Worst/Funniest Interview Experiences

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BurberryDoc said:
Sorry buddy, that seems like a trivial thing to grill you about at an interview. While it may be disrespectful in Asian culture, you must be cognizant of social norms in American culture, which includes eye-contact with anyone you are sharing a conversation with.
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Yes, I do realize the social differences. Thanks to a few years working experience, I am comfortable at making eye contacts.
 
amy1209 said:
My pretty bad interview
I had 2 interviews back to back. So when I walked in my second one, my interviewer asked me who I had talked to. And I couldn't remember her name (well as an immigrant I am bad at remembering strange names, but I didn't want to bring this up to him). Then he told me that I didn't list one of my brother (thinking to myself what???). He said that I listed a household of 5 when growing up. I looked stupid for a few seconds and then started finger-counting, then realized that the missing person was my grandmother. The app just asked me to list parents and siblings (how stupid I must be counting my fingers like that, don't even know why I did that). It seemed like my interview started on the wrong foot and the rest was kinda bad.
Rejected

On the eye contact issue, not only Korean but for lots of Asian culture, direct eye contact with your elder relatives/ superiors is disrespectful.
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BurberryDoc said:
Sorry buddy, that seems like a trivial thing to grill you about at an interview. While it may be disrespectful in Asian culture, you must be cognizant of social norms in American culture, which includes eye-contact with anyone you are sharing a conversation with.
Click to expand...
amy1209 said:
Yes, I do realize the social differences. Thanks to a few years working experience, I am comfortable at making eye contacts.
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I have to agree with the eye contact issue as well. I didn't say this as my weakness, since I am still working on improving through my working experiences as well (TA mostly), but this is something I have to consciously put effort into it.

Combine that with years of musical training on string instruments where you are encouraged to close your eyes with minimum eye contact when you perform solo pieces, and I probably had more eye contact issues than you did.


I only met 1 person in my whole life who understood where I came from and tolerated if I made less eye contacts than other typical Americans. Unfortunately, her expertise was entirely on etiquettes, interviewing and working with international clients, so she was more informed about other cultures than usual. I often wish people don't jump to conclusion just because I did not conform to the norm of effective interviews, although I completely understand where they come from.
 
circulus vitios said:
Interviewer asks me to step into his office so we can interview. His office is overflowing with paperwork -- papers spread over every square inch of his desk in a pile literally 1' high.

Me: Wow, that's a lot of paperwork.
Him, in a pissed off tone: Yeah, want some?
Me: ...
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He could have made it funny, like welcome to hospital/medical school or it's the life of being a doctor, but that's a horrible start. I can't imagine how to make the rest of the interview better..
 
The isnt the worst ever, but I've had a few awkward moments:

Interviewer: So why did you take X job after graduating from college?
Me: Uh, it was a recession and that's the only job offer I got.
Interviewer: :eyebrow:


Interviewer: So what was your most difficult pre-req class?
Me: I'd say biochemistry.
Interviewer: Okay, what was your easiest class?
Me: Uh....I think it was....biochemistry. (wait what?)
Interviewer: :wtf:


Interviewer: What do you think is going to be the easiest thing about medical school?
Me: Uh, I think I'm really good at like, keeping a schedule, so I think it'll be easy for me to study all day and then have free time do other things...stuff....(wait what did I just say?)
Interviewer: FREE TIME??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 The explosion of laughter was seemingly endless.


Interviewer: So, you did research on XYZ protein. What does XYZ stand for?
Me: Uh...I actually don't know but I know a lot about the protein, here let me tell you about it...
(to be fair, I asked my PI the next day and he didn't know what it stands for either! I think some PhD chose random letters.)
 
QuinnTheEskimo said:
The isnt the worst ever, but I've had a few awkward moments:

Interviewer: So why did you take X job after graduating from college?
Me: Uh, it was a recession and that's the only job offer I got.
Interviewer: :eyebrow:
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I wish this could be an acceptable answer. We're recent college grads in a gap year, we're beggars not sellers.

QuinnTheEskimo said:
Interviewer: So, you did research on XYZ protein. What does XYZ stand for?
Me: Uh...I actually don't know but I know a lot about the protein, here let me tell you about it...
(to be fair, I asked my PI the next day and he didn't know what it stands for either! I think some PhD chose random letters.)
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Same happened to me!! Never saw that one coming.
 
