tough interview at Loyola last cycle. They asked her questions like why don't you go back to your home country and study medicine. She definitely said she felt attacked for one of her interviews. She did not report anything and was accepted. She was familiar with some of the people at the school.

Nevertheless, I would listen to the adcoms on here more than anyone else on whether you should report this or not. I'm sure they know what stress interviews are suppose to be like.

That's not a stress interview. The school needs to revamp its interviewer selection process.

 

[Goro]

Report this to the Admissions dean immediately. This is the only way the system can cleanse itself of poor interviewers.

So I'm just going to copy and paste what I posted in the school-specific thread for the sake of time. My interview today was absolutely awful, the interviewer was acting like a huge jerk the entire time.

I was talking about how my experiences shadowing and volunteering taught me how to communicate with patients and how important that skill is for doctors, and he said something along the lines of, "well, communicating with patients isn't really that important, it's knowing the hard sciences that's important for a physician". He then proceeded to tell me that my research was useless because it wasn't related to medicine, and that my shadowing was useless because I did most of it in "Peru" (told him I actually studied abroad in Chile about 10 times and he kept saying Peru) and therefore know nothing about US medicine. He then summed it up by saying my application gave no indications that I had any interest in medicine.

He didn't have access to my GPA but implied several times throughout the interview that he didn't think I was good at science because I'm a Spanish major. He spent 15 minutes making me tell him all the AP classes I took in high school (???) and when I couldn't remember one or two he just sat there and stared at me. Then he made me go through all the honors societies I was in, but in high school, not in college. He seemed disappointed when I told him I was in National Honor Society and graduate Cum Laude, as if that wasn't good enough. I asked him if classes were P/F, and his answer was a 15 minute diatribe about the process of med school and residency, did not even answer my original question. Then, possibly the worst part of the whole interview was the very end. We said our goodbyes, I thanked him, and we shook hands. He grabbed onto my hand, held onto it for at least 30 seconds if not more, all the while staring at me and saying nothing. It was EXTREMELY uncomfortable, I actually tried to pull away because it was so uncomfortable but he still wouldn't let go.

He did not give any indication or anything at the end of the interview that it was supposed to be a "stress" interview. So I have no idea if it was supposed to be that way, or if he truly just hated me. What do you guys think?

 

[Lannister]

@Lawper @Goro Do you think I should mention any of the questions he asked when I contact them? I'm not sure if they were inappropriate or not. I think I will definitely report the handshake thing and the constant interruptions.

 

[cactusinmyhead]

@Lawper @Goro Do you think I should mention any of the questions he asked when I contact them? I'm not sure if they were inappropriate or not. I think I will definitely report the handshake thing and the constant interruptions.

They will probably ask for specifics, just tell them everything and it's at their discretion to decide what is inappropriate

 

[Lannister]

They will probably ask for specifics, just tell them everything and it's at their discretion to decide what is inappropriate

Okay =/ Do I do this anonymously or should I tell them my name?

 

[Goro]

For an interviewer to say this is, well, irresponsible. It's possible he was challenging you, but it would be hard for a pre-med to answer this because you don't have insider knowledge.


well, communicating with patients isn't really that important, it's knowing the hard sciences that's important for a physician".

@Lawper @Goro Do you think I should mention any of the questions he asked when I contact them? I'm not sure if they were inappropriate or not. I think I will definitely report the handshake thing and the constant interruptions.

 

[Lawpy]

@Lawper @Goro Do you think I should mention any of the questions he asked when I contact them? I'm not sure if they were inappropriate or not. I think I will definitely report the handshake thing and the constant interruptions.

They will probably ask for specifics, just tell them everything and it's at their discretion to decide what is inappropriate

Yeah that's probably the best bet. Aside from the handshake incident, he's making idiotic statements like "well, communicating with patients isn't really that important, it's knowing the hard sciences that's important for a physician", and "[your] research was useless because it wasn't related to medicine".

Stress interviews will put you in the hot seat. Examples would be priming you for more details on research methods you used and questioned the necessity of doing this approach over the other. Constructive criticism becomes predominant.

 

[AOK AllTheWay]

So, I rode the link over here and read your story about this guy, and wow.
Just... wow.

