The "No Way They Did/Said That" Applicant Thread

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EvoDevo

EvoDevo

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What not to do after your interviews:

1/ Send a personalized thank you card emblazoned with a picture of you in your scrubs and steth, with an "Emergency" sign and ECG tracing as your background.

2/ Hand out post-interview portfolios containing your CV, personal statement, list of accomplishments, pictures, and "Why I'd Rock as an EM resident" portion.


Yep. Seriously.


Anyone else run across something similar?
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Apparently there's an applicant on the urology circuit doing magic tricks.
 
EvoDevo said:
What not to do after your interviews:

1/ Send a personalized thank you card emblazoned with a picture of you in your scrubs and steth, with an "Emergency" sign and ECG tracing as your background.

2/ Hand out post-interview portfolios containing your CV, personal statement, list of accomplishments, pictures, and "Why I'd Rock as an EM resident" portion.
Click to expand...

Were these the same person? And, are you really serious? Who would do either???
 
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I was with an applicant who came in with a basket of homemade baked goods and a couple EM journals tucked under his arm.
 
gro2001 said:
On a similar note, supposedly there is an EM attending somewhere that keeps a guitar in his office and makes everyone who put 'playing guitar' as a hobby on his CV play.
Click to expand...

bam i am putting guitar as my #1 interest lol.

it is seriously been my dream since high-school to be put in an awkward situation where the only way out is to WAIL.
 
I got freaked out by the guitar thing because one of the people interviewing me had what looked like a guitar behind him on his desk. Turns out that it was his ukalale that he had been practicing on, but I was worried I was going to be asked to play something.
 
eighty said:
Apparently there's an applicant on the urology circuit doing magic tricks.
Click to expand...

deuist said:
Awesome. I want him to interview here. I don't care if he actually matches; I just want to see what he has to offer.
Click to expand...

I don't want to watch a urologist make anything disappear.:scared:
 
We had an applicant send a postcard with his glamour shots photo on one side with the words, "Coming to an ERAS mailbox by you" written across the top. Very cheesy and over the top. He also failed to mention the med school he attended but wrote that he did Harvard med school research in a way that implied he went to Harvard med school.
 
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EMMD2009 said:
We had an applicant send a postcard with his glamour shots photo on one side with the words, "Coming to an ERAS mailbox by you" written across the top. Very cheesy and over the top. He also failed to mention the med school he attended but wrote that he did Harvard med school research in a way that implied he went to Harvard med school.
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Was he wearing a top hat and giving you jazz hands?
 
I don't know, I think if I was a program director and someone showed up in a top hat, I'd rank to match. That guy is clearly awsome.

Or if someone interviewed in this:
doncherryhnic20080509.jpg
 
I won't quote the above post, due to the size of the pic, but, to be honest, depending on where you went, if you wore a Don Cherry worn/inspired jacket, you may go right to the top, depending on the PD or chair being a hockey fan. (When I was a resident, the PD was from the Bay area, and the division Chief was a 7th Day Adventist - not a strong hockey tradition.)

Or were you referring to Ron MacLean?
 
leorl said:
Anyone have interviewees cry on them during the interview? Talk about a bit awkward....
Click to expand...

I had that happen last year. I was extraordinarily creeped out by it.

On another note, here's a tip for those interviewees who may be stalking this thread: Put your damn smart phone away. I had one that spent the entire time at the pre-interview dinner and a couple of times during the actual INTERVIEW messing around with his phone. "Seriously, your email can wait for a couple of minutes... no? Okay, I'll just wait until you're done..."
 
ccfccp said:
I had that happen last year. I was extraordinarily creeped out by it.

On another note, here's a tip for those interviewees who may be stalking this thread: Put your damn smart phone away. I had one that spent the entire time at the pre-interview dinner and a couple of times during the actual INTERVIEW messing around with his phone. "Seriously, your email can wait for a couple of minutes... no? Okay, I'll just wait until you're done..."
Click to expand...
Really? That seems....dysfunctional.
 
We had a guy that was interviewing with one of our chiefs. Midway through the interview, he just opened up his informational packet and started leafing through it and ignored the chief. If the lurkers learn nothing, HIDE YOUR AXIS II DISORDER DURING THE INTERVIEW!
 
