Scheduling the Interview
- Once you receive an interview invitation, respond immediately. There are some programs that offer more invitations for interviews than they can accommodate. To insure that you do indeed get a spot, it is important to call or e-mail the coordinator as soon as possible to pick your date.
- Be polite and courteous to every person you speak with regardless of his or her rank or position in the department. Scheduling can often involve conflicts and be quite difficult at times. Do not lose your temper or appear to be too pushy. You don’t want the residency coordinator or secretary to remember you for the wrong reason.
- If possible, schedule an interview at a program that you are not really interested in for your first interview. Everyone can use a “practice interview” and you don’t want this to take place at one of your top programs.
- Plan for enough time in getting to the interview. You might want to arrive in the city the night before. Remember bad weather can result in travel delays. Don’t cut it too close. Also make sure that you plan enough time to focus and gather your thoughts before the interview begins.
- Plan for an adequate amount of time to spend at the interview. Try to get a feel for the hospital, the kind of people in the program and the city.
- Schedule programs that you are less likely to go to at the end. Many people end up canceling interviews at the end of the cycle. However, if you decide not to go to an interview, make sure you call and cancel. If possible try to speak to a person instead of leaving a message on voice mail. Whatever you do, don’t just blow it off.
- Preparation of the Interview
- Read the brochure or visit the program’s website ahead of time. You don’t want to ask questions that are clearly explained in the hospital’s own materials. Research the program itself. Find out its strengths, areas of focus and key faculty members. Prepare specific questions to ask which will give you greater insight on that particular program.
- Be prepared to talk about one or two interesting cases you have dealt with on your rotations. Also be prepared to discuss one or two ethical dilemmas.
- Always go to the dinner the night before if offered. The dinners are often great sources of information and an opportunity to meet some of the residents in the program. Don’t order spaghetti! (Travel with an extra shirt or tie in case you spill something on yourself.)
- During the Interview
- Begin by smiling and greeting the interviewer with a firm handshake
- Act interested! It sounds simple, but if you don’t make eye contact or ask questions, the interview may get the wrong idea about you.
- Ask intelligent well thought-out questions.
- Try to use as many examples to back up your statements as you can. Giving real life illustrations adds to your credibility and gives the interviewer a better feel for your personality.
- It’s okay to ask some generic questions at each program to see how the answers compare with each other.
- Present yourself as a team player. Although this process is competitive, be careful not to berate others in order to make yourself look good.
- Be sincere and honest. Be yourself! Use the interview as an opportunity to learn as much as you can about the program. Remember, you are doing the selecting too.
- After the Interview
- Debrief yourself. Use some sort of note system or evaluation form to provide yourself with important facts and impressions of the program, the people and the hospital community.
- Whether to send or not to send a thank-you note is your own personal choice. It is wise to let your top choice program know that they are your first choice, however do not send more than one of these letters out. You can also let programs know that you plan to rank them “among your top choices” or “are highly interested.”
- Take any promises which a program director or faculty member makes with a grain of salt. Unfortunately students have been promised spots in the past and have not gotten them.