Part of me thinks that the real test was to see if you had the strong nerves to not make a scene at the interview, but also the sense of justice to report the blatantly disrespectful behavior shown towards you by the interviewer.
Reporting it (and including your name), in my opinion is the ethical thing to do. Not just for yourself, but for the other poor souls who would supposedly face a similar interview with this guy.
And, hey.
As a doctor, you will be dealing with a wiiide variety of patients. Some of those patients are bound to be... not okay... if you know what I mean.
Perhaps they want to see how you'd deal with stressful situations like that?
Think of it this way:
If he truly hated you, he would be acting on his own, and I don't expect that he would give you a favorable recommendation, regardless of how good you are. 'Cuz he hatin'!
So why do him a favor by keeping quiet for him, when he's gonna bite you in the end anyway? In this case, you've got nothing much to lose for tattling on him.
If he was just acting to see your reaction, then the adcom probably knows about this and wants to see you speak up. Be a true doctor and, as gracefully as possible, say the things that people might not want to hear, y'know?

Um, regardless of ANY of that, I still think that's really messed up.
Hmmm... I haven't sent my secondary to Loyola yet...
Maybe I still have time to pull out and not waste my money on coming to Jerkland?
OH WAIT, DANG IT, they made us pay BEFORE starting the secondary, AWWWWGH!!!!
(Lol, jk.)

 

[cactusinmyhead]

Yeah, now I'm glad I didn't do Loyola's stupid secondary. Out of 35 schools it was the only one I decided not to do. The school just didn't vibe with me.

I'm really sorry you had this experience. I hope you get into Case and Cinci and don't have to worry about any of this. Regardless though, you should report it. It's the right thing to do!

 

[Snakes]

Wait...what the H is a stress interview?? Besides the obvious, what is the point? And how can you tell the difference between an obnoxious interviewer and a stress interview in general?

If this is actually something that is actually planned to happen...why??

 

[Pastamahn]

Wait...what the H is a stress interview?? Besides the obvious, what is the point? And how can you tell the difference between an obnoxious interviewer and a stress interview in general?

If this is actually something that is actually planned to happen...why??

They are interviews in which the interviewer puts you on the hot seat, or makes you think on your feet. An example I've commonly heard is after an interviewee gives a response, the interviewer will tell them it's not a good enough answer. Basically they're just looking to make sure the interviewee can stay composed in a situation they might not expect to come occur, and to act accordingly. But true stress interviews are pretty rare, and the interview in question in the initial post of this thread goes way past what a stress interview would do.

 

[Strigon]

Wait...what the H is a stress interview?? Besides the obvious, what is the point? And how can you tell the difference between an obnoxious interviewer and a stress interview in general?

If this is actually something that is actually planned to happen...why??

These are intended to see how interviewees handle pressure, whether it is applied discreetly or overtly. High pressure situations demand that those involved can keep their cool and maintain a train of thought and focus. It's hard to explain, but a stress interview will just feel different than an obnoxious interviewer.

 

[AOK AllTheWay]

These are intended to see how interviewees handle pressure, whether it is applied discreetly or overtly. High pressure situations demand that those involved can keep their cool and maintain a train of thought and focus. It's hard to explain, but a stress interview will just feel different than an obnoxious interviewer.

Totally.
At one of my interviews, the interviewer asked me some questions about why I wanted to become a doctor.
After giving my response, she told me that she was looking for more than just what I said.
Other times, she would ask my opinion on a matter, then after I stated my opinion, would give additional information that logically contradicted what I said, then asked if I changed my opinion.
Also, the interview was like, an hour long.
I had to think of more things to say, and sure it was stressful, but the interviewer was in no way obnoxious or disrespectful, and we had a good time.
I don't know whether to call that a stress interview, but if it was, I definitely didn't even realize that till now.

 

[CARCOSA]

@Lannister Please report this and I am sorry that this happened to you. Completely unprofessional and disrespectful. At all the schools I interviewed at, the SOMs explicitly told the interviewees to report any interviewer that were rude, inappropriate, or unprofessional, in any manner, and that the SOM would schedule us a new interview asap.

 

[Lannister]

Well now I am doubtful about reporting him because another interviewee had the same interviewer and pretty much had the exact same experience, and he got accepted. I know I should report him for the good of other applicants but I really do not want to have to do another interview... Ahh idk so conflicted. I could still report him anonymously I guess.

