Worst/Funniest Interview Experiences

[medic86]

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Interviewer: (slightly out of the blue) How many people in Africa are starving?
Me (thinking): WHAT...WHERE DID THAT COME FROM...Uh, uh, oh god, think of something you might have learned in your global health courses...Ok, ok, just do a ballpark number, it should be fine. Just don't act like you know it if you don't.
Me: Honestly, I can't say that I remember the exact number, but I believe it's in the hundred millions.

Later, I checked, and I got the right ballpark, even though I gave a large one. But he asked me other specific global health questions, such as the mechanisms of transmission for some diseases, which I all answered ok -- barring the fact that I didn't answer immediately all the time, and the random series of questions were throwing me off.

Result: Rejected xD. I think it was meant to see how I would do under stress...but I was focusing my energy not on stress management but literally just blank asking myself "WTF ARE THESE QUESTIONS."

Uh, was this an oral exam for a lecture you're taking with that interviewer? 😛

Lol.

 

[NYCdude]

Not really an answer but my interviewer said something that I guess he thought was funny so he started laughing, and kinda looked at me for approval so I started laughing so forcibly and loud that Jimmy Kimmel looks like an Oscar winner in comparison.

 

[Goro]

Teaching moment! Both of these answers are instant reject material. As in "rejected before they left the interview room!"

I have also heard something very similar to the first one.

Interviewer: Why do you want to be a doctor, specifically? As opposed to, say, a nurse or paramedic, etc. ?
Applicant: I want to be the one giving orders. I like being in control; guess you could say I'm a control-freak.

..........................
Interviewer: You have good grades and have done some good research. But I've noticed your volunteer hours - why haven't you done more?
Applicant: I want to be a doctor, not a social worker.


.................................
(Disclaimer: neither of these came from me as an applicant so I can't vouch for their being verbatim. One I overheard, the other was repeated to me.)

 

[CharmanderMD]

Interviewer: (slightly out of the blue) How many people in Africa are starving?
Me (thinking): WHAT...WHERE DID THAT COME FROM...Uh, uh, oh god, think of something you might have learned in your global health courses...Ok, ok, just do a ballpark number, it should be fine. Just don't act like you know it if you don't.
Me: Honestly, I can't say that I remember the exact number, but I believe it's in the hundred millions.

Later, I checked, and I got the right ballpark, even though I gave a large one. But he asked me other specific global health questions, such as the mechanisms of transmission for some diseases, which I all answered ok -- barring the fact that I didn't answer immediately all the time, and the random series of questions were throwing me off.

Result: Rejected xD. I think it was meant to see how I would do under stress...but I was focusing my energy not on stress management but literally just blank asking myself "WTF ARE THESE QUESTIONS."

Haha I had a question similar to this only I literally had no idea whatsoever, not even ballpark. I just responded, "I honestly have no idea, but I could look it up!" My interviewers just laughed so I think it went over well. I was accepted in the end so the question definitely wasn't a deal breaker.

 

[FFH]

Teaching moment! Both of these answers are instant reject material. As in "rejected before they left the interview room!"

I have also heard something very similar to the first one.

You kidding........

 

[Stagg737]

Teaching moment! Both of these answers are instant reject material. As in "rejected before they left the interview room!"

I have also heard something very similar to the first one.

Really? I get that for the second one, but I don't see the first one being an automatic rejection unless it's because of the tone or just the control freak statement. I really don't see a problem with wanting to be in control or be in charge as long as you're ethical in your methods.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Really? I get that for the second one, but I don't see the first one being an automatic rejection unless it's because of the tone or just the control freak statement. I really don't see a problem with wanting to be in control or be in charge as long as you're ethical in your methods.

Because medicine is a team sport. You may be captain of the ship as a physician, but you're nothing without your crew - nurses, techs, etc. Therefore, you must acknowledge how every member of the healthcare team is equally important for providing the best care for the patient.

 

[Supraspinatus]

Because medicine is a team sport. You may be captain of the ship as a physician, but you're nothing without your crew - nurses, techs, etc. Therefore, you must acknowledge how every member of the healthcare team is equally important for providing the best care for the patient.

This ^^^^^^

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Teaching moment! Both of these answers are instant reject material. As in "rejected before they left the interview room!"

I have also heard something very similar to the first one.

I dunno. That second one was so hardcore I'd accept them. After all, we still need surgeons.

