[Medical School] Interview experience / tips

These days, I have been having really bad insomnia. It's a vicious cycle!

SO...since I am wide awake, I decided to write about some of my interview experiences, and suggest some tips that I observed or am practicing on myself during medical school interviews. Most of these are things that I discovered this year, and aren't the typical "interview tips" (like...have a firm handshake or things like that). I am pretty confident  that some of these suggestions will apply to most (graduate school) interview situations. If anything, I will probably look back at this one day while I am preparing for residency interviews...

1) ** Take some control of the interview: Yup, that's right! I am definitely not suggesting you to dominate or talk over your interviewer. However, you can definitely answer some of the interviewer's initial questions in a way that will make the interviewer logically ask another question you want to answer. For me, I made a road map of some key points I wanted to hit during interviews. I brainstormed what I would answer to some of the most common interview questions so that I could end my answer in a way that would provoke the interviewer to ask another question I wanted them to ask me. For example, most of my interviews usually start off with "Tell me about yourself" or "Why [X]" (X in this case is medicine). I would usually give a brief background about myself and typically end my response mentioning something about research or past work experiences. Then the interviewer would be inclined to ask "Tell me more about [X] experience" ...and so on. If all goes well, I know I would have told the interviewer more about myself, experiences, goals in medicine / medical education, and why this school would be a good fit by the end of the interview.

Maybe this was intuitive for most of you, but I was totally unaware of this little trick until my pre-med adviser suggested it. Otherwise, I would have just simply answered the question, typically giving the interviewer free reign over any topic they want to ask ...including those topics you were unprepared to answer! Note that this trick does not work 100% of the time. Instead, it gives you a nice framework to work with. Even if your interviewer asks questions that doesn't go with your framework, that's ok! Just try going back to it as much as possible.

2) Relax! ...but seriously, relax: Interviews can be a bit nerve-racking. As long as you come prepared and are confident in yourself, your body language will show the same attitude, thus making you more appealing / approachable. Win! After people-watching many interviewees, I am starting to realize just how much body language can communicate what is going inside that head of yours. I was at one interview where this one girl was a nervous wreck, despite trying to appear confident. She kept frantically looking through her notes / resume, getting up to get water, and overall playing with her hair / suit. It certainly made everyone else around her uneasy too. If we can see her uneasiness, I'm sure the interviewer did too. Interviews are about selling yourself, so relax, and sell yourself! (On one interview, one of the admission staff told us about a girl who fainted in the past. While this is an extreme case, it does stress the importance of staying calm!)

3) Get to know your interview group: I went to interviews where my interview group was awesome. Conversation was great and I really got to know some of the other interviewees. I also went to some interviews where the entire group was silent. I tried to make small conversation...but got nothing. Since I didn't want to be that girl who kept pestering others, I too grew silent.

Interviews are a time to meet your potential peers. They are a first glimpse of how you would fit in with my class. With that said, take the time to get to know some of them. It may help you make a decision about one offer over another in the future. However, people are nervous for interviews, so don't let this one experience steer you to any final decision!

4) Attention ladies- some fashion advice:

• Dress conservatively: Rock those pant suits / knee length skirts. Sleek "office dresses" are discouraged (like this, even though it's cute and seems appropriate). I would know...I tried and the idea was shot down immediately, which leads me to the next bullet.
• Don't try to be "trendy": I am a huge sucker for trying to look trendy. Going through fashion blogs is a hobby of mine, so I always had this image of what I would want to wear to interviews. Unfortunately my parents and a lot of my friends shot down most of my ideas. Apparently deep-V neck blouses in bold colors is also a no-no : /
• Make sure your suit matches...including the same color shade! : I saw several girls whose suit bottoms / skirts did not match the shade of their jackets. Unfortunately, this makes you look sloppy.
• Don't wear gaudy shoes / purses: One girl was wearing pink / nude ballet flats with a giant flower at the front (also decorated with rhinestones). They were cute shoes, but unfortunately made her look junior / unprofessional. Another girl brought her large hobo-style purse with chains on it. However, those chains clinked during the entire school tour, brining some unwonted attention towards her way.

5) Find breakfast on your own: ...Because most schools ain't feeding you in the morning! Boo. 

6) Let admissions / interview coordinator know if anything goes wrong: They may be able to address your issues!

• I interviewed at a school during Hurricane Sandy. I called the office to let them know that there was a chance my flights would be cancelled due to the hurricane, and I may be unable to make it. Once I miraculously got to the city, my host told me the school was technically closed and classes were canceled on the day of my interview. Good thing I checked with the admissions office again, because the interview was still on! If I couldn't make it to my interview, letting the admissions committee know early on would have allowed them to reschedule me as soon as possible.
• Under certain circumstances, some people can request for a different interviewer. For most of these cases, the interviewer simply did not give the interviewee the time allotted for their interview (like 5-10 minutes out of 30). I am grateful to not be in this situation, but I have heard of others who have.

I think those are all the tips / observations that I have made on some of the interviews I've been to. Honestly, a lot of the tips came from friends who have already been through the graduate school process, so thank you!! I am by no means an expert at this though. These are things that I noticed or seemed to work best for me. Good luck and have fun!