Worst/Funniest Interview Experiences

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This happened a couple weeks ago....

To get a background of the story, you need to know that I'm a very white guy, and my interviewer was African-American (he kinda looked like Cedric the Entertainer).



Interviewer: So what do you like to do to relieve stress?
Me: Well, if I'm having a really stressful day, I like to just go out for a walk and listen to music on my ipod... Actually, I'm a fan of hip-hop.
Interviewer: *Blank Stare*
(It's silent for about 10 seconds)
Me: ... My favorite rappers include Jay-Z, Kanye West, (CRAP! This is the point where I realize what I said... so I try to think of a white guy's name)... Eminem.
Interviewer: *Blank Stare*
(It's silent for another 10 seconds)
Me: ... Umm... yeah... music... listen on ipod... walk (just mumbling random words)
Interviewer: (Proceeds to shoot off 3 tough ethical questions in a row)
 
This happened a couple weeks ago....

To get a background of the story, you need to know that I'm a very white guy, and my interviewer was African-American (he kinda looked like Cedric the Entertainer).



Interviewer: So what do you like to do to relieve stress?
Me: Well, if I'm having a really stressful day, I like to just go out for a walk and listen to music on my ipod... Actually, I'm a fan of hip-hop.
Interview: *Blank Stare*
(It's silent for about 10 seconds)
Me: ... My favorite rappers include Jay-Z, Kanye West, (CRAP! This is the point where I realize what I said... so I try to think of a white guy's name)... Eminem.
Interviewer: *Blank Stare*
(It's silent for another 10 seconds)
Me: ... Umm... yeah... music... listen on ipod... walk (just mumbling random words)
Interviewer: (Proceeds to shoot off 3 tough ethical questions in a row)

LOL. I nominate this as the worst interview answer.
 
This happened a couple weeks ago....

To get a background of the story, you need to know that I'm a very white guy, and my interviewer was African-American (he kinda looked like Cedric the Entertainer).



Interviewer: So what do you like to do to relieve stress?
Me: Well, if I'm having a really stressful day, I like to just go out for a walk and listen to music on my ipod... Actually, I'm a fan of hip-hop.
Interviewer: *Blank Stare*
(It's silent for about 10 seconds)
Me: ... My favorite rappers include Jay-Z, Kanye West, (CRAP! This is the point where I realize what I said... so I try to think of a white guy's name)... Eminem.
Interviewer: *Blank Stare*
(It's silent for another 10 seconds)
Me: ... Umm... yeah... music... listen on ipod... walk (just mumbling random words)
Interviewer: (Proceeds to shoot off 3 tough ethical questions in a row)

Wow, this is funny right here:laugh:
How did it turn out?
 
oh, and some gems from my student interview:

Interviewer: I see you graduated three years ago.

Me: Yes, I grew up a lot in those three years. I don't think I would have been ready for med school right out of college. I don't know how or why these kids go straight to med school never having experienced the real world, at 22 years old...

Interviewer: I'm in one of those six-year high school to med school programs. I'm 20.

Me: ...for me, personally, of course. It was the best choice for me. For me. Personally.

If this really happened, I'm so sorry. But it's beyond hilarious...
 
Interview so far has been laid back. The first twenty minutes we discussed medicine, and then we spent the last 40 minutes talking about college football:

Interviewer: so I guess we should get back to this stuff. do you have a question for me, one so intriguing and unique that would set you apart from 10,000 applicants?

Me: would us keep talking about college football set me apart from everyone else?

Interviewer: It would certainly be a step in the right direction.
 
My interview at EVMS went something like this (thankfully, I hated the school so I didn't really care)
Italics are what I was thinking, block is what actually came out of my mouth.

Interviewer: How do you react to stress?
Me: Okay, I'm ready for this. I try to meditate and think about positive outcomes. I have bad dreams about piloting a spaceship into the sun. What the hell did I just say?
Interviewer: (nervous laugh) Is falling into the sun hot?
Me: Make a joke! Make a joke! No, I usually wake up right after everyone else in the ship burns to death. Dear god, what is wrong with me?

later on..
Interviewer: Would you help a patient who wanted to end their life?
Me: Sure. I believe in the patient's right to choose. Who am I, Dr. Kevorkian?

