Worst. Interview. Ever.

[TheDuder]

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I had an interview a few weeks ago that was....interesting.

English was not my interviewer's first language. He did not seem to understand some of what I'd said. I had to repeat myself several times. He'd then paraphrase what I had said, and repeatedly got it all wrong, completely butchering what I'd said to the point where it was as though he was was putting words into my mouth. He accused me of saying something that I had not said at all. He misunderstood, and when I gently and affably corrected him on my meaning, he shook his head while scribbling in his notebook and underlining something over and over again.

Later, he asked me about hardship in my life. I responded that, while in the great scheme of things I've been very fortunate, (I'm in good health, my family is in good health) I've had to work my way through college and it's been difficult for me to make ends meet financially. He looks me up and down slowly, and responds, "you don't need to work, you work because you want to." Um, what? I smiled and responded, "no sir, I need to work to support myself, but yes, I chose to go back to school so I'm not complaining, it's just been challenging...etc." Obviously I'm paraphrasing.

There's more, but I won't go into it. We started and ended on a good note, and the interview wasn't contentious but it was very, very frustrating for me. It was like a cruel joke. I don't believe this was a "stress interview." The guy really didn't know what I was saying sometimes, and seemed to basically fill in the holes in his understanding with whatever he wanted to think. This was an important interview to me, and one of only a few I've received. Needless to say I feel like I was, in a way, cheated out of the opportunity to say my piece. I kept my cool throughout, but it's hard to believe that this will result in an accurate or cogent presentation to the admissions committee.

Has anyone had a remotely similar experience? Do "bad" interviews like this ever result in acceptance? It's just such a shame that after so much hard work, this could be the difference between acceptance and rejection. Thanks for allowing me to vent here. 👍

 

[auburnO5]

I wouldn't be too worried about it. I'm sure people on the adcom, if they are familiar with the interviewer, will know that he does not have the best grasp of the English language.

That kind of sucks though that they would have someone conducting interviews that can't fully communicate in English.

 

[morning]

There seems to be a LOT of stories of terrible interviews that result in acceptances, so...abide 😎

 

[Pedie Packs]

Maybe you could explain your situation to the admissions office and ask for another interview?

 

[Marcus Brody]

I had a similar experience. He'd ask questions that were definitively answered by my response to a previous question. This happened several times, so I knew not much was getting through to him. Best thing to do is lose all the flowery language and start listing specifics as simply as you can and make sure he writes them down. The worst part in my case was that he was my only interviewer at the particular school. Just goes to show what a crapshoot this all is..

 

[Procyon]

Aww, I could see why you'd be frustrated. I can't believe the adcom was letting a guy so incompetent with the English language do interviews. That's not cool. Good luck on getting in in spite of the interview though. Hopefully things will work out for the best.

 

[Salt and Lime]

I had a similar experience with an interviewer who spoke perfectly good English. 🙄

It was an open file interview, and he either didn't read my file very thoroughly or was confusing me with someone else. I had to keep correcting him on things like where I went to undergrad, what my degree was in, which specialties I had shadowed in...

But, I was accepted very quickly after the interview, so it might work out for you!

 

[MrCheetah]

If you get rejected or even waitlisted I would explain what you just explained here, reaffirm your desire to go to said school, and request another interview.

 

[startswithb]

"you don't have to work, you choose to work" ??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have been furious had someone said that to me. Just goes to show how ignorant some people who have spent their entire life in academia can be about the real world.

 

[eNVyKillaBeez]

I had an interview kind of like yours in the past and it turned into an acceptance. It is frustrating though how a questionable interviewer can sink your chances at getting into school.

 

[mdhopeful513]

I had a similar experience in that my interviewer was unusual. He was a bit disrespectful and he put down some of my responses to my questions. As a result, I requested a second interview but I am beginning to regret this decision as I do not want to "ruffle the feathers" of the committee and make them think that I am a whiner or something. But my interview just did not seem right. Any thoughts on my situation?

 

[TheDuder]

I had a similar experience in that my interviewer was unusual. He was a bit disrespectful and he put down some of my responses to my questions. As a result, I requested a second interview but I am beginning to regret this decision as I do not want to "ruffle the feathers" of the committee and make them think that I am a whiner or something. But my interview just did not seem right. Any thoughts on my situation?

