Worst/Funniest Interview Experiences

BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Members don't see this ad.
ls2412 said:
Interviewer: "Tell me something about yourself that would surprise me"
Me: *panics* *tells her I used to play league of legends*

I'm a girl and to be fair it does suprise people quite a bit unless they know me very well so it was the first thing I thought of.... Whoops
Click to expand...
Aww cmon! Used to?! I raised from silver to platinum after 2 quarters of medical school! You're fiiiiinnne
 
Noctámbulo said:
Great exercise for the brain, though! The constant practice in switching from language-to-language apparently delays the onset of cognitive decline.
Click to expand...
Well I guess all that childhood chaos may result in a something good after all!
 
Skeptical interviewer after hearing all these why medicine stories.

w8in9.jpg
 
This happened at one of my interviews last month.

Interviewer: So tell me about a time in which you had to overcome adversity and what you learned from it.
Me: *Thinking of a difficult situation I've encountered* Well, last week I had a really bad flat tire... I had to change it on the side of the road in the snow/sleet.. The frame was so rusted out that I couldn't jack it up by it's normal jack point.. It ended up taking well over an hour and was really frustrating.
Interviewer: Okay.. So what did you learn from that?
Me: Whoops, um, to try to avoid getting flat tires? *Realization!* AND to be persistent!!
Interviewer: *Laughs at my *****ic answer*
 
Interviewer: Who is your favorite music artist?
Me: Kanye West.
Interviewer: So you agree with his misogynistic lyrics?
Me: *Almost dropped some fruit in my loom* Noooo. I just like his beat........ (awkward laugh)
 
Chasing Never Land said:
My friend just got back from an interview. She says the head of admissions, after asking them to share a fun fact about themselves, asked them not to do anything too weird. Apparently, last year a candidate's fun fact was that they could lick their elbows. Which they proceeded to demonstrate in front of everyone.

Lol laughed really hard when I heard this.
Click to expand...

Watched something similar take place. Everyone was asked to share an interesting fact about themselves with the group. One girl excitedly explained that she recently bought herself an adult coloring book and was really enjoying it. The dean of admissions looked over at her with a big smile and said, "that's enough detail, thank you". The room burst into laughter. Sadly, I couldn't stop giggling about it awkwardly throughout the day.

images
 
Syns said:
Watched something similar take place. Everyone was asked to share an interesting fact about themselves with the group. One girl excitedly explained that she recently bought herself an adult coloring book and was really enjoying it. The dean of admissions looked over at her with a big smile and said, "that's enough detail, thank you". The room burst into laughter. Sadly, I couldn't stop giggling about it awkwardly throughout the day.
Click to expand...

What is so weird about this? There are coloring books made for adults with intricate patterns that kids would find too difficult to color. They are used as a form of stress-relief/meditation. Did everyone misinterpret "adult coloring book" as "X-rated coloring book"?
 
gyrfalcon said:
What is so weird about this? There are coloring books made for adults with intricate patterns that kids would find too difficult to color. They are used as a form of stress-relief/meditation. Did everyone misinterpret "adult coloring book" as "X-rated coloring book"?
Click to expand...

I suspect that was the point behind the double entendre by the dean "that's enough DETAIL"...
 
Interviewed in August. Not really hahaha worthy but it was just one of those moments where you float out of your body and go :wow:

Interviewer: What is your greatest weakness?
Me: *Oh, I have an answer to this one* Well, I tend to be so absorbed by work and school that I dedicate tremendous focus to them which doesn't allow me much time for social activities, much to the harm of others.
Interviewer: Harm of others? What do you mean?
Me: *HARM?! Why on earth out of all the milder words in the English language did I have to say HARM??* Oh, I'm sorry. That was the wrong word. I meant much to the sadness of others.
Interviewer: Hmm...okay.
Me: *:boom:*

My one and only Texas interview. Match day is in a month...
 
This happened at my first interview and I was too embarrassed to share. Now that I have a good number of rejections under my belt, I feel less shame about it.


The day started off right: I had my new suit on, got some breakfast, and sat around with some coffee to read some news.
I went to where the interview was and met with all the other interviewees. We sat down and had a 30 min ice-breaker type session with another 30 min session with the dean of admissions.
The entire time he spoke, I tried to naturally project my interest in the conversation with my body language (obvi) by adjusting my legs and sitting posture.
After a delightful conversation, I went to the bathroom for "just in case" purposes as the interviews were about to start in ten minutes. I look down.