Arcan57 said:
We had a guy that was interviewing with one of our chiefs. Midway through the interview, he just opened up his informational packet and started leafing through it and ignored the chief. If the lurkers learn nothing, HIDE YOUR AXIS II DISORDER DURING THE INTERVIEW!
Click to expand...

Jeez. Honestly, I'm not conservative and I'm really not very much older than these guys, but I keep having the feeling that this new crop of students are a whole new generation... and in grumpy old man voice.... I don't like it!
 
ccfccp said:
I had that happen last year. I was extraordinarily creeped out by it.

On another note, here's a tip for those interviewees who may be stalking this thread: Put your damn smart phone away. I had one that spent the entire time at the pre-interview dinner and a couple of times during the actual INTERVIEW messing around with his phone. "Seriously, your email can wait for a couple of minutes... no? Okay, I'll just wait until you're done..."
Click to expand...

Whoa - the actual interview or just the interview day? I mess with my phone during breaks during the day but I would NEVER do that in an interview. It doesn't even come out of my pocket.
 
leorl said:
Jeez. Honestly, I'm not conservative and I'm really not very much older than these guys, but I keep having the feeling that this new crop of students are a whole new generation... and in grumpy old man voice.... I don't like it!
Click to expand...

Yeah. There is a good idea. Lets generalize this whole years class of applicants or maybe this whole generation of doctors as technoweenies and axis 2 creepies because of these two anecdotes. brilliant.
 
ccfccp said:
I had that happen last year. I was extraordinarily creeped out by it.

On another note, here's a tip for those interviewees who may be stalking this thread: Put your damn smart phone away. I had one that spent the entire time at the pre-interview dinner and a couple of times during the actual INTERVIEW messing around with his phone. "Seriously, your email can wait for a couple of minutes... no? Okay, I'll just wait until you're done..."
Click to expand...

Arcan57 said:
We had a guy that was interviewing with one of our chiefs. Midway through the interview, he just opened up his informational packet and started leafing through it and ignored the chief. If the lurkers learn nothing, HIDE YOUR AXIS II DISORDER DURING THE INTERVIEW!
Click to expand...

leorl said:
Jeez. Honestly, I'm not conservative and I'm really not very much older than these guys, but I keep having the feeling that this new crop of students are a whole new generation... and in grumpy old man voice.... I don't like it!
Click to expand...

MountainEM said:
Yeah. There is a good idea. Lets generalize this whole years class of applicants or maybe this whole generation of doctors as technoweenies and axis 2 creepies because of these two anecdotes. brilliant.
Click to expand...

They're not all creeps or weenies but damn they're sensitive:D.
 
Wow, glad I stumbled onto this post, yikes. I wrote -normal, non-glamour-shot- Holiday cards to my top 5 programs. Looks like I'll be doing myself a favor NOT sending those.
 
GlobalEM said:
Wow, glad I stumbled onto this post, yikes. I wrote -normal, non-glamour-shot- Holiday cards to my top 5 programs. Looks like I'll be doing myself a favor NOT sending those.
Click to expand...

Actually, that kind of stuff goes a long way at my program. I think you're ok to send them... as long as it's devoid of glamor shots :)
 
ccfccp said:
I had that happen last year. I was extraordinarily creeped out by it.

On another note, here's a tip for those interviewees who may be stalking this thread: Put your damn smart phone away. I had one that spent the entire time at the pre-interview dinner and a couple of times during the actual INTERVIEW messing around with his phone. "Seriously, your email can wait for a couple of minutes... no? Okay, I'll just wait until you're done..."
Click to expand...


Do you mean during an actual interview or during the breaks when you are sitting there chatting with all the other interviewees and one or two residents? I think everyone takes their phone out during that time.
 
GatorsWearJorts said:
Do you mean during an actual interview or during the breaks when you are sitting there chatting with all the other interviewees and one or two residents? I think everyone takes their phone out during that time.
Click to expand...

Actually, I think you would be well served not to take out your phone at all while on the trail. If you can't suppress your texting while on a job interview, we might conclude that you might not be able to give full attention to patient care or learning activities.
 
