Surviving a bad interview
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Charmaine Patel, M.D. [2]
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Overview
After looking forward to and preparing extensively for an interview, it can be disappointing to encounter a less than ideal interview day or a poor interviewer. Tips for preparing for an interview are found here. There are some things that one can do if they have done everything in their control to prepare for the interview, but they encounter a less than ideal situation. Given below are tips on how to handle some of the difficult interview situations that you may encounter.
General Situations During the Interview Day
You are not given the opportunity to meet with the Program Director/ person in charge
This can happen for a variety of reasons, the most common one being that the person in charge is too busy.
- For starters, do not take it personally, or bother questioning whether it is intentional towards you as an interviewee. If you let yourself get offended, it will affect your attitude.
- Remain confident, positive, and continue to put your best foot forward.
- It is likely you will meet with the Associate Program Director, or the second person in charge. Treat this person with the utmost respect, as if they are the person in charge. Do not treat them as second rate individuals, as they will pick up on this. Associate program directors communicate directly and work closely with Program Directors, so it is likely whatever impression you leave with them will be communicated back to the program director.
- Do not ask the Program Coordinator or anyone else why you did not get to meet with the Program Director/ person in charge. You will look needy and ungrateful, and it is unlikely that you will be satisfied with the answer anyway.
You are asked to arrive at a later time than some of the other applicants, have less interviews, or are interviewed last
This can occur either on purpose to stagger the interviews so that too many interviewees are not waiting at once, or by accident due to poor coordination of the interview day.
- Again, do not take it personally or bother to question whether it is intentional towards you as an interviewee. It will distract you and will come through in your attitude.
- Continue to put your best foot forward, and remain confident in your abilities to impress the interviewer regardless of the situation.
- Treat it as a challenge. If you have less interviews, make it your goal to give the best impression and connect with the interviewers as much as you can in a short amount of time. If you are interviewed last, make it your goal to make an excellent last impression that sets you apart from the other interviewees.
You are left waiting for a long time for an interview, or have to wait a long time for lunch
Remember, you are being "interviewed" for the entire duration of time that you are at a program, school, or business. How you act and react when you are being actively interviewed by an individual, is just as important as how you act during the remainder of the time.
- Do not complain, or ask about lunch. Make sure you have a good breakfast in the morning if you are prone to getting low on energy around lunch. Carry a small piece of candy (but not gum) if it really affects you.
- Do not ask how much longer you will have to wait.
- Have some material about the program to read, or congenially interact with the other applicants. Look engaged and self-directed, and not bored.
- Do not joke with the other applicants about the waiting time/ being hungry. You never know who is listening to what you are saying.
You are forgotten about, or get lost
With a lot of switching interviewers with other applicants, and tours without bathroom breaks, this may be apt to happen.
- Be proactive! If you are left alone for a long time, and something doesn't seem right, ask the coordinator politely whether you are doing the right thing by waiting.
- Carry the Department number with you, so you can call to find out where the other applicants are. This may happen if everyone has gone to noon conference, and you got left in an interview that ran overtime.
- Do not take it personally, or get upset or angry.
During the Interview
You are asked questions about race, religion, marital status, or other questions you are not supposed to be asked
Although this is not supposed to happen, in some cases it may occur anyway. The key is not to get emotional, and not to let one bad interviewer ruin your chances of getting into the program.
- If you have no problem answering the question, answer it. It may be accidental on the part of the interviewer, and there is no point in making an issue for no reason.
- If you do not want to answer, pause and smile. At this time the interviewer may realize the question was inappropriate, and retract it.
- If they do not retract it, you may politely ask them why they are asking this question, give them a vague answer, or talk around the subject. Either way, remain polite and non-confrontational. You can take the issue up with the appropriate people after the interview day, but it is best not to ruin your interview or your chances by reacting immediately. You are not at the interview to teach anyone any lessons.
You are asked to explain a deficiency on your record
Nobody is perfect. Know your deficiencies, be comfortable with them, and be honest about them. There is no need to bring them up or make excuses for them if they are not asked about. When an interviewer does ask about a deficiency, they may be curious, wanting to know how you handled a difficult situation, or seeing how you react to talking about your deficiencies.
- Accept any deficiencies on your application, and practice how you would answer questions about them before the interview.
- When asked about it, acknowledge the deficiency, and take responsibility for the weakness that allowed it to occur. Then state what you have done to overcome this weakness so that the deficiency does not occur again. Stick to the facts and do not give more information than is needed; it is not a confessional or therapy session.
- Do not make excuses or blame others, or situations. Use "I" statements.