I feel that I should post this. I actually got accepted to EVMS, random answers about falling into the sun and all. I think they might reserve a spot for a crazy person, to provide amusement for the rest of the medical students.
 
I feel that I should post this. I actually got accepted to EVMS, random answers about falling into the sun and all. I think they might reserve a spot for a crazy person, to provide amusement for the rest of the medical students.

Having seen my classmates (not at EVMS), I'm not entirely sure that some med schools don't save more than a few spots for crazies... you could be in the clear.
 
My personal low was when I was being interviewed by an ENT and didn't realize ENT was a surgical field and basically praised medical fields over surgical. Oops.

The worst that had happen to a friend was the following. (This wasn't for medicine, but let's pretend.)

Interviewer: Oh, I see here you studied German and studied abroad there. *At this point the interviewer asks him a question in German*
Friend: (Caught off guard) Uh...what?
Interviewer: (In German) You speak German, yes?
Friend: Uh...Ja.

Sad thing was, he really did speak German, he was just so nervous he couldn't do the transition and ended up looking like a tool.


The absolute worst I EVER saw as an applicant who honestly did the following:
Interviewer: Where do you see yourself in twenty years?
Interviewee: Well, I think I'll do medicine for about ten years, then maybe try to transition into owning my own business, or maybe trading stocks.

Every person in the room just turned and looked at the guy in disbelief.
 
This isn't an interview answer, but I was at some nameless school, and the interview was the last part of the day and all. So I walk back to my car, take off my shirt and coat when I notice my fly is undone. I realize that I have not used the restroom since BEFORE my interviews, meaning that I walked into all my interviews with my fly down. Nice. Haven't heard back from them yet, but they said we would hear something on X date and that day hasn't come yet, so we'll see...
 
This happened a couple weeks ago....

To get a background of the story, you need to know that I'm a very white guy, and my interviewer was African-American (he kinda looked like Cedric the Entertainer).



Interviewer: So what do you like to do to relieve stress?
Me: Well, if I'm having a really stressful day, I like to just go out for a walk and listen to music on my ipod... Actually, I'm a fan of hip-hop.
Interviewer: *Blank Stare*
(It's silent for about 10 seconds)
Me: ... My favorite rappers include Jay-Z, Kanye West, (CRAP! This is the point where I realize what I said... so I try to think of a white guy's name)... Eminem.
Interviewer: *Blank Stare*
(It's silent for another 10 seconds)
Me: ... Umm... yeah... music... listen on ipod... walk (just mumbling random words)
Interviewer: (Proceeds to shoot off 3 tough ethical questions in a row)

LMAO!!!! wow
 
I was talking to some guy about interview questions and mentioned that my interviewer had asked me to say 3 positive attributes someone would use to describe me, when he cut me off and said ME TOO! and went on to say how he bombed it and I was trying to say it couldnt be that bad when he told me what he said... Interviewer: what is an adjective a friend would use to describe you? Him: BRILLIANT! Interviewer: (silence) 20 sec pause. Interviewer: ok...whats one more adjective? Him: umm...humble??Lol
 
can't even remember them all...

interviewer: so what do you hope to be your greatest accomplishment as a doctor?
me (had a major fever during this interview): ummm, well, I'd like to be able to say that I made a difference...
interviewer: ...

(I think I also pronounced the guys name wrong, because it sounded like he corrected me when I said his name, but I was delirious/incredibly nervous)

****another interview:

faculty dude: so do you have any questions for me?
(just stares at me)
(I think wildly for some time)
faculty: continues to stare at me
me: do you umm, have any more questions for me?

***** yet another

interviewer: so what did your hosts say to you about the new curriculum
me: (stammering hardcore)...(then trying to make a joke)umm actually, they were like saying it was a bit silly, because they had this problem set due monday, but then they had the lecture on the material today, so the lecture was totally useless since they had already learned it on their own monday
interviewer:...i see
me: (realizing that was not funny at all)

later on in this interview:
interviewer: so what would you do in this case?(little kid at like age 5 or something tells parents it is the other gender, parents ask for sex reassignment on birth certificate)
me: (goes on for 5 minutes along the lines of - well, assuming that it is legally ok, I think it is the right of the child to make his or her own decisions)
interviewer: (cuts me off) you know, sometimes its ok to admit that you don't have an answer
me: ...oh



all three ---> waitlists

:laugh::laugh::laugh:
the most i've laughed at a post in months!
 