I was asked who someone is that I would want to spend a day with, alive or dead, no matter the language. Really blanked out and ended up answering after about half a minute of thinking with a doctor who treated me throughout my childhood and defended it with saying I would want to learn how he managed to do it from the physician side rather than patient. Not sure how the answer went over, I feel I could have come up with something much better but it was my second interview in a row and towards the end of it.
 
Interviewer: Tell me about a time you overcame adversity.
Me: well I've really really been wanting a puppy, but every time I'm about to get one it just falls through, which is so disappointing, but I just keep trying and I won't give up...

😱😕🙁

Result - I was accepted AND I eventually got a puppy SO DREAMS DO COME TRUE thank god I pushed through that horrible and draining time of adversity in my life 🙄
 
Interviewer: Tell my about a time you went above and beyond.

Me: Goes on to detail how in my paid research position at my university I sometimes "volunteer" and work without pay above the cutoff for hours. I went into how research can't just be ended at an arbitrary number of hours like 29 so I just do the rest on my own time in order to be able to move forward with my project in a timely manner.

Interviewer: Thats definitely illegal...

ME: ...Reeealllyyy???!!!... Oh

I'll edit this post later when I receive my decision haha

EDIT: I learned later it is illegal for the university/PI to let me do that, so I don't think I am breaking any laws. The awkward thing is that I just didn't know it was illegal and if my university knew I was doing it they'd certainly make me stop. Apparently it has its basis in labor laws meant to protect workers from being coerced into working without pay.
 
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Last station at an MMI. Question: What career would you pursue if you could not become a physician?

Me: Well you probably haven't heard this answers all day but I would likely become an artist. I actually took some visual art credits as an undergrad and thought about becoming a biological illustrator, but I decided that this career had far less utility than becoming a physician.
Interviewer: So you mean that you didn't want to be a poor and struggling artist?
Me: Well that's part of it but I meant utility to the betterment of society...
 
okokok said:
Interviewer: Tell me about a time you overcame adversity.
Me: well I've really really been wanting a puppy, but every time I'm about to get one it just falls through, which is so disappointing, but I just keep trying and I won't give up...

😱😕🙁

Result - I was accepted AND I eventually got a puppy SO DREAMS DO COME TRUE thank god I pushed through that horrible and draining time of adversity in my life 🙄
Click to expand...

Borrowing this at my next few interviews.
 
Vasyl said:
Last station at an MMI. Question: What career would you pursue if you could not become a physician?

Me: Well you probably haven't heard this answers all day but I would likely become an artist. I actually took some visual art credits as an undergrad and thought about becoming a biological illustrator, but I decided that this career had far less utility than becoming a physician.
Interviewer: So you mean that you didn't want to be a poor and struggling artist?
Me: Well that's part of it but I meant utility to the betterment of society...
Click to expand...

The Demi-urge Dr. Netter would not be amused with your answer. I predict a REJECTION so hard and furious you are sent all the way back to your freshman year.
 
msquaredb said:
Interviewer: Tell my about a time you went above and beyond.

Me: Goes on to detail how in my paid research position at my university I sometimes "volunteer" and work without pay above the cutoff for hours. I went into how research can't just be ended at an arbitrary number of hours like 29 so I just do the rest on my own time in order to be able to move forward with my project in a timely manner.

Interviewer: Thats definitely illegal...

ME: ...Reeealllyyy???!!!... Oh

I'll edit this post later when I receive my decision haha

EDIT: I learned later it is illegal for the university/PI to let me do that, so I don't think I am breaking any laws. The awkward thing is that I just didn't know it was illegal and if my university knew I was doing it they'd certainly make me stop. Apparently it has its basis in labor laws meant to protect workers from being coerced into working without pay.
Click to expand...

It's illegal if you are a non-exempt employee. It's not illegal if you are exempt. And yes, it is a very important labor law to prevent workers from being exploited.
 
I narrowly avoided giving this answer, but it took a significantly long blank pause for me to think up something else...

I was asked what fictional character I would like to have lunch with. My brain wanted to say Donald Duck, so I could ask him why he wraps a towel around his waist when he gets out of the shower when his actual clothes do not involve pants of any sort...
 
bobthesun said:
serious question though. How do you answer this question? I have lots of research and publications and I am applying to DO school... don't want to hijack this thread but i just wondering. I have a low gpa so i really only have 1 choice to become a doctor. If i could chosose, yes I would do an MD PhD from Harvard
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I don't know about you, but I don't think because you do research you must want that to be the focus of your career. You shouldn't take a spot in a research program when it could go to someone that wants to make that their focus.
 