BKN said:
Actually, I think you would be well served not to take out your phone at all while on the trail. If you can't suppress your texting while on a job interview, we might conclude that you might not be able to give full attention to patient care or learning activities.
Click to expand...

The last person I want at my program is someone who is sitting in a room of new faces and is busy playing on their phone rather than socializing. Leave you phone in your hotel room! I would be annoyed if I went to an interview lunch and had applicants sitting there playing on their phone.
 
In defense, Though I am just an applicant using your phone a bit during your "break" seems like a pretty reasonable request.

Keep in mind most of us are traveling. Leaving the phone behind would be impossible in some cases.

Most of my smart phone time is dedicated to trying to figure out how I'm getting back to the airport/hotel, and am I going to make my next flight. It can get awkward lurking around the hospital for an hour after the interview while waiting for a ride.
 
Don't say at the preinterview social "I don't see myself ending up at X hospital because they aren't a level 1 trauma center" when interviewing somewhere that is not a Level 1 trauma center.

:confused::confused:
 
Don't malign 3 year programs without knowing if the faculty member your are interviewing with is from a 3 or a 4 year program. Despite the mythos, 3 year grads DO work at 4 year programs. :)
 
roja said:
Don't malign 3 year programs without knowing if the faculty member your are interviewing with is from a 3 or a 4 year program. Despite the mythos, 3 year grads DO work at 4 year programs. :)
Click to expand...
:smuggrin:
 
BKN said:
Actually, I think you would be well served not to take out your phone at all while on the trail. If you can't suppress your texting while on a job interview, we might conclude that you might not be able to give full attention to patient care or learning activities.
Click to expand...

How long is the average job interview compared to a residency interview? If some resident or attending got upset that I pulled out my phone during a break of the 6-7 hour interview day then I think it would say a lot about that program/resident, not so much about the applicant.
 
Is it really that hard not to use your phone for 6 hours? If you need to make arrangements to get to the airport, do it the night before. Choosing to interact with your phone rather than the other people around at the interview day raises concerns in us 30-year-old-fogies who don't think that that sort of thing is polite. You are here to interview for residency - something you've been working very hard towards for many years - focus.
 
Can applicants join in on these no way stories? Like:

An interviewer at one program asking a bunch of the applicants illegal questions about marital status, family planning, etc. Especially the female applicants.

A resident who allowed their young child to run around the whole restaurant bothering other patrons at the pre-interview dinner. The manager had to come over and say something.

A resident who bit an applicant's head off when the applicant asked about benefits at the lunch. After six straight hours of being asked what questions we had about the program, is it really a surprise that the subject of benefits might come up?

Nearly all the residents and other applicants that I've met on the interview trail seem cool and fun. I am more excited than ever to have a chance to work with some of you next year. And since a lot of the boneheaded things that people do and say are probably innocent or out of anxiety/stress rather than evidence of axis II personality disorders, can't we cut each other a little slack?
 
WilcoWorld said:
Is it really that hard not to use your phone for 6 hours? If you need to make arrangements to get to the airport, do it the night before. Choosing to interact with your phone rather than the other people around at the interview day raises concerns in us 30-year-old-fogies who don't think that that sort of thing is polite. You are here to interview for residency - something you've been working very hard towards for many years - focus.
Click to expand...

This seems harsh. I interviewed at one place that set up laptops to use during breaks. I taught interview skills and etiquette at my Alma mater, and really do not see any thing wrong with periodically checking email on your phone while conversing with other applicants and residents during your breaks and lunch. I have doing it the entire trail. But certainly not during an interview itself.
(and I am in my 30s as well).
 
Of course if a program says, "If you need to check your email during a break then feel free to use these computers" then it's fine to do so. And I realize that there are occasionally times when it would not be impolite to use your phone during the interview day. But the fact is that some applicants have difficulty with social subtleties, and those are the people that this advice is directed towards - if you are among that group then your best bet is to just keep your phone on silent and in your pocket.