Wow, this is funny right here:laugh:
How did it turn out?


haha I ended up getting in somehow (probably because my student interview went really well).. but the faculty interview went downhill from there... he asked 3 ethical questions, and he didn't like my answer to any of them! It was like..

Interviewer: So, what would you do if you saw your best friend cheating on a test?
Me: (Gave my answer about how instead of telling the teacher on him, I would rather tutor him so he wouldn't need to cheat....)
Interviewer: OK, but what if he kept cheating?
Me: (Gave a slightly different answer, but I still wouldn't snitch....)
Interviewer: OK, OK, but what if he STILL kept cheating?
Me: (Gave a slightly different answer, still not snitching...)
Interviewer: OK. But what if he didn't listen to you, and he cheats on the next test.
Me: Fine. I give up. You win... I would tell the teacher that my BEST friend is cheating on the test.



... yeah so I had some balls only because I have pretty good numbers, and it was more of a back-up school. Seriously though, I don't think in the history of college somebody has snitched on their BEST friend.
 
I would in a second. "Friends" like that, which would put you into an ethical bind and also disadvantage an entire class of students just aren't worth having.
 
I would in a second. "Friends" like that, which would put you into an ethical bind and also disadvantage an entire class of students just aren't worth having.


What if your best friend was your roommate? Then would you tell the teacher that your best friend cheated on a test? I think that would make things pretty violent when you get home from classes...

Yes, I agree "friends" like that aren't worth having, but when it's your BEST friend, it's a different story.

And how is he disadvantaging an entire class of students? The score of one student will NOT affect the curve (and in most classes there is no curve) for a class of 200-300 people. The only person really being disadvantaged is the student that is cheating (because when it comes time for the MCAT, they will have no idea what they're doing).

If everytime you drive in a car with your best friend, they always go 6 miles/hours over the speed limit, would you call the cops? I mean, technically he/she is disadvantaging/risking the lives of other people on the road, right?... Of course you wouldn't call the cops!
 
I assumed we were talking about tests in medical school, since that is what interviewers are trying to find students for. All medical schools keep comparative rankings of individuals. You don't know how often this individual cheated in the past or will in the future. By cheating he negatively affects the relative ranking of all the students in the class to some degree.

I'm married, and my wife isn't going to be in school with me, so I don't have to worry about the violence at home.
 
I assumed we were talking about tests in medical school, since that is what interviewers are trying to find students for. All medical schools keep comparative rankings of individuals. You don't know how often this individual cheated in the past or will in the future. By cheating he negatively affects the relative ranking of all the students in the class to some degree.

I'm married, and my wife isn't going to be in school with me, so I don't have to worry about the violence at home.



Oh no I was talking more about cheating in high school/undergrad... I don't think I know anyone dumb enough to cheat in med school. congrats on being married!

Anyone else have any stupid interview answers???
 
this is less of a stupid interview answer than just an awkward moment...

but I walk into my interview at a school that asks you to submit a photo with your app. the interviewer flips through my application, looks up and says "wow, well you photograph really well" and the just stares at me for about 15 seconds.... so awkward...
 
Not a med school interview,but I participated in a fundraiser beauty pageant at school. Before the pageant, we had group interviews with a panel of judges. They asked: Who is your hero?

Every other interviewee in the room said their hero was George Bush or their Mom. I said my Hero was Cher because she is a strong woman who can be herself, adapt to new situations/time periods, and has had a successful career.

The room was so painfully silent. Apparently, that was a horrible answer.
 
This is how my interview started at EVMS (still the worst answer I've given):

Interviewer: So, are you the kid that's so active in the University Democrats?
Me: (thinking he liked that part of my app) Yes sir, that's me!
Interviewer: <dry, deeper voice than before> ...I'll try to look over that today.

Now I'm in waitlist Hell. (I strongly doubt that's why I was waitlisted.)
 
My interview at EVMS went something like this (thankfully, I hated the school so I didn't really care)
Italics are what I was thinking, block is what actually came out of my mouth.

