Residency Interview Prep

Step 1: Find a list of common residency interview prep questions as your starting point.

Access a cohesive list of Top 50 Residency Interview Prep Questions here.

Step 2: Select up to 10 questions for development and practice. 

We suggest starting with high yield questions like “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your strengths?” and “How do you handle conflict?”  

Step 3: Brainstorm ideas for responses. 

Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes and focus on one question at a time, recording all the ideas you have. At this stage, you should be capturing all ideas, even ones that don’t seem “good” when you think of them. 

Step 4: Evaluate your ideas for each question. 

Highlight those that focus on unique aspects of your background and personality, as these will be most interesting for your interviewers to hear about. Remove any ideas that seem cliché, common, or “risky,” meaning that you should be strategic about what you choose to reveal about any weaknesses or mistakes. Honesty is key, but so is guiding the conversation toward topics that help you shine. 

Work toward a bulleted list of single sentences, each focusing on one key idea. The goal is not to write out a paragraph or include every detail, but to outline your response simply.

Step 5: Now that you have a list of good ideas, start organizing them. 

How do you want to tell this story or share this response? Add important details as new bullets to fully explore key ideas. Tip: Always start a response by directly answering the question asked. This answer becomes the grounding point for the story, example, or deeper dive that comes next. You’ll see this modeled in the example below. 

Step 6: Reduce your list of sentences to a list of 1-3 word bullets. 

Aim for a maximum of 5 bullet points. This is your “final draft” and serves as a map to follow while practicing. If you forget part of your response, you should glance at the keywords as a reminder of where to head next.

Step 7: Practice!

Focusing on 3-5 questions daily, practice 1 question at a time. 

• • Review your bullet point notes.
  • Practice speaking your response out loud 3-5 times in a row (record yourself if you’d like, or look in the mirror).
  • Refer to your bullet points if you lose your way. 

Do this for each question in your set for the day, then take a break of 30-60 minutes. After your break, practice your responses out loud, focusing on recall (i.e. try not to look at your notes). 

Once you’ve mastered a question, add a new one to your daily set (and do continue practicing mastered questions daily as well to keep them fresh!).