SN12357 said:
It's illegal if you are a non-exempt employee. It's not illegal if you are exempt. And yes, it is a very important labor law to prevent workers from being exploited.
Click to expand...
How do I know which category I am in?
 
msquaredb said:
How do I know which category I am in?
Click to expand...

The difference can get fuzzy sometimes, especially around peon-type entry level RA jobs, but basically an exempt employee is a professional employee paid a salary. They are deemed high-ranking or independent in such a way that they are paid the same amount per week no matter how many hours they work, and they are expected to work as many hours as the job requires. Think manager types. Basically this category is supposed to be people who have enough control over their work, and their work is safe enough, that it is fair to pay them a set amount no matter how much they work.

Non-exempt are hourly workers. Their hours must be tracked, they must be paid for EVERY hour worked, and they are paid overtime. These are generally (but not always) lower-level jobs, particularly ones that pay minimum wage.

Exempt vs. non exempt is a legal definition. To find out which you are you can ask your HR department or look at your official job description, which should say. I have seen entry level research workers treated as both exempt and nonexempt. Because it's an entry-level 'professional' job often done side by side with graduate students, it tends to be one of those positions where the definition gets fuzzy and some employers do things one way and some do them another.

It's important to note the difference between legal and ethical. It is possible for a worker to be categorized as exempt when, from an ethical standpoint, they should probably be non-exempt. The reverse could also be true.

...anyway, that's the basics. Apologies for the major digression in the thread. It's actually a good sign that your interviewer's first response was 'that's probably illegal!' rather than 'great!'...the idea that one should work yourself to death in the name of research achievement is a little too common in academia....
 
SN12357 said:
Exempt workers can be required to turn in timesheets (they just don't effect pay) so that doesn't necessarily indicate which you are.
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That seems silly. I mean I technically turn in a time sheet, but I'm only reporting sick/vacation/unpaid leave time.
 
YoungestBrother said:
This didn't happen in the interview itself, but during the student-led tour.

Tour Guide: Any other questions for us?
Me: Any good bars around?
Tour Guide:...

Really hope that didn't make me look like an alcoholic
Click to expand...
Reminds me of this chubby gentleman that asked for the best pizza in town.
 
Interviewer: If your family member (sister) was in a bad car accident and was taken to a hospital where you didn't know any of the doctors would you rather a 1. Very moral doctor work on her, or 2. A very ethical doctor?

Me: Uhhhhh, can you tell me how you define very moral vs. very ethical?

Interviewer: No. That is the point of the question.

Me. Oh. Um. Very moral? Because morals to me relates to the doctor's personal convictions, ethics sounds like rules the hospital makes up....

Interviewer: 😵

I still have no idea what he wanted. In the dictionary they use both words in both definitions!

Still don't know if I got in....

_EDIT_ Got in today. Worked out well 🙂
 
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kilpty said:
Interviewer: If your family member (sister) was in a bad car accident and was taken to a hospital where you didn't know any of the doctors would you rather a 1. Very moral doctor work on her, or 2. A very ethical doctor?

Me: Uhhhhh, can you tell me how you define very moral vs. very ethical?

Interviewer: No. That is the point of the question.

Me. Oh. Um. Very moral? Because morals to me relates to the doctor's personal convictions, ethics sounds like rules the hospital makes up....

Interviewer: 😵

I still have no idea what he wanted. In the dictionary they use both words in both definitions!

Still don't know if I got in....oh well 😉
Click to expand...

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1081

You got it right, pretty much
 
Loma Linda
Interviewer: What do you think of gay marriage?
Me: I used to be against gay marriage, but after getting to know gay people at college who are incredibly nice, I think it's fine. (Then I realized it's a Christian school.)

Cornell:
Interviewer: Why are you interested in the Music and Medicine program?
Me: So I can meet the girls at Julliard! ... I am also very passionate about music.
 
kevinus said:
Loma Linda
Interviewer: What do you think of gay marriage?
Me: I used to be against gay marriage, but after getting to know gay people at college who are incredibly nice, I think it's fine. (Then I realized it's a Christian school.)

Cornell:
Interviewer: Why are you interested in the Music and Medicine program?
Me: So I can meet the girls at Julliard! ... I am also very passionate about music.
Click to expand...

Oh Loma Linda and their conduct code. Sigh.

Also, I think almost gets asked about that program at Cornell. It's like their selling point or something haha.
 
YoungestBrother said:
This didn't happen in the interview itself, but during the student-led tour.