I don't know. What's done is done, so there's no use worrying about it too much now. I've opted to keep my mouth shut until I hear something from the school. It seems to me that there's countless ways in which a request for another interview could be misconstrued. I will be writing to the dean of admissions if I'm rejected or waitlisted. I don't want to, but I've worked too hard to just roll over after something like this. Best of luck to you.

 

[BlueElmo]

That sounds tough. Sorry about that OP, maybe you could ask for another interview or something, maybe a phone interview?

 

[mdhopeful513]

I don't know. What's done is done, so there's no use worrying about it too much now. I've opted to keep my mouth shut until I hear something from the school. It seems to me that there's countless ways in which a request for another interview could be misconstrued. I will be writing to the dean of admissions if I'm rejected or waitlisted. I don't want to, but I've worked too hard to just roll over after something like this. Best of luck to you.

Thanks. I just didn't want to regret not speaking up if by chance I did not get accepted. But your right, its in the past. I have to just see how the future turns out. Good luck to you too!

 

[mdhopeful513]

I had a similar experience. He'd ask questions that were definitively answered by my response to a previous question. This happened several times, so I knew not much was getting through to him. Best thing to do is lose all the flowery language and start listing specifics as simply as you can and make sure he writes them down. The worst part in my case was that he was my only interviewer at the particular school. Just goes to show what a crapshoot this all is..

were you accepted after this interview?

 

[chickensandwich]

at one school i interviewed at, they were very very clear that if you felt your interview was lacking due to circumstances beyond your own performance, that you should talk with them about it so they can see if they can squeeze in another interview (and i'm sure whether one is needed), but that you should do it right away. i dunno, but i feel like waiting until a rejection to do it sounds like more like whining and excuses than if you gave the feedback pre-decision.

 

[bannie22]

Well, see the major problem?

You should have spoken a few words of his L1.
That always helps, never used it in interviews, but in daily interactions, if you speak a few words of the listener's L1, they immediately take a liking towards you.

Considering the lack of proficiency the interviewer has with English, I can just imagine his glee if you had tried to speak his L1 or spoken to him about his accent/native language.

However, if it (acceptance) really turns out to be a problem, do not hesitate to contact the school, and at least let them know of your situation.

 

[bowlin123]

I feel your pain. There is a school that has done this to me twice in two different application cycles and both time I was rejected.

 

[DrSmooth]

IMHO, I strongly agree that you should contact the Dean of Admissions, and before you know about a decision. The Dean wants to know these things, think about it from his/her perspective. You have an underperforming interviewer and all these scared premeds are afraid to say anything about him. The Dean wants to know. And if you wait until after a decision it will sound like sour grapes. If you call the Dean right away and word it tactfully, I wouldn't be surprised if they simply scheduled a follow-up phone interview with you. If they already like you, the Dean will appreciate the call. If they are on the fence about you, your call would allow them to reconsider. Either way you win. Why not call?

 

[TheDuder]

IMHO, I strongly agree that you should contact the Dean of Admissions, and before you know about a decision. The Dean wants to know these things, think about it from his/her perspective. You have an underperforming interviewer and all these scared premeds are afraid to say anything about him. The Dean wants to know. And if you wait until after a decision it will sound like sour grapes. If you call the Dean right away and word it tactfully, I wouldn't be surprised if they simply scheduled a follow-up phone interview with you. If they already like you, the Dean will appreciate the call. If they are on the fence about you, your call would allow them to reconsider. Either way you win. Why not call?

Even if I call or write and word my complaint appropriately it could be construed as complaining. I will potentially be drawing negative attention to myself despite my best intentions. If I wait until a decision has been made, at least I have nothing to lose at that point. Also, this school administers two interviews and my other one went well. As was mentioned before, the admissions committee may have experience with this person and be aware of their limited verbal communication skills. That may be taken into account when evaluating my application.

I appreciate what you're saying, and this has obviously crossed my mind. Frankly I'm torn. Does anyone else want to chime in either way? It's a crappy situation that seems like a lose-lose to me.

 

[PowerButton]

Even if I call or write and word my complaint appropriately it could be construed as complaining. I will potentially be drawing negative attention to myself despite my best intentions. If I wait until a decision has been made, at least I have nothing to lose at that point. Also, this school administers two interviews and my other one went well. As was mentioned before, the admissions committee may have experience with this person and be aware of their limited verbal communication skills. That may be taken into account when evaluating my application.

