ENT interviews have started to trickle in and actual interviews begin next week! With that in mind, I was hoping to gather some interview tips/advice for myself and fellow applicants. Any advice would be appreciated, from absolute mistakes to avoid or what has made applicants in the past glow. What questions should we be prepared to answer? Thanks & good luck!
Interview Tips
- Thread starter g00dne55
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10 Must Know Rules of Engagement for Interviews
Most of these seem like no-brainers, but every single person breaks at least one of these regularly during an interview and most break several.
1 - Smile
2 - Only follow rule #1 if you have brushed your teeth. In all seriousness, people who show their teeth when smiling are considered friendlier than those who smile only with their lips. If you have a big snaggler hanging on by a thread fix it or keep your mouth closed. If you "smile with your eyes" it will go much farther than smiling with just your mouth. If you don't understand what I mean by that, you probably can't learn it.
3 - Look people in the eye. As people provide answers, they have a tendency to look off to the right when being creative and off to the L when thinking logically. Try to avoid either as both are less engaging if done too much.
4 - Firm handshake. You will not match with a dead fish.
5 - Be sincere. Don't fake your answers. Don't provide answers you don't believe in.
6 - Be enthusiastic without being a dufus. In other words, be confident that you know you want to go into ENT but don't go on about how you plan to change the world because you just love love love it so much.
7 - If you don't know, say so. If you have an opinion, don't be afraid to state it. If you state an opinion, have a reason to back it up because you may be challenged. You will be challenged sometimes because the interviewer disagrees and sometimes just to be devil's advocate, but in either case it's to see how you handle yourself. Be succinct and do not ramble. Elaborate only when necessary but be not tangential. This includes avoiding the "uhs, umms, ahhs, likes, and oks" of lazy speech.
8 - Not everyone is going to be in academics. Interviewers know that. If you don't want to say that for sure you're not planning on doing a fellowship, don't lie, just say you're open to the possibility and that's why you're doing a residency, to find out what you love and why and pursue it
9 - Never ever lie. Nor over indulge. Nor brag. If you have something to be proud of and want to share it, be proud of it without being a douche.
10 - Don't be afraid to have fun and say funny things, but don't ever force humor and don't use sarcasm to be funny. Sarcasm only works when the other person knows you.
What you're asked matters a little. What you answer matters more. How you answer matters most.
You don't really have to prep to answer certain questions. In fact, that may not be a great thing always. Having a canned answer to "why do you want to be an otolaryngologist" sometimes sounds more fake and rehearsed than sincere. You should have an idea in mind with a few talking points, but not a memorized soliloquy (sp?).
If you follow my 10 rules (if you can--it's harder than you think), you will ace your interview. I promise. I've interviewed scores of potential residents, medical students, and employees (both physician and non) and those who can follow these guidelines look awesome and those who can't find other places of employment.