Tour Guide: Any other questions for us?
Me: Any good bars around?
Tour Guide:...

Really hope that didn't make me look like an alcoholic
Click to expand...

Why is that bad? I've asked that to residents on most of my interviews for sure
 
elektroshok said:
Why is that bad? I've asked that to residents on most of my interviews for sure
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I really don't think it's that bad unless it's one of the first questions you ask. Someone has asked about the social scene/bars at every interview I've been to and none of them got any negative responses.
 
kilpty said:
Interviewer: If your family member (sister) was in a bad car accident and was taken to a hospital where you didn't know any of the doctors would you rather a 1. Very moral doctor work on her, or 2. A very ethical doctor?

Me: Uhhhhh, can you tell me how you define very moral vs. very ethical?

Interviewer: No. That is the point of the question.

Me. Oh. Um. Very moral? Because morals to me relates to the doctor's personal convictions, ethics sounds like rules the hospital makes up....

Interviewer: 😵

I still have no idea what he wanted. In the dictionary they use both words in both definitions!

Still don't know if I got in....oh well 😉
Click to expand...


I would have done the same, as in asking for what the interviewer meant by moral vs. ethical.

I think maybe in a situation like physician-assisted suicide, it's ethical not to do it (because it causes harm), but it might be something moral when you want to give patients a choice to end peacefully with the families around in a designated time and place (I would reference the documentary, "How to die in Oregon," because it really illustrates that). Overall, I am not sure how to go about it, either.
 
juliuspepperwood said:
I narrowly avoided giving this answer, but it took a significantly long blank pause for me to think up something else...

I was asked what fictional character I would like to have lunch with. My brain wanted to say Donald Duck, so I could ask him why he wraps a towel around his waist when he gets out of the shower when his actual clothes do not involve pants of any sort...
Click to expand...

So what happened next? How did you answer? xD
 
YoungestBrother said:
This didn't happen in the interview itself, but during the student-led tour.

Tour Guide: Any other questions for us?
Me: Any good bars around?
Tour Guide:...

Really hope that didn't make me look like an alcoholic
Click to expand...

I got into this habit of asking all the students if the area has good beer. It all started with my Inorganic Professor, I told him I was going to New Mexico for an interview and wouldn't be in class first words out of his mouth were 'is the beer good there?' Lol. This guy has been teaching at the university for 25 years and is usually a total hard ass.
 
I got quizzed on in history. The the interviewer was a great person, but it totally came out of left field

Interviewer: So what are your interests?
Me: I enjoy reading, working out and playing intramural sports
Interviewer: Awesome, anything else?
Me: Ummmm.....I enjoy documentaries?
Interviewer: Ok...do you like history?
Me: Yes...its been a while but I took some interesting classes on it (Freshman year)
Interviewer: So when did WWII occur?
Me: Ummmm....

and it just kept going like that. End result was Acceptance 🙂, but still, wow was that from left field haha. Sometimes its just impossible to prepare for these things.
 
darklabel said:
I got quizzed on in history. The the interviewer was a great person, but it totally came out of left field

Interviewer: So what are your interests?
Me: I enjoy reading, working out and playing intramural sports
Interviewer: Awesome, anything else?
Me: Ummmm.....I enjoy documentaries?
Interviewer: Ok...do you like history?
Me: Yes...its been a while but I took some interesting classes on it (Freshman year)
Interviewer: So when did WWII occur?
Me: Ummmm....

and it just kept going like that. End result was Acceptance 🙂, but still, wow was that from left field haha. Sometimes its just impossible to prepare for these things.
Click to expand...

You couldn't even ballpark it?:bag:
 
I didn't interview yet but does anyone know what the interviewers might think if you happen to fart loudly during the interview? Sometimes you gotta let one rip 😎
 
Lya said:
I would have done the same, as in asking for what the interviewer meant by moral vs. ethical.

I think maybe in a situation like physician-assisted suicide, it's ethical not to do it (because it causes harm), but it might be something moral when you want to give patients a choice to end peacefully with the families around in a designated time and place (I would reference the documentary, "How to die in Oregon," because it really illustrates that). Overall, I am not sure how to go about it, either.
Click to expand...
The theme of the question sounds very much to me like the common "you see your classmate cheating in xyz incredible situation that makes it immoral to turn them in, what do you do?" I think the correct answer is to go with the ethical consideration. I don't think that med schools want their graduates to be mercy killing their patients when it might be a moral decision rather than ethical... It would probably bring bad rapport to the school.
 
lazyindy said:
I didn't interview yet but does anyone know what the interviewers might think if you happen to fart loudly during the interview? Sometimes you gotta let one rip 😎
Click to expand...