 

[Overanxious]

Teaching moment! Both of these answers are instant reject material. As in "rejected before they left the interview room!"

I have also heard something very similar to the first one.

I've been asked the first question and I can't say I gave a good answer. What would be the best way to answer this question?
I fumbled around and said something along the lines of "I see the role of doctors as figuring out what the problem is and how to fix it, where as nurses and techs etc. are more responsible for helping put together all the information and carrying out tasks to fix the problem. I want the challenge of figuring out what the problem is and how to fix it. It's like a puzzle. Each disease has unique presentation in each individual...blah blah blah"
Like diarrhea of the mouth i just did not shut up. In the end I was accepted so it couldn't have been terrible.

 

[Lawgiver]

WOW. So. I was at an MMI, and the prompt was something about marijuana/alcohol abuse/etc. I get in the room, the doctor was friendly and joking around, we talked about legalizing marijuana, so on and so forth. After I said I'd probably vote to legalize marijuana and we started talking about the costs of alcoholism on society:

Me: "Yeah, I'd say alcoholism has a high cost on our society. You think about long-term physical and emotional care, cirrhosis, its ties to obesity, and yeah, the pricetag is really getting up there."
Him: *raises his arm up to signal high cost of alcohol*
Me: *goes for a high five*
Him: "Um... Mondo, did you just go for a high five?"
Me: "... no. Definitely not."
Him: "I think you were going for high five."
Me: "No, no, I was agreeing with you as to the high cost of alcoholism on our society."
Him: "Or you were going for a high five."

I was BEET RED. Why in the world did I do that? Why would he be high fiving me after I talked about alcoholism of all things? Oh my goodness! Mortified!

Wow that's pretty adorable, looks like you got in!

 

[turayza]

I've been asked the first question and I can't say I gave a good answer. What would be the best way to answer this question?
I fumbled around and said something along the lines of "I see the role of doctors as figuring out what the problem is and how to fix it, where as nurses and techs etc. are more responsible for helping put together all the information and carrying out tasks to fix the problem. I want the challenge of figuring out what the problem is and how to fix it. It's like a puzzle. Each disease has unique presentation in each individual...blah blah blah"
Like diarrhea of the mouth i just did not shut up. In the end I was accepted so it couldn't have been terrible.

I always mention the greater responsibility, the depth of knowledge, and the need to be the most up-to-date on relevant research/procedures. I think the greater challenge you mention is a solid answer. Also serving as the leader of the team, not just a supporter.

 

[Stagg737]

Because medicine is a team sport. You may be captain of the ship as a physician, but you're nothing without your crew - nurses, techs, etc. Therefore, you must acknowledge how every member of the healthcare team is equally important for providing the best care for the patient.

Right, but the person never said they wanted to work alone, just that they wanted to be in charge which is exactly the authority physicians have. There's a reason PAs can't practice without physician oversight and why so many people are against nurses having full scope of practice. Obviously medicine is a team sport, but like you said, there has to be a captain or coach, and the doctor is the only one who fits that role. I still don't see why that answer would be an automatic rejection other than possibly the tone.

 

[WinslowPringle]

I dunno. That second one was so hardcore I'd accept them. After all, we still need surgeons.

True that. (But the person in question actually went on to be a psychiatrist...)

 

[el_duderino]

Right, but the person never said they wanted to work alone, just that they wanted to be in charge which is exactly the authority physicians have. There's a reason PAs can't practice without physician oversight and why so many people are against nurses having full scope of practice. Obviously medicine is a team sport, but like you said, there has to be a captain or coach, and the doctor is the only one who fits that role. I still don't see why that answer would be an automatic rejection other than possibly the tone.

They said they were a control freak, which isn't overly compatible with being a physician. You have to delegate and relunquish a LOT of responsibility and trust the team around you to do their jobs properly. A doctor cannot micromanage nurses, pharmacists, techs, etc., especially since they know their jobs better than the doc does.

 

[Doug Underhill]

1. When asked about your hobbies, being a prop comic is not a red flag, unless you ask if it is while producing an actual red flag that was cleverly hidden inside your suit coat.

2. Interviewing at UCLA and when asked "Why UCLA?", referring to the school as the "David Guetta School of Medicine".

 

[el_duderino]

2. Interviewing at UCLA and when asked "Why UCLA?", referring to the school as the "David Guetta School of Medicine".

Without You, indeed.