I appreciate what you're saying, and this has obviously crossed my mind. Frankly I'm torn. Does anyone else want to chime in either way? It's a crappy situation that seems like a lose-lose to me.

That's tough. Are you absolutely confident your other interviewer will portray you as a totally different person? Because if that's the case, I think the general policy is to have you back for a third interview, just to clear things up. If that is the case, then the problem should resolve without you having done anything.

I think everything rides on this second interview. If that interviewer also does not portray you as a strong candidate, then whatever you write will probably be construed as "complaining".

I don't know about contacting the Dean immediately - see my PM for a "softer" approach. But like I said, the important thing is to be absolutely certain about that second interview before you actually do anything.

 

[DrSmooth]

That's tough. Are you absolutely confident your other interviewer will portray you as a totally different person? Because if that's the case, I think the general policy is to have you back for a third interview, just to clear things up. If that is the case, then the problem should resolve without you having done anything.

I think everything rides on this second interview. If that interviewer also does not portray you as a strong candidate, then whatever you write will probably be construed as "complaining".

I don't know about contacting the Dean immediately - see my PM for a "softer" approach. But like I said, the important thing is to be absolutely certain about that second interview before you actually do anything.

Yeah and after thinking about it, if you were to address it I would do it via email so you have more control over what is said and give the dean a chance to process it instead of being put on the spot. And I may have missed an earlier post but I thought it was a single interviewer only. If it were me, with it being two interviewers, I would probably still address it, as I don't want to leave any room for misrepresentation, I mean what if your good interviewer is sick the night of the adcom meeting (if he sits on the adcom), or if the bad interviewer carries more weight, who knows what all could happen? I would though, like the other poster said, use a softer touch. Maybe like "After having such an excellent experience overall all at X med school, I have some lingering concerns about one of my interviews. There appeared to be some communication barriers that I was unable to overcome. If there is anything at all that you would like to me to clarify, I would be happy to speak with you. You can reach me on my cell phone..." I don't know something like that. But that's a tough one and definitely a personal call. Let us know how it turns out. Good luck!

 

[z31]

Even if I call or write and word my complaint appropriately it could be construed as complaining. I will potentially be drawing negative attention to myself despite my best intentions. If I wait until a decision has been made, at least I have nothing to lose at that point. Also, this school administers two interviews and my other one went well. As was mentioned before, the admissions committee may have experience with this person and be aware of their limited verbal communication skills. That may be taken into account when evaluating my application.

I appreciate what you're saying, and this has obviously crossed my mind. Frankly I'm torn. Does anyone else want to chime in either way? It's a crappy situation that seems like a lose-lose to me.

Maybe you could write a letter that isn't phrased as a complaint, but a clarification - i.e. say that a misunderstanding came up about X and Y but you could not clear it up with your interviewer within the constraints of the interview. Expand on X, expand on Y. Then thank them for the opportunity to interview with them - say that you appreciate the extra effort on their part to read the follow up letter, but that this is one of your top choice schools (if it is) and you cared too much to let these misunderstandings persist.

 

[slowbutsteady]

It is a crappy situation but not that unusual.

Sounds like you handled it as best you could at the time, and the advice here to "let it go" is good advice.

The hopeful news is that (a) he may have liked you (b) they might have assigned you to him because you are either very likely, or very unlikely, to be accepted anyway and (c) bad interviews often still result in acceptances.

If you get wailtlisted, then revisit the issue of raising it with the adcom and asking for another interview.

Good luck. We all feel your pain.

 

[flip26]

Has anyone had a remotely similar experience? Do "bad" interviews like this ever result in acceptance? It's just such a shame that after so much hard work, this could be the difference between acceptance and rejection. Thanks for allowing me to vent here. 👍

I had a bad interview that resulted in acceptance.

I had a very good interview - one of my best - that resulted in rejection.

For this very reason, this is why applicants should attend as many interviews as possible - and yes, it does suck that acceptance or rejection could hang on a good vs bad interview - but that is the nature of the game we are forced to play.

 

[Comoroa]

A friend of mine's mother is a physician and had the same type of interview experience. Apparently the person was rude, late to the interview, and didn't allow her to answer questions. She wrote a letter to the admissions office who was so embarrassed by the conduct of that particular interviewer that they offered her an acceptance, if she wanted it. I know things have change quite a bit since then (90s) but her experience shows that if you talk to the admissions office, they may not see it negatively at all. I am all for you writing a letter, but good luck with whatever you decide.