 

[BphysDoc]

I would report him. The dean will understand and it should not affect your admission chance. Personally, I had 2 interviews at Loyola, none of which was like what you have described. They are both conversational interviews, and the interviewers were super nice. However, it is ultimately your decision at the end. You will be fine w/ 3 interviews, rooting for you!

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Report it. You will feel better if you speak up. I say this as someone who used to really have trouble speaking up. This is bothering you, and I don't think it will affect your acceptance outcome if you report. The whole thing seems unprofessional but the handshake thing is the deal breaker.

I just think you'll feel better if you report it in a respectful way. The way you described it here made just about everyone, including adcoms, say report it so you can phrase it in a similar way when you report.

Creepy dude!

 

[jmpatt29]

well if its any consolation.. My friend had an interview at a school that is notorious for laid back, welcoming people. The interviewer had a bunch of grapes and picking them off one by one and throwing them up in the air and catching them with his mouth while my friend was giving him an answer. The interviewer also abruptly got up at the end of the interview and said "were done here." and tried to walk out but my friend actually said "well actually if you don't mind I have a few more questions."

My friend was accepted but ended up not choosing that school because of that experience.

Whether you report him or not is up to your comfort level. I know I personally would ask students at that school about their past interviews, and then make a decision. Tough situation though and Im sorry that happened to you.

 

[stemingen]

Reporting this interviewer should not affect your chance of admission . Most likely you will be arranged for another interview and have to pay for second trip, which by itself sucks. True question is, will you regret if you chose to contain this terrible/unfair interviewing experience yourself?

 

[Goro]

I wouldn't send any of my kids to a school like this!

well if its any consolation.. My friend had an interview at a school that is notorious for laid back, welcoming people. The interviewer had a bunch of grapes and picking them off one by one and throwing them up in the air and catching them with his mouth while my friend was giving him an answer. The interviewer also abruptly got up at the end of the interview and said "were done here." and tried to walk out but my friend actually said "well actually if you don't mind I have a few more questions."

My friend was accepted but ended up not choosing that school because of that experience.

Whether you report him or not is up to your comfort level. I know I personally would ask students at that school about their past interviews, and then make a decision. Tough situation though and Im sorry that happened to you.

 

[medic86]

I wouldn't send any of my kids to a school like this!

What if it was Harvard? 😛

 

[Goro]

They can go to Yale or JHU.

What if it was Harvard? 😛

 

[Lost in Translation]

OMG. I just realized, thanks to your thread, that I was asked a stress question at one of my interviews and totally bombed it.

But sorry about your experience.

 

[Mitali]

My experience with one of the most upscale schools in southern California. The interviewer was a psychiatrist and kept interrupting me with all kinds negatives every min while I was trying to answer his questions. He was more interested to discuss how it must have been so difficult to be accepted in a US college after living in Asia till high school. He didn't care to even notice my UG school, double major, GPA, MCAT. For him being a 2nd author for a publication in Nature didn't mean much. This was my 6th interview, by this time I was pretty good with interview skills and had a sense his behavior was definitely not a part of a "stress interview" in which he may have been testing my response. It was evident he had absolutely no appreciation for people who has worked so hard, spent time and money and qualified for a 30 min opportunity to share their experience. He thought just because he's empowered and I am vulnerable he could disrespect and be rude to me. I tried my best to salvage but couldn't....went straight to WL. Due to my vulnerable situation I didn't report this to the dean. Frankly, everything seemed very different in this school compared to others I have interviewed.......the guy who's giving us the tour of their facility had a over size, heavily creased jacket, looked very tired.....when one of the applicant asked "is this the place you guys study?" his response was "I guess"........lol.

I am planning to write this to the dean.

 

[@Hazel-rah]

@Lannister -- can you tell us the outcome of this situation? Did you report? Did you get accepted or re do the interview? Did you end up choosing this school or another?

 

[Lannister]

@Lannister -- can you tell us the outcome of this situation? Did you report? Did you get accepted or re do the interview? Did you end up choosing this school or another?

I kind of wanted to report it but at the same time I just wanted to be done with it so I ended up not reporting. I got waitlisted and immediately withdrew. No way in heck I would have attended this school. I'm sure it's a fine school but I would have had a hard time overcoming the bad impression I got during my interview.