My zipper was down the entire morning.

I am 100% sure people noticed as I was "showing interest with my body language".

I went to my first interview all flustered. Went to the bathroom again prior to my 2nd interview.

Zipper down. Again.

I never wore those suit pants ever again.

Results: unknown. Sigh.
 
edward90 said:
This happened at my first interview and I was too embarrassed to share. Now that I have a good number of rejections under my belt, I feel less shame about it.


The day started off right: I had my new suit on, got some breakfast, and sat around with some coffee to read some news.
I went to where the interview was and met with all the other interviewees. We sat down and had a 30 min ice-breaker type session with another 30 min session with the dean of admissions.
The entire time he spoke, I tried to naturally project my interest in the conversation with my body language (obvi) by adjusting my legs and sitting posture.
After a delightful conversation, I went to the bathroom for "just in case" purposes as the interviews were about to start in ten minutes. I look down.

My zipper was down the entire morning.

I am 100% sure people noticed as I was "showing interest with my body language".

I went to my first interview all flustered. Went to the bathroom again prior to my 2nd interview.

Zipper down. Again.

I never wore those suit pants ever again.

Results: unknown. Sigh.
Click to expand...

Pro Zipper Tip: Make sure the slider handle thing is down all the way against the teeth, this prevents it from sliding open. If it is up it is much easier to slide down because it doesn't lock.
 
Ok, this was more of a Worst Interview Day Situation, but figured it sort of fits.

The interview agenda was officially over, but everyone was still hanging around the admissions office chatting.

I wanted to change out of my suit so I took my luggage to the nearest bathroom to change. Unfortunately, the stalls were really small, so I decided to quickly change in the sink area. I stripped down to my tighty whiteys and .... In walks the Dean.

He gave me a curious look, as one would, and proceeded to the urinal. We managed to have a whole conversation about our respective holiday plans in this arrangement.

Result: Admitted
 
Last edited:
p0gono said:
Ok, this was more of a Worst Interview Day Situation, but figured it sort of fits.

The interview agenda was officially over, but everyone was still hanging around the admissions office chatting.

I wanted to change out of my suit so I took my luggage to the nearest bathroom to change. Unfortunately, the stalls were really small, so I decided to quickly change in the sink area. I stripped down to my tighty whiteys and .... In walks the Dean.

He gave me a curious look, as one would, and proceeded to the urinal. We managed to have a whole conversation about our respective holiday plans in this arrangement.

Result: Admitted
Click to expand...
that is one heck of tighty whitey you are wearing
 
edward90 said:
This happened at my first interview and I was too embarrassed to share. Now that I have a good number of rejections under my belt, I feel less shame about it.


The day started off right: I had my new suit on, got some breakfast, and sat around with some coffee to read some news.
I went to where the interview was and met with all the other interviewees. We sat down and had a 30 min ice-breaker type session with another 30 min session with the dean of admissions.
The entire time he spoke, I tried to naturally project my interest in the conversation with my body language (obvi) by adjusting my legs and sitting posture.
After a delightful conversation, I went to the bathroom for "just in case" purposes as the interviews were about to start in ten minutes. I look down.

My zipper was down the entire morning.

I am 100% sure people noticed as I was "showing interest with my body language".

I went to my first interview all flustered. Went to the bathroom again prior to my 2nd interview.

Zipper down. Again.

I never wore those suit pants ever again.

Results: unknown. Sigh.
Click to expand...
I interviewed a delightful young man whose fly was open during the whole process.
He became one of my favorite students. I never mentioned the faux pas...
 
Chasing Never Land said:
forgot to pick up my one and only suit from dry cleaners. They are closed tomorrow. I fly out tomorrow night on a red eye from Seattle to Boston. The school: Dartmouth (my absolute dream/reach) The interview: Tuesday.
Click to expand...
If you can't find something to fit you before then, you could just show up in sweats and blame American Airways... :whistle:
Happened to a friend of mine (though AA really did lose his baggage) and he ended up being accepted.
 