 

[Stagg737]

They said they were a control freak, which isn't overly compatible with being a physician. You have to delegate and relunquish a LOT of responsibility and trust the team around you to do their jobs properly. A doctor cannot micromanage nurses, pharmacists, techs, etc., especially since they know their jobs better than the doc does.

For sure, micromanaging every little thing your coworkers do is obviously not a desirable trait and in 97% of medicine they'd have to learn to work well with others. I just don't think it's a bad enough statement to auto-reject someone, especially if they are a great candidate other than that one statement.

 

[litmajor]

Bump

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I was giving my roommate some practice interview questions:

Me - "As a doctor, would you perform an abortion?"
Him - "Oh god... yes. I would"
Me - "Oh god yes?"
Him - "Not like oh god yes, like oh god.. yes."
Me - "..."

 

[Supraspinatus]

.

 

[AspiringERMD]

Interviewer: [Making interview-closing pleasantries] "...and I hope you will consider X SOM when you decide where to go."
Me: "I certainly will! I'm pleasantly surprised!"

😱


Careless backhanded compliment for the fail.

Result: Today is my 203rd day of dead silence. 🙄 Luckily it wound up dead last in my own list of seven post-interview preferences.

 

[AspiringERMD]

Interviewer: [Making interview-closing pleasantries] "...and I hope you will consider X SOM when you decide where to go."
Me: "I certainly will! I'm pleasantly surprised!"

😱


Careless backhanded compliment for the fail.

Result: Today is my 203rd day of dead silence. 🙄 Luckily it wound up dead last in my own list of seven post-interview preferences.

Result: rejected, on the 247th day after the interview!

 

[DokterMom]

Result: rejected, on the 247th day after the interview!

I'm sure they wanted to give you all due consideration 😉

 

[cactusinmyhead]

Interviewer: "Would you say [your undergraduate university] is diverse?"
Me: "Ummmm..... no, not really"

(I'm sorry but it's true)

Result: rejection

 

[resiroth]

I'm probably going to be rejected from 2 schools and then I'll be able to contribute a bit to this thread...

Side note: it's strange how you can be accepted to a school after a terrible interview, and then wait listed (or rejected) after your interviewer is practically begging you to come.

 

[mehc012]

This is neither my own, nor a med school interview, but I thought it was a good example of what *not* to do in an interview.

I was telling my boss about the med school app process, and he asked about the interviews. He then went "Well, just don't do what I did...don't spend your entire Yale session thinking you're interviewing for Harvard. They don't like that very much."
He was a west coast guy, ,and apparently they used to have big sessions where the east coast schools would all send reps for interviews out in California. He got his schedule confused and misremembered which was which 😵

I can just picture it:
Yale interviewer: So, why do you want to go to our school?
Boss: I'd love to go somewhere with such wonderful teaching faculty and opportunities for the students. I mean, everybody knows that Harvard is the best, but
YI: Excuse me?
Boss: Come on, it's Harvard! *lists best things about Harvard*

He said he didn't realize until it was over...you have to wonder why they didn't correct him. Maybe they were just amused?

 

[HybridEarth]

Not med school related, but one of my first job interviews ever a few years ago at an Apple store:

"What did you most like about your previous job?"
"We had a pretty cool water fountain that made me feel like I was on vacation whenever I clocked in."

To this day, I do not know what I was thinking. SMH. Spare me.

 

[FFH]

This is neither my own, nor a med school interview, but I thought it was a good example of what *not* to do in an interview.

I was telling my boss about the med school app process, and he asked about the interviews. He then went "Well, just don't do what I did...don't spend your entire Yale session thinking you're interviewing for Harvard. They don't like that very much."
He was a west coast guy, ,and apparently they used to have big sessions where the east coast schools would all send reps for interviews out in California. He got his schedule confused and misremembered which was which 😵

I can just picture it:
Yale interviewer: So, why do you want to go to our school?
Boss: I'd love to go somewhere with such wonderful teaching faculty and opportunities for the students. I mean, everybody knows that Harvard is the best, but
YI: Excuse me?
Boss: Come on, it's Harvard! *lists best things about Harvard*

He said he didn't realize until it was over...you have to wonder why they didn't correct him. Maybe they were just amused?