- Do not be self-deprecating or emotional.
- Remain objective, professional, humble, and honest.
You feel inferior to the other applicants, or are compared to them by the interviewer
For starters, it is important to remember that you have been invited to interview. There is usually about a 10:1 ratio of applicants not interviewed to those that get an interview. In general, everyone is on an equal playing field once they get an interview. Performance during the interview will be a large deciding factor.
- If you don't want to know, don't ask. This means avoid asking other applicants their scores, number of interviews etc. It is not polite, and if overheard, it looks like you are more concerned with the other applicants that you are about learning about the program.
- Phase out the talkers. If someone is bragging about their scores or number of interviews, it is important to not let it drain your confidence. Again, you have been invited to interview, and don't assume that what the other applicants tell you is always the truth.
- If the interviewer compares you to other applicants (ie. you are an international medical graduate compared to an american medical graduate), be sure to focus on aspects of your application that prove that you are just as competent as everyone else, and to know some unique characteristics and strengths that you can bring to the program. Don't get flustered or upset.
The interviewer talks about themselves the entire interview
This situation can be unfortunate, as you may feel that it is a wasted interview where the interviewer does not get to know you at all. This is a situation where you could really impress the interviewer by having read about them beforehand. Do not waste any opportunity to make a good impression.
- Be an active listener. Look engaged, and become interested in what they are telling you.
- Ask questions about what they are talking about, and turn it into a discussion. This is a good time to bring up what you may have already learned about them prior to the interview. They will be flattered by this.
- It may be likely that other interviewees would have had the same experience with this interviewer, and would have sat back, irritated and bored. This may be a good chance to set yourself apart.
The interviewer says "I'd like to take this time to let you ask me questions"
This is the time when you want to ask a variety of thoughtful, insightful questions, that you ideally have prepared before the interview. Having prepared these questions will engage the interviewer, help them feel that you are interested, and help to avoid long, awkward silences.
- For examples of some of these questions, click here.
- It leaves a good impression if the questions are tailored towards the program or the interviewer themselves.
- Do not ask general, cliched questions that you can save for asking the residents. Think of the questions you ask as being as equally important as the answers you give during a traditional interview.
- Listen to the answers, and use them to formulate more questions.
The interviewer has not read your application
In this situation, you do not have time to get irritated or discouraged. You should prepare for how you would address this type of interview before it occurs.
- If given the opportunity, take the lead in telling them about yourself. You should have chosen beforehand your most positive, relevant, and unique attributes that you want to get across. Make it impactful, yet succinct. Sell yourself.
- The benefit of this type of interview is that you are exempt from mentioning or having you address any deficiencies in your record. You cannot lie, but you can present yourself in the best light possible.
- Be proactive. Remember that as they have not seen your application, merely answering the questions they ask you is not enough. You want to incorporate into the interview the best parts of your application wherever possible.
You are asked a tough clinical question
Most programs will know your academic history when they ask you to interview. They may ask a clinical question in order to assess how you think on your feet, whether you know the answer to the question, or how you respond to being asked difficult questions.
- Don't panic. Pause, and think about the question you have been asked.
- Briefly decide how you are going to answer the question, and answer slowly so you have time to think of other important aspects you might want to add in.
- If you do not know the exact answer, try and make a good guess on the answer if you have enough clinical background to do so.
- If you are certain you do not know the answer at all, say you do not know. Don't smile or be coy, and don't make excuses. You can soften the situation by saying something like " although I do not know the exact answer/management, in a clinical scenario I would immediately look up the most current guidelines in the treatment of _____ and I would then clear this with my senior resident to ensure my treatment plan is adequate." You are trying to convey that although you do not always know the answer off-hand, you know how to find it and would be able to manage the patient well in clinical setting.
- Do not discuss your clinical question with other applicants, and don't torture yourself thinking about how you should have answered the question. How you conduct yourself as an individual and your answers regarding your character, are more likely to make or break you than one clinical question. The only exception is if you have done poorly academically at some point-- then you will want to make sure you know your clinical medicine thoroughly before the interview, as you will be trying to prove yourself!
Summary
During a bad interview experience, you may feel angry, discouraged, and disappointed. You also may feel in the moment that you have no chance of getting into the program, or that you don't want to be there. The important thing to remember is that you have taken the time and made the effort to get there anyway so you might as well make the best of it. You are not punishing anyone else if you sabotage the remainder of the day, based upon one bad experience. Don't assume you know what the interviewer is thinking when you are asked charged questions, and, if you remain positive and allow yourself to experience the better aspects of the program, you may actually realize that despite one bad experience, you do want to be there.