anyone else interview poorly?

[Guest siobhansiobhan]

Hi All -

 

I've got another interview in the states coming up. I don't interview well. I'm really good with connecting when the conversation is two-way, but hooking people and reeling them in in an interview has just never been great.

 

Anyone else in the same boat?

[Guest Madz25]

Hi siobhansiobhan,

 

Last year, I interviewed horribly. I would dig myself a nice hole, which got progressively deeper as the interviews went on. One interview went OK, but I didn't hook and reel them in. It was just.....BLAH.

 

This year, however, all my interviews have gone well (or really well). I think the big difference for me was that I learned HOW to answer the questions. I practiced with current med students and discussed the interview questions with a lot of different people to get multiple perspectives on the open-ended questions.

 

I found interviewing in the US to be easier than in Canada. It was much more relaxed.

 

Have you done any mock interviews? I really recommend you do one.

 

Good luck with your upcoming interview!

 

Madz

[Guest siobhansiobhan]

Hey -

 

Yeah, I'm workin' on that one - i've done a couple mock interviews, and what it's coming down to is the personal work. I end up being a little too analytical, and I don't want to reveal my heart. And I get a little embarrassed at my own enthusiasm in interviews. So I'm coming off as nervous and unreachable/unknowable but a logical thinker. They can see my brains, but not my heart. When I got to the heart answers, I wanted to cry - no wonder I don't go there in interviews! I stay a bit guarded until a conversation goes - but interviews is in cold! Open-heart, now! Anyways - this is really frustrating, getting to the interview stage, and the hurdle seems ginormous. SO CLOSE.

[Guest RoseSmurfette]

Hey siobhansiobhan,

 

I absolutely sympathize with you! It takes me a while to get to know people and "open up" to people too. Friends say I'm a good listener, but I don't really like to talk about my own personal life (feelings and what not) all that much unless I really know them well. Some people are very open and can tell you about their family and their romantic relationships and their personal feelings and experiences within the first 10 minutes of getting to know you. Not all people are like that though - and many different sorts of people can make good doctors (and even good interviewees!).

 

Try thinking about particular experiences that you are comfortable with sharing. You might cringe at the thought of talking about something personal, but you don't have to reveal everything if you're not comfortable with that. You can often take an experience and then talk about it in a more philosophical way - eg. from this experience I learned such and such and that is important to being a physician because... Sometimes the more you think about an experience logically, the easier it becomes to talk about them too. And interviewers rarely ask you anything that's very specific to your personal life.

 

If you have a bank of experiences and thoughts/feelings that you've thought about beforehand, it'll be a little easier to talk about them coolly.

 

Hope that's what you're getting at...and that my response is helpful!

 

Cheers,

RoseSmurfette

[Guest potential md]

Put it all out on the line Siobhan. I got a little choked up in my interview at the end and I think it just shows that you have feelings involved in this, it's not just another "accomplishment" for you. If you only have one chance to make an impression for them, your best bet is to come across as keen keen keen to do medicine. Once you can convince yourself, you will convince others. That's how I practiced anyway (that plus about 4 mock interviews with different people, getting feedback from everyone on everything from answers to body language & tone of voice). Good luck!

[Guest muchdutch]

video tape yourself (if you haven't done so already). You may be surprised that the person you are portraying is not coming across as yourself or how you see yourself. This will also give you objective feedback regarding your tone of voice, body language, word choices, facial expressions, etc.

[Guest siobhansiobhan]

Hey Mutch Dutch -

 

I'm pretty good with knowing my impact on others - i've been training experientially in psychotherapy the last four years, in a group where that's the second year curriculum. The first year is getting to know yourself, the second year is getting to know your impact on the others in the group, the third year is learning therapy group leadership, and the fourth is one-on-one training. I'm pretty accurate, to the point where I called the last place for feedback, and she said i'd hit the nail on the head, that i was very insightful, she sounded very impressed that I was, and said i could bring that up if i felt comfortable in other interviews as an example of how insightful i am Except i don't want to bring that up because i'm workin' through some unfinished business on being terrified of giving 'the wrong answer' - that seems to be what's holding me back. So i'm working in that area. I had a really amazing couples session last night, and that was work that got done there. THe beauty of these emotional things is that they emerge in many areas, so working in one area (my relationship) will also translate to this other area (interviewing). I wish i had a couple more months to work through this stuff - it's truly a block, unfinished business - but hey, just as in therapy, sometimes when a client comes in half an hour late, that's the time they'll do their best work, get right down to it, rather than have the full hour to avoid. I do not have a full hour right now, that is for sure! the interview is on monday - i'm talking more, though, and i think i may even be revealing my heart in this post, more than many others i have written

 

thank you so much for the responses that have come here.