At Penn admission info session, the speaker Dr. MMR said "it happens all the time that applicants forgot or confused about which school they at. We understand it. Don't panic Just look down at that little bag or folder that we give you and there will be the name of the school"

But your boss can't be saved. 😛

 

[whitemagic]

Finally getting around to posting this. The night before my first interview I was browsing a reddit thread on great one-liners. The next day, I'm wrapping things up with my last interviewer - a professor emeritus who is 80+ years old.

Him: Before you go, what's a good joke you've heard recently?
Reckoner: (Immediately starting the first joke I could remember from the thread): What do you get when you mix human DNA and goat DNA?
Him: ???
Reckoner: (WHY WHY WHY DID I PICK THIS JOKE) Kicked out of the petting zoo...
Him: ..... (30 seconds pass)..... Well, good luck!

Result: won't know until early spring

I know this was posted almost a year ago but I literally laughed so hard that my frappuccino poured out of my nose and now I'm using baby wipes to clean my keyboard.

 

[Reckoner]

I know this was posted almost a year ago but I literally laughed so hard that my frappuccino poured out of my nose and now I'm using baby wipes to clean my keyboard.

Thank god it wasn't an interview for vet school

 

[northernlights15]

I think I'd just tell one of those really bad chemistry jokes.

"Q: Did you hear oxygen went on a date with potassium?
A: It went OK."

 

[Goro]

Most interviewees are quite clueless when It comes to assessing their own interview performance.

I'm probably going to be rejected from 2 schools and then I'll be able to contribute a bit to this thread...

Side note: it's strange how you can be accepted to a school after a terrible interview, and then wait listed (or rejected) after your interviewer is practically begging you to come.

 

[resiroth]

Most interviewees are quite clueless when It comes to assessing their own interview performance.

To reiterate how accurate this is...I was accepted with merit scholarship to the school I interviewed BY FAR the worst at somehow. Honestly am completely unsure how this happened.

 

[The Boatox]

*Finishes interview, starts approaching the door to exit*

Interviewer: Before you go, could you tell me a good joke?
Me: Hmm..... What does it take to become a good doctor?
Interviewer: I don't know, what?
Me: A lot of... Patience.

*mic drop*

 

[Inventor of Post-Its]

*Finishes interview, starts approaching the door to exit*

Interviewer: Before you go, could you tell me a good joke?
Me: Hmm..... What does it take to become a good doctor?
Interviewer: I don't know, what?
Me: A lot of... Patience.

*mic drop*

Dude, that was actually a great joke - if one of my interviewers had asked me, I probably couldn't have come up with anything. And if they pressed, the first thing I could come up with would probably be a) highly inappropriate and b) so poorly mistold as to not even be funny.

 

[TXhopeful]

Dude, that was actually a great joke - if one of my interviewers had asked me, I probably couldn't have come up with anything. And if they pressed, the first thing I could come up with would probably be a) highly inappropriate and b) so poorly mistold as to not even be funny.

I'm so frightened reading these "Tell me a good joke before you leave" questions. The first one that always pops into my head:
Q: Why are gay men so well-dressed?
A: Because they've been in the closet for so long.

I'm 95% positive this will be the one I blurt out no matter how many clean jokes I Google the day before.

 

[jsquared91]

*Finishes interview, starts approaching the door to exit*

Interviewer: Before you go, could you tell me a good joke?
Me: Hmm..... What does it take to become a good doctor?
Interviewer: I don't know, what?
Me: A lot of... Patience.

*mic drop*

Would've done the classic talking muffin joke, it's still my favorite joke. Probably would result in a rejection.

 

[G.Ming]

In 2 days I have read everything and I laughed so hard.

 

[tyrion_sansa]

Interviewer: Would you perform a medical procedure on your husband?
Me: (pauses and thinks that this interviewer is an odd fish for asking such a question) No, because if something went wrong then my mother-in-law might not forgive me
Interviewer: Ok (leans back in his chair)
Me: (still thinking this interviewer is an even odder fish for not even cracking a smile and stays dead silent)
Crickets start chirping...
Interviewer: Let's move on...
Me: (now thinking this guy is creepy as well as odd and cannot wait to get on the plane home)

Result: Accepted (completely surprised by this one)

 

[tyrion_sansa]

Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Me: Do the 3rd and 4th year students have an active role during their rotations or do they do more shadowing?
Interviewer: Not sure. Do you have any other questions?
Me: Are there many bench top research opportunities?
Interviewer: Not sure. Do you have any other questions?
Me: (thinking that no one likes to field questions and not know the answer, decides upon an easy question) Where do most medical students live?
Interviewer: Not sure. (Picks up a piece of paper and starts reading a paragraph outloud) If a student asks a questions and you do not know the answer, have the student come and talk to me. Well, this sheet states that I should just have you talk to the director of admissions about that question.
Me: Ok (thinking that this interviewer is completely unprepared to represent the school)

Result: Accepted (must have handled this awkward conversation more gracefully than I realized at the time)

 

[leonardoson]

Interviewer: So why medicine?
Student: *methodically strips off clothes, lets out machine-gunner fart, struts home nude, waits for acceptance*😀 👍

It's been awhile that the internet has made me laugh this hard

 

[IlyaR]

"Tell me a good joke"

A doctor tells his patient "Bill, you have to stop masturbating"

"What's wrong doc??"

"I'm trying to examine you"

**moonwalk out of room**

 

[mehc012]

"Tell me a good joke"

A doctor tells his patient "Bill, you have to stop masturbating"

"What's wrong doc??"

"I'm trying to examine you"

**moonwalk out of room**

Careful with that...work in the ER long enough and that's just an anecdote, not a joke!
Our poor EMS staff had to deal with a particular patient who would persist in this during her (frequent) ambulance rides, usually preceded or followed by some form of elimination

 

[Goro]

This is a great question! I am so stealing it.

Interviewer: Would you perform a medical procedure on your husband?
Me: (pauses and thinks that this interviewer is an odd fish for asking such a question) No, because if something went wrong then my mother-in-law might not forgive me
Interviewer: Ok (leans back in his chair)
Me: (still thinking this interviewer is an even odder fish for not even cracking a smile and stays dead silent)
Crickets start chirping...
Interviewer: Let's move on...
Me: (now thinking this guy is creepy as well as odd and cannot wait to get on the plane home)

Result: Accepted (completely surprised by this one)

 

[ReginaldYee]

Interviewer: So why did you get a B in X English class?
Me: I don't know, in classes like that its all about how you write, and I guess I don't write very good.... I mean well
Interviewer: Haha, maybe that's the reason.
Me: Hehe (I'm screwed)
Inside the interviewers head: Yeah, well you don't interview too good either.

Rejected.

*too WELL either

 

[PreciousHamburgers]

*too WELL either

Literary effect, I think. Or were you giving an example of a terrible interview answer by correcting someone's grammar when it didn't need to be?

 

[PreciousHamburgers]

This isn't medical school related, but it was too good not to share here.

So, they have been interviewing people to replace me when I leave for medical school (today is my last day!). One of the applicants was an older gentleman who teaches adjunct here and is way overqualified and does not have the interest and experience for the position. During his interview, completely unprompted he said, "I'm only taking this position until something better comes along."

WUT?

That is the most arrogant and prideful thing I have ever heard someone say. It wasn't even the final interview! He couldn't even stand to think that we though he thought himself "low" enough to take this position...

BUT, the two top candidates both declined the job and now the position is probably going to be given to him. So, I guess there is no lesson here in keeping your ego in check. UGH.

 

[ex_animo_92]

Interviewer: So why did you get a B in X English class?
Me: I don't know, in classes like that its all about how you write, and I guess I don't write very good.... I mean well
Interviewer: Haha, maybe that's the reason.
Me: Hehe (I'm screwed)
Inside the interviewers head: Yeah, well you don't interview too good either.

Rejected.

*too WELL either

Whoosh

 

[Inventor of Post-Its]

This isn't medical school related, but it was too good not to share here.

So, they have been interviewing people to replace me when I leave for medical school (today is my last day!). One of the applicants was an older gentleman who teaches adjunct here and is way overqualified and does not have the interest and experience for the position. During his interview, completely unprompted he said, "I'm only taking this position until something better comes along."

WUT?

That is the most arrogant and prideful thing I have ever heard someone say. It wasn't even the final interview! He couldn't even stand to think that we though he thought himself "low" enough to take this position...

BUT, the two top candidates both declined the job and now the position is probably going to be given to him. So, I guess there is no lesson here in keeping your ego in check. UGH.

I hope you make sure he knows that he only got the position because no one better came along.