When interviewing should i keep my comments no longer than 2 minutes?

[Dr.Forssmann]

Ive heard that your comments should not exceed to minutes even if they are stories pr else you lose the interviewers attention. Is this true? And if not in what circumstances is it ok to pass 2 min?

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[el_duderino]

If you're telling an involved story, just go with it.

Just.... be natural. Be yourself. If you go into an interview trying to incorporate all these rules you think you need to follow, you're not going to come across well at all.

If you're concerned, I'd suggest you try to schedule a mock interview with someone to get a bit of personalized feedback.

 

[ivorypearls]

Humans have short attention spans, keep it under 2 minutes. Although my interviews so far have been mostly conversational rather than Q&A. I didn't have any question that required me to talk over 2 minutes.

 

[StudyLater]

Did you get that from the Kevin Ahern video? I remember him saying that. I think it's a fair rule. They've probably got a lot of questions to get through, so it's helpful to speed things up. Also, they're interested, but I don't think they care about you that much to listen to a 5-10min story. Might depend on the situation and the vibe you're getting, though. As the other poster said, be natural! Do you, homie.

 

[AvrgPreMedKid]

I feel like I never spoke for longer than 30 seconds... I tend to cut myself short rather than ramble.

 

[StudyLater]

I feel like I never spoke for longer than 30 seconds... I tend to cut myself short rather than ramble.

This is a good quality.

inb4 5 acceptances 8 waitlists.

 

[MrLogan13]

Be natural and don't ramble.

 

[StudyLater]

Just be yourself OP. It's k. And remember...

 

[blackroses]

I can't imagine many questions that would require your answer to last more than two minutes.

 

[caffeinemia]

If you're a long winded annoying mofo, please DO NOT BE YOURSELF.

If you're interviewing with a surgeon, don't make the mistake of rambling. Our patient interactions and rounds are rarely longer than 2 minutes, so listening to your 2 minute long response about the time you faced adversity is kinda zzzzz.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

If you're a long winded annoying mofo, please DO NOT BE YOURSELF.

If you're interviewing with a surgeon, don't make the mistake of rambling. Our patient interactions and rounds are rarely longer than 2 minutes, so listening to your 2 minute long response about the time you faced adversity is kinda zzzzz.

the adversity one is a more involved question though, aren't we encouraged to tell stories and whatnot?

 

[Chir0nex]

the adversity one is a more involved question though, aren't we encouraged to tell stories and whatnot?

If you are worried time yourself telling the story to someone else, see how long it takes you, and if it is longer than 2 minutes see if you can cut any extra detail.
In the vast majority of cases you can limit your responses to 2 minutes if you focus on what matters. That being said, it is quite possible if you are telling an interesting story that your interviewer may have follow-up questions and you will end up in a back and forth conversation which is great.

 

[NorthOfBroad]

Remember these interviews are often 30 minutes, anything above a 2 minute response and that one answer is taking up a sizable portion of the interview.

 

[Australopithekus]

Actually, I think this is generally a good idea. For most people, "be yourself" and "talk naturally" is the best advice, but some people will just ramble...and ramble...and ramble...

 

[Dinitrophenol]

Don't ramble, but also avoid artificially truncating your responses. I would say the best approach is to concisely, eloquently present your story.

Although interviews are usually scheduled for 30min, mine were almost categorically 45-90min. It's ok to get into a natural conversation with your interviewer but you really have to judge the situation and actively build rapport.

 

[Azete]

If 2 minutes passes where only you're speaking, without any feedback from the interviewer, you're probably in trouble.

As objective as they try to be, interviewers are people and naturally are going to give favorable reviews to candidates they like. Nobody likes someone that only talks about themself.