Interviewer: How do you react to stress?
Me: Okay, I'm ready for this. I try to meditate and think about positive outcomes. I have bad dreams about piloting a spaceship into the sun. What the hell did I just say?
Interviewer: (nervous laugh) Is falling into the sun hot?
Me: Make a joke! Make a joke! No, I usually wake up right after everyone else in the ship burns to death. Dear god, what is wrong with me?

later on..
Interviewer: Would you help a patient who wanted to end their life?
Me: Sure. I believe in the patient's right to choose. Who am I, Dr. Kevorkian?



:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

this is easily the best one yet!
 
This was my 2nd interview at an unnamed Texas school, and this conversation was from my last interview that day, after having a great 1st interview. This guy was a urologist (Dr. Johnson, believe it or not) and was just terribly inattentive and unprepared.

Interviewer: "So, AggieSean, what do you consider the greatest time in your life?"
Me: (Oh ****e! When I got my MCAT score back?!!) "Well...um...when I was in band in high school....I had to play a solo in front of a lot of people, and I was really nervous....but I pulled it off fine." (WTF?!!!)
Interviewer: "Well, you're young. You'll have more experiences as you grow older." (Closes file, then tells me "keep after it" in regards to med. school applications)

😕
 
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not a med school interview, but the same idea...

Interviewer: "So, you read in your spare time? What do you read?"
Me: "Well, during the school year I don't have a ton of time for books, but I do read the newspaper everyday."
Interviewer: "The newspaper? Why would you do that?"
Me: uh....
(silence for a good period of time)
Interviewer: "So, do you watch TV?"


I've never been criticized for reading the newspaper before! So I froze. Oops. 😳
 
If you can muster the courage, give your worst interview response. Here's mine, the very last question from my first interview:

Interviewer: "Tell me, what is one of your weaknesses, if you don't mind?"
Me: *Pause* "Hmm... well, when I get really stressed out, I tend to eat lots of junk food...and, yeah..."
Interviewer: *bewildered chuckle* "Ok, well do you have any questions for me?"



I think that was a good answer! If I interviewed you, and you said that to me, it would stick and I would be batting for you...

Maybe its just that I can relate?
 
This was my first interview of this cycle.

Interviewer: Do you like english?
Me: Not really.
Interviewer: Yeah I can tell by looking at your verbal score on the mcats. Why didnt you retake them.
Me: rambled about how i didnt want my science scores to drop and the verbal is probably a reflection of my actual ability in that section based on practice tests (I have no idea why I said that)
Interviewer: (looks at me with a blank stare)...you know verbal score has been correlated with success in medical school.
Me: ....uuhhh yeahhhh
 
Second interview a week later. I spent a week at this school earlier in the summer so anything question I had about the school. The interview went great up to this point.

Interviewer: Do you have any questions for me?
Me: (i blurted out with out thinking) no. every possible question I had was answered already.
Interviewer: (stops smiling and writes something down)
Me:...Wait I do have one question (asked something about the work he does in Honduras)
Interviewer: (responds to my question with a long answer and at the end he says) For future reference dont say you dont have any questions.
Me: (I tried to explain I didnt want to ask any questions that would have been answered before at the program then look like I didnt get anything out of it)
Interviewer: (took a few minutes to think about it). Yeah I guess that makes sense.

Im not sure if I saved my self or not. I guess I will find out soon.
 
OK, folks, I think I have THE interview disaster story. Thanks to the stress of my MCAT studying, app process, and school in general, I gained a few pounds. I still wanted to wear this suit that I had bought last year although it was a little tight around the chest area. I wore it anyway with no tank or shirt underneath (it was one of those jackets that's designed to go solo). In the middle of the interview, I sneezed and the two buttons that are on my breasts and just below my breasts flew off my jacket and the flaps sprang open to reveal the packaging tape I used to tape my boobs down to wedge into the suit since a bra made the whole thing too tight.

I covered myself as best I could with my arms folded over me as I ran out in tears. I never went back.
 
OK, folks, I think I have THE interview disaster story. Thanks to the stress of my MCAT studying, app process, and school in general, I gained a few pounds. I still wanted to wear this suit that I had bought last year although it was a little tight around the chest area. I wore it anyway with no tank or shirt underneath (it was one of those jackets that's designed to go solo). In the middle of the interview, I sneezed and the two buttons that are on my breasts and just below my breasts flew off my jacket and the flaps sprang open to reveal the packaging tape I used to tape my boobs down to wedge into the suit since a bra made the whole thing too tight.

