When I was interviewing for residency, a committee member asked me, “Do you have a boyfriend?” I found out after my session that he had asked the same question to all of the women interviewing at the program that day. (Apparently, soon thereafter he was disinvited from the admissions committee.)
Unfortunately, the occasional medical school, residency and fellowship interviewer will pose illegal questions about a candidate’s personal life. If you do not want to answer such a question (as most people do not) this is my suggestion:
Most interviewers do not really care about your personal life. They are asking you inappropriate questions (“Do you plan to have children in the next few years?”) because they are attempting to assess the likelihood of their accepting you to their program only to have you quit to manage personal obligations. Therefore I recommend allaying their underlying concern. Here’s an idea for an answer:
“What I think you’re gauging is whether I might leave my training. Let me assure you that if I were accepted at this institution I would absolutely complete my full tenure because I am very enthused about training here and pursuing my career.”
Wala! You’ve avoiding answering the question, calmed the interviewer and… not lost your temper.
For one-on-one interview practice contact me through InsiderMedicalAdmissions.com or at insidermedical@gmail.com. A comment from a client about her recent mock interview, “Highly recommend it. Well worth the money.”