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

Wow **** that guy man. You work so hard to get somewhere and when you finally do you have someone treat you like that.

 

[Goro]

He who laughs last, laughs best!

I kind of wanted to report it but at the same time I just wanted to be done with it so I ended up not reporting. I got waitlisted and immediately withdrew. No way in heck I would have attended this school. I'm sure it's a fine school but I would have had a hard time overcoming the bad impression I got during my interview.

 

[Crayola227]

My experience with one of the most upscale schools in southern California. The interviewer was a psychiatrist and kept interrupting me with all kinds negatives every min while I was trying to answer his questions. He was more interested to discuss how it must have been so difficult to be accepted in a US college after living in Asia till high school. He didn't care to even notice my UG school, double major, GPA, MCAT. For him being a 2nd author for a publication in Nature didn't mean much. This was my 6th interview, by this time I was pretty good with interview skills and had a sense his behavior was definitely not a part of a "stress interview" in which he may have been testing my response. It was evident he had absolutely no appreciation for people who has worked so hard, spent time and money and qualified for a 30 min opportunity to share their experience. He thought just because he's empowered and I am vulnerable he could disrespect and be rude to me. I tried my best to salvage but couldn't....went straight to WL. Due to my vulnerable situation I didn't report this to the dean. Frankly, everything seemed very different in this school compared to others I have interviewed.......the guy who's giving us the tour of their facility had a over size, heavily creased jacket, looked very tired.....when one of the applicant asked "is this the place you guys study?" his response was "I guess"........lol.

I am planning to write this to the dean.

Really hope you didn't.

I don't interpret what you've written here about what was said and done with the same tone that you claim here
however, I wasn't there

it just sounds sort of entitled that he was "supposed to be impressed" by what YOU find impressive about yourself, rather than the only thing you mentioned here that actually sounds interesting or different about you in a way that might make me value your other achievements more. I would want to talk about that. I don't need to talk about numbers on a page in front of me that you wrote that we both know. I'm not surprised if a psychiatrist took more note of this than other interviewers you may have had. As far as interrupting you, as long as he's not being malicious, even if he is a touch "rude" interrupting you and with negatives... you are there to impress them more than the other way around. (not that schools want terrible interviewers chasing off great applicants).

In fact, I wonder if in your quest to direct the conversation where you felt your "money" for a 30 minute interview should go, you were inadvertantly rude and set a bad tone for the interview yourself.

I had two interviews where I was totally freaked out because we never talked about me, or we never talked about anything that wasn't total BS small talk. The interviewers just talked about themselves and one it was their favorite food. I'm said it elsewhere, don't try to hard to steer the interview, people love to talk about themselves, people report liking people better for how well they listened and how they made them feel about themselves more than anything about that person in particular. Psychs especially love to talk in my experience, feel that they can "call" you with a lot of reading between the lines, and definitely value good listeners.

The person giving the tour sounds like a tired resident. It's been said, if the residents don't look a little tired they are not worked hard enough and are not learning enough. I don't know if that should be a goal but it's one perspective of what you may have experienced on tour. Residents work too hard to spend a lot of time in the "study lounge" so he very well might have had no idea where that is. He was probably thinking, "as if" while imagining his couch and Netflix at home.

the basically is a 7/10 humblebrag
because you are telling us how awesome you are simultaneously telling us how you are clueless to how your "awesomeness" isn't awesome and spiting yourself

TLDR:
I could be wrong about the whole thing, but it was an opportunity to correct any other reader's notions about what the interview "should be about," and to cut the tour guide some slack.
also what to do if interviewers don't want to talk about what you want/they want to talk about whatever they want

 

[Crayola227]

I kind of wanted to report it but at the same time I just wanted to be done with it so I ended up not reporting. I got waitlisted and immediately withdrew. No way in heck I would have attended this school. I'm sure it's a fine school but I would have had a hard time overcoming the bad impression I got during my interview.

Did you have an acceptance elsewhere already??

 

[Lannister]

Did you have an acceptance elsewhere already??

I got my acceptance to the school I will be attending three days after my nightmare interview at this school.

 

[Earl Simmons]

Report this. I had what I thought was a "stress" interview during my cycle and didn't report it. I still regret it and still think that even though it's a couple years removed that I ought to email the school and report it. My experiences weren't even as bad as yours.

Report it. You will be glad you did later.