Recently had a guy in my group wear one of those wooden bow ties to the interview session. He proceeded to tell us (unsolicited) that he'd graduated first in his major. After the deans obligatory "Oh and what was your major again," we learn: Major in Non-Profit Art Curation

Had no idea that was even a major...
 
Moko said:
If you can't find something to fit you before then, you could just show up in sweats and blame American Airways... :whistle:
Happened to a friend of mine (though AA really did lose his baggage) and he ended up being accepted.
Click to expand...
I ended up buying and tailoring a new suit in 8 hrs - cost me a pretty penny though!

There was someone on my interview day in jeans because the same thing happened to her, but she had a blazer over it so I didn't notice until she pointed it out (we were comparing stories haha)
 
Chasing Never Land said:
I ended up buying and tailoring a new suit in 8 hrs - cost me a pretty penny though!

There was someone on my interview day in jeans because the same thing happened to her, but she had a blazer over it so I didn't notice until she pointed it out (we were comparing stories haha)
Click to expand...
Glad everything worked out for you. At least for residency interviews you'll have two suits 🙂.
 
BreakneckWalrus said:
Not really that bad, but kind of funny.

Interviewer: So what do you see yourself doing in, oh, say, 12 years? And where are you?
Me: 12 years huh? Well, I suppose I'll be an attending in my chosen field, hopefully somewhere on the west coast. I'm right now interested in either thoracic surgery and dermatology.

At this point, I thought, maybe I should bring up some personal life.

Me: Hopefully with my wife at the time, too.
Interviewer: Wife at the time, huh? Planning on having multiple marriages? *Laughing*
Me: Ugh, ****. That came out wrong. Haha, no, well, I meant my girlfriend and I would be married by that point.

He knew what I meant, so it was just a silly little mistake. We both had a good laugh about it. 😛

I was accepted to that one this past Wednesday! Really great interviews, they were.

Another one that was kind of embarrassing, I don't think it's that big a deal but I hope my interviewer didn't get the wrong impression from it. Some context, I took extensive Spanish in high school and understand it quite well, though my speaking ability is not as strong. I took Japanese in college for 2 semesters as well and got A's in them, so I have rudimentary ability in that.

Interviewer: Ohayou gozaimasu (Good morning)!
Me: (quite surprised, I knew he was Asian but hadn't realized he was Japanese) Ohayou gozaimasu!
Interviewer: So I see you've done well in Japanese in college, that's very impressive. It's not an easy language to pick up.
Me: Yes, it was quite difficult! I found the kanji (Chinese characters used in Japanese) aspect to be the most difficult.
Interviewer: I also see you know some Spanish!
Me: Hai. Sorry, yes. (Hai means yes in Japanese.)
Interviewer: Yo hablo tambien. (I also speak Spanish.)
Me: 😵 Thinking, what the LITERAL **** Si, un poquito. (Yes, a little bit.) Not realizing he said hablo (I speak), not hablas (you speak)
Interviewer: I actually have a lab in Panama that I visit often, so I've picked up a little bit here and there.

The rest of the interview went fine, but he threw me off a bit at the beginning by switching languages repeatedly... Made a super stupid mistake. Haha. I hope he didn't feel like I was being fraudulent about my capability in those languages. At one point asked me about my strengths and weaknesses, as he had noticed some in my application, and I told him what I thought they were. Afterward, I asked, I'm curious, what do you think my strengths and weaknesses are? And he told me a weakness might be that I may be too empathetic... That a doctor maybe sometimes can't help their patients, but I may feel too strongly in situations like this. I wasn't sure how to respond; I'm not sure what I said. On the bright side, he said my strengths were "so many, you can see it plainly in the application." without naming any in particular, haha...

Status for that one, will find out on the 16th. Expecting a waitlist, just because of the acceptance/waitlist format they told us about. All the interviewees per batch are added to a pool consisting of everyone waitlisted from the beginning of the cycle and themselves. From that pool of waitlistees+new interviewees, 8 get accepted per adcom meeting. So the 8 they take could be all from that week's interviewees, 8 people from the top of the waitlist, or a mix. The top half of the waitlist usually ends up with an acceptance at some point, they said.
Click to expand...

I've got a bit of Spanish, German, and ASL up my sleeve. Let me tell you, it's interesting getting THOSE languages mixed up with each other.
 
