Authenticity during residency interviews is key to your success–but it’s hard to be yourself if you’re nervous and unprepared! These strategies will help improve your performance on interview day by instilling confidence and helping you prepare for meaningful conversation.
It’s easy to feel intimidated about interviewing with a residency program. It is a final step in a years-long process that has demanded a great deal from you, and the outcome largely determines your future. Focusing on these ideas, however, can be detrimental to your performance during interviews.
Quiet any nerves or anxiety by remembering that interviews are simply exploratory conversations. It’s helpful to think of them as first dates and to remember you’re on equal ground: each party knows a bit about the other and is interested in learning more to see if there’s a future together. And just like a first date, you’ll want to be genuine and open when sharing and show curiosity about the other person.
Conversations are easier when discussing a topic you’re knowledgeable about and feel comfortable with. This means you need to “know your mind” when asked to answer questions about yourself.
The best approach for interview preparation is spending time sorting through your thoughts on specific topics, organizing your ideas, and then internalizing key points. If you’re considering writing down answers and memorizing them, don’t. Interviews are dynamic and unpredictable, and memorized responses can hinder your ability to adapt to the conversational flow.
1. Brainstorm.
Select the interview questions you want to prepare for and work through them one at a time, writing down all your thoughts in bullet point format. Don’t worry about organizing them or if they are connected. Just capture as many ideas as possible.
2. Reflect and organize.
Review your bullets and consider which are the strongest, smartest, and most unique ideas. Remove those that don’t make the cut (like using multitasking as a strength, which is too common/overused to be memorable).
3. Talk through your points – out loud!
Using the ideas you kept, start talking things out. Pretend you’re answering a specific question and refer to your notes while verbally answering. Make changes to your notes as you try different versions of your response: cut ideas that don’t work, add new ones discovered while talking, and rearrange the order of ideas as needed.
4. Develop concise bullet points.
When you feel good about talking through a response, revise your bullets so they reflect the message you want to convey. Tip: Your bullets should be concise–just a few words long, so pick key phrases that will jog your mind at a glance. With enough practice, these bullet points will serve as a mental anchor during the interview, helping you stay focused and avoid getting sidetracked.
Tips
Incorporate storytelling.
Stories are easier to remember and more interesting to the person hearing them than abstract ideas.
Start with your summary.
After you’re asked a question, provide a direct answer and then follow up with an example. This reassures the interviewer that you understood the question and provides context to the details you’re sharing. Practice this strategy so that it becomes your go-to approach. For example:
What is your greatest strength? I’d like to think that listening carefully and understanding context are my greatest strengths. For example, last month I met an attending who…
1. Repetition is key.
Practice delivering your responses with bullet points in-hand frequently. Repetition while visually referencing the bullets helps you internalize the ideas and discover verbiage that’s comfortable and flows naturally. Your inherent mannerisms and unique expressions will soon become part of your responses, and before you know it, you’ll feel confident telling others about your strengths, weaknesses, and how you handle conflict!!
2. Time your responses.
Practice answering questions within a specific time frame to ensure your responses are concise and focused. Depending on the question, 30-120 seconds can be an appropriate length.
3. Simulate the interview setting.
As you get closer to interview day, practice your responses in the room where you plan to give the interview or a space that resembles it. Consider dressing up during a few practice sessions and even recording yourself to gain insight into your body language and demeanor.
4. Partner up for mock interviews.
Find a friend, mentor, or colleague to conduct mock interviews with and request that they play the role of the interviewer by responding organically and asking follow-up questions. Ask them to provide honest feedback including areas for improvement.
Your interview attire should resemble what you wore for your ERAS Photo: professional. Some might suggest that a casual appearance is okay, but the smartest approach is to err on the side of being overdressed. This shows programs that the interview is important to you and that you are taking the opportunity seriously.
In the days leading up to your interview, double and triple check that you’ve addressed any possible hindrances that could interfere with your performance.
Set up for your interview at least 30 minutes before the start time to make sure there aren’t any unexpected problems to solve. Once this is out of the way, ease into your interview headspace by thinking or speaking positive mantras, talking through responses, or meditating.
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