Stress Interviews

[LEdaddy]

On the Cornell interview thread I read a few posts from people who had an interviewer who was intentionally confrontational and challenged all of the interviewees answers to create a stressful situation. Has anyone had a similar experience with any interviews there during this application cycle?

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[MsJLewis]

Nope! Had 2 very nice interviews there. Everyone was uber nice!

 

[wutwinb]

On the Cornell interview thread I read a few posts from people who had an interviewer who was intentionally confrontational and challenged all of the interviewees answers to create a stressful situation. Has anyone had a similar experience with any interviews there during this application cycle?

you probably read one of the posts that I wrote. it's only one particular interviewer that does this. i've spoken to 5 other interviewees who had him, and he treated everyone the same. don't worry though, you just have to maintain your composure and stand your ground in the nicest way possible. one girl who had him definitely got frazzled (she didn't even want to talk about it), don't let that happen to you (in the off chance you get him).

 

[membername1987]

who was your intereviewer?

 

[Nasem]

I haven't been to medical interviews yet... but i've done TONS of I.T interviews and many of them were "stress type interviews"

The, first one I had, I wanted to get up and slap the **** out of the interviewer, he was almost insulting me......

after a few more interviews, you learn to handle them better..... The key to doing well in those types is to keep a happy face on, never start your sentence with "umm", try your hardest to keep ur answers short (the longer you talk in stress interviews, the deeper you dig a hole for yourself), and MOST importantly, give alot of eye contact so that you show them your not intimidated with their questions

If you keep this up, alot of times the interviewer starts to feel like "man, I can't seem to piss this guy enough or stress him enough with my questions".... and he'll just go back to being more easy going.

 

[dakims]

is it inappropriate to laugh at what they are trying to do?

 

[QTCL13]

Yeah, I think I had that same person at my Cornell interview. Tried not to let it phase me too much, hopefully it worked.

 

[slcdoc]

How do you know if you are getting a stress interview or if your guy is just a pain in the AS5 who hates you for some reason? I had a guy who seemed to resent that I was an athlete, maybe he got beat up when he was in High School or something and holds a grudge against athletes.

 

[AsclepiusI]

is it inappropriate to laugh at what they are trying to do?

I'm so glad you brought this up... because I tend to laugh in high stress situations. It will be good to concentrate on NOT doing that when an interview comes up! (tee hee hee)

 

[alesdu1]

My Tufts interview was fine, but several people that interviewed the same day as me had a very stressful interview. 45 minutes of nothing but, "What is the meaning of life?", "Define 'humanity'", "Why do you think evil exists", etc.


ALso, the Northwestern panel interview isnt particularly great, either. Mine was 75 min long. The first 45 were spent answering all the "typical" interview questions like "How would your enemies desribe you", "Tell me your 5 greatest weaknesses," etc. The last 30 min were spent in the problem solving exercise. The issue they told the three of us to resolve was they (the interivewing faculty members) are freshmen at a college with a zero tolerance etoh policy. Theyve been busted. Now we, as university admins, have to figure out a punishment. To make things worse....the three professors "role-played" and got really into it. ....its very hard to concentrate when you have a 60 year old female pathologist talking to you like shes a bratty 18 year old.

Anyway, I hated those two interview days. Other than, the other 5 schools i interviewed at were completly relaxed...just chit chatting for an hour or so

 

[April16MCAT]

anyone have a stress interview at VCU? The interviewer make the whole conversation about things I can do this year to improve my chances so I could actually get in next year. He told me my volunteering and shadowing didnt mean much because i didnt "do" anything. When he was in high school he volunteered at the hospital and they let him do a lot, but that was forty years ago at least. he also told me I was sheltered. The other student who interviewed with him had a similar experience. Also, when I told him i liked EM, he said I must be one of those premeds who wants no relationship with patients. I was pretty angry but i kept my cool and continued to defend myself in a nonconfrontational way. I must have passed because I GOT IN! So if the interviewer starts giving you a hard time, dont think its over.

 

[wutwinb]

i didn't have this interviewer, but half of the other interviewees apparently had a very very stressful interview at Mt. Sinai. the guy bombarded them with ethical/moral dilemmas. i guess it's just the luck of the draw, so be prepared for anything...

 

[Aynsl156]

I guess I didn't get the ethics guy then, because my interviewers at Mt. Sinai were so relaxed and happy and nice. My interview day only had 4 people though, and we all rotated through these two interviewers.

 

[LEdaddy]

i didn't have this interviewer, but half of the other interviewees apparently had a very very stressful interview at Mt. Sinai. the guy bombarded them with ethical/moral dilemmas. i guess it's just the luck of the draw, so be prepared for anything...

I'm interviewing at MSSM and Cornell. I hope I don't get the stress interviewers at both.

I think I would also have trouble not laughing. There is something so artificial about someone who doesn't know you trying to stress you out in an interview situation. I think I couldn't help but find it funny.

 

[LEdaddy]

who was your intereviewer?

initials maybe?