Personally, I have a somewhat odd sense of humor. Early on in my interviews I did not try to temper it, because I thought that programs should "like me for who I am". It became clear to me that I was hurting myself with some of my comments (one PD asked me "Are you trying to tell me you have a problem with authority?"). After that I started to play it safe and I avoided such awkward experiences thereafter. I ended up matching at my #1 spot.

I understand the desire to think that a program should "like you for who you are", but the truth is that it's very hard, probably impossible, to get a very good sense of that during an interview day. We are both (programs and applicants) forced to make a decision on less than complete information. As such, small things can get amplified. So it is in the applicant's best interest to try extra hard to put his or her best foot forward.

And you know what? The same holds for the programs. I may have a gripe about some particular Cardiologist on staff, but I'm not going to sit around talking about that on interview day. I may like to listen to experimental German music while I'm in my office, but I don't do that when I'm interviewing. And our residents certainly don't eat a catered lunch every day of the week (only on Tuesdays :cool:). Does this mean I'm being dishonest by trying to make a good impression during interviews? I don't think so.
 
At the risk of belaboring the point, I'll put it simply; There are things that may seem benign to you but are seen as impolite by your interviewers. It's in your best interest to play it safe (while still being yourself) on interview day.
 
WilcoWorld said:
Is it really that hard not to use your phone for 6 hours? If you need to make arrangements to get to the airport, do it the night before. Choosing to interact with your phone rather than the other people around at the interview day raises concerns in us 30-year-old-fogies who don't think that that sort of thing is polite. You are here to interview for residency - something you've been working very hard towards for many years - focus.
Click to expand...

:thumbup::thumbup:
 
I suppose since I started this whole smartphone conversation, I suppose I should add something to it. There are plenty of times during the interview day when there is downtime and it's not a problem to quickly check your phone (especially if you have a legitimate reason...) My particular example actually occurred during the interview itself. That (as an interviewer) I had a problem with.

That being said, there's a difference between "a quick check" and sitting in the corner not talking to anyone and messing with your phone. I've seen a couple of those this year and I had to think to myself, "Maybe this interview just wasn't that important to this applicant." Being engaged is part of the interview process.

Someone also mentioned how most job interviews don't take as long as residency interviews. Typically, from what I've seen they tend to take as long or longer (some spread accross multiple days) because if someone is interested in taking you on as a partner in their group they are taking a huge risk to their own livelihood. You should expect them to be longer. Same as in residency you don't want to end up in a place you don't fit just as much as they don't want to have you.
 
WilcoWorld said:
At the risk of belaboring the point, I'll put it simply; There are things that may seem benign to you but are seen as impolite by your interviewers. It's in your best interest to play it safe (while still being yourself) on interview day.
Click to expand...

I would never want to be impolite to someone, and hence I have only checked my email on my phone when absolutely necessary for flight changes (due to weather twice I have had cancelled flights and found out during the interview day). I, personally, would be taken quite taken aback if I found out that my quick check of an email was offensive to someone. If it was then I would rather not be at that program anyways I suppose.
 
Pure Anergy said:
Can applicants join in on these no way stories? Like:
Click to expand...
absolutely join in, odd behavior is seen both ways. I had an interviewer stay on his cell phone guiding a resident on doing a work up while intermittently asking me questions. then he stepped out to see the pt, came back in a few min and apologized for not having enough resident/attendings to do the interview process.
 
I've had two different interviewers start off our conversation by confusing me with different applicants from the same day.

I also had an interviewer at a program where I did a month-long externship start off with the question, "So, is this your first time in (this city)?"

:rolleyes:
 
ohboy said:
How long is the average job interview compared to a residency interview? If some resident or attending got upset that I pulled out my phone during a break of the 6-7 hour interview day then I think it would say a lot about that program/resident, not so much about the applicant.
Click to expand...

You worry me. You sound like the type of resident who would be difficult to teach, won't take feedback, and will always argue the point in hopes of "being right" rather than trying to take another perspective and learning from it.

Go ahead. Play with your phone on interview day. I'll be watching.
 
Pure Anergy said:
An interviewer at one program asking a bunch of the applicants illegal questions about marital status, family planning, etc. Especially the female applicants.
Click to expand...

I find this very hard to believe.

If true, please report to the relevant ERAS authorities so this person can be disciplined appropriately.
 
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