I covered myself as best I could with my arms folded over me as I ran out in tears. I never went back.
you lie! i hope.
 
OK, folks, I think I have THE interview disaster story. Thanks to the stress of my MCAT studying, app process, and school in general, I gained a few pounds. I still wanted to wear this suit that I had bought last year although it was a little tight around the chest area. I wore it anyway with no tank or shirt underneath (it was one of those jackets that's designed to go solo). In the middle of the interview, I sneezed and the two buttons that are on my breasts and just below my breasts flew off my jacket and the flaps sprang open to reveal the packaging tape I used to tape my boobs down to wedge into the suit since a bra made the whole thing too tight.

I covered myself as best I could with my arms folded over me as I ran out in tears. I never went back.

wow...

If it is of any comfort to you, I would have instantly accepted you had I been on the opposite side of that table.
 
At the end of my hour long interview(which didnt go that well)....the interviewer asked me if i had any questions. I asked the dumbest question that still makes me want to piss my pants (BTW i almost did piss my pants during the interview i had to go to the bathroom really bad)...

ME: Can you tell me the Dynamics of living or working in ******?
Interviewer: What do you mean Dynamics?
ME: UMMMM u know(pause).....ummmm like.....how is the social life....
Interviewer: I have no clue...i just work here and go back home....
Me: ok tht sounds good

Weird Pause

Interviewer: well do u have any other questions/concerns
ME: Nope (I start getting up)
Interviewer: Looks at me weird like the interview isnt done
ME: I put out my hand out and say it was nice meeting you
Interviewer: That wasnt too bad was it....
Me: No.. BYE... I run out of the room and go str8 to the bathroom and take the longest leak i have taken in my whole life...
 
Maybe I'm not really as funny as I think I am..

Interviewer: So, have you always wanted to be a doctor?
Me: No, when I was little I saw my future much differently.
Interviewer: Yeah? How so?
Me: Well, up until I was about 9 or so, I wanted to be a ninja.
Interviewer: . . .
Me: Yeah.. but then I realized there isn't much job security in that line of work..
Interviewer: . . .
Me: . . .

There was another time when an interviewer was asking me about what specialty I liked and why. I told him I liked surgery because noncompliance really bothers me, and "People can't be noncompliant when they're knocked out and you're cutting them open."
I didn't think it was a bad answer, but a couple of interviewees I told that to seemed shocked.
 
Maybe I'm not really as funny as I think I am..

Interviewer: So, have you always wanted to be a doctor?
Me: No, when I was little I saw my future much differently.
Interviewer: Yeah? How so?
Me: Well, up until I was about 9 or so, I wanted to be a ninja.
Interviewer: . . .
Me: Yeah.. but then I realized there isn't much job security in that line of work..
Interviewer: . . .
Me: . . .

There was another time when an interviewer was asking me about what specialty I liked and why. I told him I liked surgery because noncompliance really bothers me, and "People can't be noncompliant when they're knocked out and you're cutting them open."
I didn't think it was a bad answer, but a couple of interviewees I told that to seemed shocked.

and you can touch them 😍 while they are anesthetized
 
Dean: So if accepted, what will you bring to our school?
Me: I don't know... myself?

Somewhere in the lengthy awkward silence with her staring blankly at me, I eventually realized she wanted more.

I was accepted! 🙂
 
Dean: So if accepted, what will you bring to our school?
Me: I don't know... myself?

Somewhere in the lengthy awkward silence with her staring blankly at me, I eventually realized she wanted more.

I was accepted! 🙂

did you just make this up?
 
Dean: So if accepted, what will you bring to our school?
Me: I don't know... myself?

Somewhere in the lengthy awkward silence with her staring blankly at me, I eventually realized she wanted more.

I was accepted! 🙂

That's probably what I would have said:laugh:
 
Maybe I'm not really as funny as I think I am..

Interviewer: So, have you always wanted to be a doctor?
Me: No, when I was little I saw my future much differently.
Interviewer: Yeah? How so?
Me: Well, up until I was about 9 or so, I wanted to be a ninja.
Interviewer: . . .
Me: Yeah.. but then I realized there isn't much job security in that line of work..
Interviewer: . . .
Me: . . .