I don't have anything to add in terms of strange interview answers I've given. However, I have to say that I am noticing A LOT of strange and awkward behavior from 1 or 2 candidates each time I interview. People do the strangest and most cringeworthy things when they are nervous.:uhno:

Had one guy say "Thank you" in a robotic announcer voice for EVERY door that was opened during the tour; all 30 of them. Anyways, Mr. Roboto here continued with this strange tone the entire day as if his very breath was inspiring visions of confidence and command. Strange, awkward, and something non-human. Rock on Mr. Roboto, rock on.

At another interview their was a girl who was so ridiculously nervous and bad at conversation (which she would initiate) that I eventually looked up and asked her if she felt nervous. After replying "yes", I said, "Yea, it's showing a little. Take a breath and take it easy". She tried her best but the awkwardness persisted to the point that she began equating the number of questions asked during our tour of the school with the measure of her charisma and charm. The questions got so numerous and bad that the other candidates and myself got to the point of rolling our eyes at each other every time she asked a question.
 
Last edited:
osckey said:
I don't have anything to add in terms of strange interview answers I've given. However, I have to say that I am noticing A LOT of strange and awkward behavior from 1 or 2 candidates each time I interview. People do the strangest and most cringeworthy things when they are nervous.:uhno:
Click to expand...
You can't just leave us hanging with a comment like that!
 
Moko said:
You can't just leave us hanging with a comment like that!
Click to expand...

I edited my post with some stories. Usually, it's small behavioral things that get blown out and exacerbated by the nerves. At other times, the social awkwardness is so bad that I imagine these people being led like lambs to the slaughter come interview time.
 
Interviewer: If you could spend the day with one person dead or alive who would you spend it with?

My answer (without hesitation or even skipping a beat): Matthew McConaughey.

Interviewer: Really?

My response: Yes, he is gold in the movie "how to lose a guy in 10 days". (which was the movie I watched before the night of the interview)


Still got accepted lol.
 
jonnythan said:
Hipster-esque?? It's pathognomonic.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're right. I just meant "typical of hipsters" or "reminiscent of hipster behavior" or "indicating of a hipster predisposition" or "of hipster" or "quintessentially hipster" ....you get the idea.

I live in San Francisco. Hipster severity runs the gamut here, bless their souls. Depending on my mood, I'd be at best entertained or curious about it, or just think to myself "noted". But it wouldn't elicit much of a response, let alone shock or surprise. Again, because of my location, I might carry a slightly warped/biased view.
 
ImmunoLove said:
Yeah, you're right. I just meant "typical of hipsters" or "reminiscent of hipster behavior" or "indicating of a hipster predisposition" or "of hipster" or "quintessentially hipster" ....you get the idea.

I live in San Francisco. Hipster severity runs the gamut here, bless their souls. Depending on my mood, I'd be at best entertained or curious about it, or just think to myself "noted". But it wouldn't elicit much of a response, let alone shock or surprise. Again, because of my location, I might carry a slightly warped/biased view.
Click to expand...
Also in San Francisco and had the exact same response.
 
ImmunoLove said:
Yeah, you're right. I just meant "typical of hipsters" or "reminiscent of hipster behavior" or "indicating of a hipster predisposition" or "of hipster" or "quintessentially hipster" ....you get the idea.

I live in San Francisco. Hipster severity runs the gamut here, bless their souls. Depending on my mood, I'd be at best entertained or curious about it, or just think to myself "noted". But it wouldn't elicit much of a response, let alone shock or surprise. Again, because of my location, I might carry a slightly warped/biased view.
Click to expand...

parachichi said:
Also in San Francisco and had the exact same response.
Click to expand...

The South is not quite so socially... "accepting"
 
ImmunoLove said:
Yeah, you're right. I just meant "typical of hipsters" or "reminiscent of hipster behavior" or "indicating of a hipster predisposition" or "of hipster" or "quintessentially hipster" ....you get the idea.

I live in San Francisco. Hipster severity runs the gamut here, bless their souls. Depending on my mood, I'd be at best entertained or curious about it, or just think to myself "noted". But it wouldn't elicit much of a response, let alone shock or surprise. Again, because of my location, I might carry a slightly warped/biased view.
Click to expand...