There is a post way earlier in this thread, something like:

Interviewer: "So why do you want to be a doctor?"
Applicant: *Wet fart*
Interviewer: "............"

I was dying laughing the night before my first interview. I seriously considered bringing this up when I was asked to share a joke.
 
Lya said:
There is a post way earlier in this thread, something like:

Interviewer: "So why do you want to be a doctor?"
Applicant: *Wet fart*
Interviewer: "............"

I was dying laughing the night before my first interview. I seriously considered bringing this up when I was asked to share a joke.
Click to expand...

For one reason or another, when I see "Lya" come up, this song comes to mind:

 
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Reactions: Lya
Lya said:
Hahahahaha

This song is definitely not the type that I listen to, but good to know! xD
Click to expand...

It's probably the pronounciation - instead of saying LIE-AR. It just sounds like "lyahh, lyaahh, lyaah" hehe
 
This was a couple weeks ago:

Interviewer: tell me something that you sacrificed during your undergrad

Me: Dating (I blurted it out immediately)

Interviewer: umm, can you please explain?

Me: Well, I did date during this time but not as much as I wanted. Like if I had a big midterm coming up, I would blow off a date to study instead. (what sucks is that "blowing off" can be interpreted as cancelling without letting the person know. What I meant to say was that school was my priority during this time.)

Interviewer: Ok... Any more questions for me?

Me: .....No


In hindsight I would have simply said that I missed out on hanging out with friends back home (my campus is 40 minutes away). That would have been a lot less awkward :/
 
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Ncognito13 said:
This was a couple weeks ago:

Interviewer: tell me something that you sacrificed during your undergrad

Me: Dating (I blurted it out immediately)

Interviewer: umm, can you please explain?

Me: Well, I did date during this time but not as much as I wanted. Like if I had a big midterm coming up, I would blow off a date to study instead. (what sucks is that "blowing off" can be interpreted as cancelling without letting the person know. What I meant to say was that school was my priority during this time.)

Interviewer: Ok... Any more questions for me?

Me: .....No


In hindsight I would have simply said that I missed out on hanging out with friends back home (my campus is 40 minutes away). This would have been a lot less awkward :/
Click to expand...

Hey it could be worse. You could have blurted out "SEX!!!" when he asked you something you sacrificed.

:punch:
 
Ace-Co-A said:
Hey it could be worse. You could have blurted out "SEX!!!" when he asked you something you sacrificed.

:punch:
Click to expand...

Haha she was a student interviewer so hopefully she understood what I meant. She just kinda gave me this look like, "I had a boyfriend during undergrad, why couldn't you handle having a girlfriend?" But I may be looking into this too much. It was my first interview so I'm analyzing it like crazy.

Result: I'll know in a few weeks 😕
 
Ncognito13 said:
Haha she was a student interviewer so hopefully she understood what I meant. She just kinda gave me this look like, "I had a boyfriend during undergrad, why couldn't you handle having a girlfriend?" But I may be looking into this too much.
Click to expand...

You definnitely are overanalyzing. There's simply no way that you could discern that detailed a reply solely from the look on her face. Don't worry about it until you need to. :wacky:
 
Interviewer: What are your strength and weakness? How do you think the Affordable Care Act will affect the future of Medicine? How do you think it will affect you personally? What about your personal life? (all in 10 seconds)
Me: Uh.... well.... I have already planned to put my personal life on hold. I take critique well and sometimes lack empathy but I have been working on that through teaching... Affordable Health Care Act would probably take away some of Doctors autonomy and make private practice more difficult.
Interviewer: .... *Stares*
Me:... I really don't know actually. I am not sure how it will affect us in 10-20 years - assuming it is still in place.

Interviewer: My dog had died and I was really sad about it
Me: My cat died and I was sad about that too. It happened on December 8th
Interviewer: My dog died I think September ***, 2011
Me: I'm sorry for your loss
Interviewer: It was my birth day last week
Me: Oh, Happy Belated birthday
Interviewer: I have 2 golden retrievers
Me: Goldens??? I want some! PUPPIES (loss of professional character momentarily)
Interviewer: Are you sure you can handle a puppy?
Me: I need new furniture and carpet anyways, good chance to get a dog?

(15 minutes out of 30 minutes - we talked about animals and random stuff)

Accepted 4 hours after interview event ended. :O
 
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