Hahahaha - if I had been interviewing you, I would have done everything in my power to accept you. I almost wrote a secondary with that very premise behind it, kudos to you for having a sense of humor.
 
My interview at EVMS went something like this (thankfully, I hated the school so I didn't really care)
Italics are what I was thinking, block is what actually came out of my mouth.

Interviewer: How do you react to stress?
Me: Okay, I'm ready for this. I try to meditate and think about positive outcomes. I have bad dreams about piloting a spaceship into the sun. What the hell did I just say?
Interviewer: (nervous laugh) Is falling into the sun hot?
Me: Make a joke! Make a joke! No, I usually wake up right after everyone else in the ship burns to death. Dear god, what is wrong with me?

later on..
Interviewer: Would you help a patient who wanted to end their life?
Me: Sure. I believe in the patient's right to choose. Who am I, Dr. Kevorkian?

I'm sorry, but this is the funniest thing I've heard in a very very long time. I laughed my ass off for like 5 minutes when I read this.
 
did you just make this up?

Nope, it's all true. I'll admit the question caught me off guard and it was the first question of my first medical school interview, so I was a bit nervous. In retrospect, doing a mock interview for practice would have been a good idea.
 
Nope, it's all true. I'll admit the question caught me off guard and it was the first question of my first medical school interview, so I was a bit nervous. In retrospect, doing a mock interview for practice would have been a good idea.

I hope mine turns out like that because that is seriously the answer I would have said.
 
not a med school interview but i have this fear that my brutal honesty (especially of myself) will be my doom:

interviewer: what's your greatest weakness?
me: i'm probably not the smartest guy you're going to interview. (what did i just say? 😱) in fact, i'd probably say i'm somewhere in the middle of the pack. (stop talking, say something else!:scared:)

i then spouted off some nonsense about how i'm hardworking blah blah blah. :cry:
 
How about a worst interview question?? So my interviewer had asked me what my favorite class has been so far, so I said Cross-Cultural Psychology and I explained a bit. He proceeded to ask...

Interviewer: Have you had a chance to interact much with different racial and ethnic cultures?
Me: (Couldn't get more than "I" out before he kept talking...)
Interviewer: Cause you know, it's hard to get away from all the WASPs and the Jews...
Me: (Mind you, I'm Jewish)..... (Oh my gosh, did he just say that? Did he really say that???) Well I volunteer at a clinic with underserved Hispanic people. (Did he really just say that?????)

It was awkward for me, to say the least. I didn't know whether or not to say something... cause at that point I was still in shock and wasn't sure I heard him right! Later on I laughed because I remembered the guy who interviewed after me w/ the same interviewer was a total WASP.
 
not a med school interview but i have this fear that my brutal honesty (especially of myself) will be my doom:

interviewer: what's your greatest weakness?
me: i'm probably not the smartest guy you're going to interview. (what did i just say? 😱) in fact, i'd probably say i'm somewhere in the middle of the pack. (stop talking, say something else!:scared:)

i then spouted off some nonsense about how i'm hardworking blah blah blah. :cry:

Probably not nearly as bad as you think; you got an interview, so no one thinks you're stupid. But, how many other interviewees would say that? It's honest and refreshing, and I bet you got good marks for it. If it really is true that GPA is ultimately more important than any other factor (I don't subscribe, but let's entertain), then it shows that work ethic is slightly-to-moderately more important than innate intellectual ability.

I'd let you in. 👍
 
I laughed my ass off for like 5 minutes when I read this.

Looking back, I have to laugh too. Thank God I'm not going there or I'd have to duck and run every time I saw one of my interviewers out of sheer embarassment.
 
I love this thread. :laugh:

This was my first interview day this year.

Interview #1: The conversation goes to my work volunteering in African schools. My interviewer asked what was one of the biggest challenges I faced and I blurted out corporal punishment. I end up going on for way too long with details about how brutal it was. Didn't even realize until afterwards how, uh, inappropriate that was.

Interview #2: I show up at the professor's office. She's smiling and seems friendly. Seeing a large apparatus on her desk, I decide to open with a joke about how I didn't know I was going to get an eye exam. Um. No. She points out that it's a microscope. I suppose I should have guessed with the fact that her office was in the pathology department.

Somehow, I still got accepted.
 
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