I live in the hipster neighborhood of my city. They are the worst kinds of people. I've newer encountered more self-absorbed, puffy jacket- beanie wearing cranks with full Paul Bunyan beards at the trader joes down the road from me who drink locally brewed draft coffee on Saturday mornings as they browse the local farmers market in search of the best tasting oils for their gluten free bread and dairy free cheese plates they have at their hipster houses that run on biodiesel fuel.
 
gyngyn said:
I interviewed a delightful young man whose fly was open during the whole process.
He became one of my favorite students. I never mentioned the faux pas...
Click to expand...

I really hope I get to demonstrate similar results as he did!!! Thank you for sharing your story 🙂
 
TallPreMed said:
I live in the hipster neighborhood of my city. They are the worst kinds of people. I've newer encountered more self-absorbed, puffy jacket- beanie wearing cranks with full Paul Bunyan beards at the trader joes down the road from me who drink locally brewed draft coffee on Saturday mornings as they browse the local farmers market in search of the best tasting oils for their gluten free bread and dairy free cheese plates they have at their hipster houses that run on biodiesel fuel.
Click to expand...

LOL that was funny. OK some of them are super pretentious and annoying, but they're not all that bad. I for one love the locally rafted coffee and beer, and the farmers markets are great too, as well as anything that supports the local communities and businesses. But I love gluten (gimme bagels and pizzas all day please). That said, I guess there's so many of them here that I just don't think about it much, and though I'm a Bay Area native, I come off quite a bit more formal and "East Coast"-ish. I guess I'm too busy to worry about the hipsters...And trust me, there are worse people out there.
 
Mine was a couple of years ago but it was my first interview:

Interviewer: "tell me about yourself"

Me: I am a double major in biology and political science

Interviewer: "Poli Sci! Should Obama's secretary of health and human services sebelius be fired?

I was unfortunate enough to interview the day after the obamacare roll out fiasco.

Me: " frantically searching room for clues to his political affiliation. Older Caucasian male with hunting pictures and outdoor scenery with mahogany furniture that likes to run a lot"
-at this point I was confident he was republican leaning but wasn't totally sure so instead of taking one side I went into a complete ramble about the origins of the cabinet and evolution and the scope of the agency and other complex political science theories"

Interviewer: "I think she should be fired"

Me: "&@$&!!!!!!" Inside my head lol.

Ended up getting wait listed despite having a friend who graduated speak to the dean himself on my behalf. Fun times
 
Does being somewhat awkward actually put you at a significant disadvantage? Like will the interviewer go "too nervous and robotic, waitlist"

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk
 
DNC127 said:
Interviewer: If you could spend the day with one person dead or alive who would you spend it with?

My answer (without hesitation or even skipping a beat): Matthew McConaughey.

Interviewer: Really?

My response: Yes, he is gold in the movie "how to lose a guy in 10 days". (which was the movie I watched before the night of the interview)


Still got accepted lol.
Click to expand...

The answer is never important, its the confidence that you say it with 😉
 
baratheonfire said:
Does being somewhat awkward actually put you at a significant disadvantage? Like will the interviewer go "too nervous and robotic, waitlist"

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
It kind of depends. If you are a little nervous and awkward, I think they understand. Additionally, there are probably a lot of people who are a little nervous and awkward, so you wouldn't really stand out a ton if it was only a little bit of nerves. However, if you are nervous and awkward to a degree that makes you stand out as being significantly more so than the majority of applicants, I think it can be a definite negative.
 
TallPreMed said:
I live in the hipster neighborhood of my city. They are the worst kinds of people. I've newer encountered more self-absorbed, puffy jacket- beanie wearing cranks with full Paul Bunyan beards at the trader joes down the road from me who drink locally brewed draft coffee on Saturday mornings as they browse the local farmers market in search of the best tasting oils for their gluten free bread and dairy free cheese plates they have at their hipster houses that run on biodiesel fuel.
Click to expand...

I live in Portland. 50% of the population is hipster. Kill me
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Most Meaningful Experiences
Replies
2
Views
558
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
M
Other Impactful Experiences?
Replies
4
Views
1K
maybefuturedoctor7
M
R
Types of Clinical Experiences
Replies
6
Views
411
LizzyM
LizzyM
S
Other Impactful Experiences
Replies
1
Views
604
LunaOri
LunaOri
T
Length of Nonclinical Volunteering Experiences
Replies
2
Views
378
candbgirl
C
Top