Check out this brand-new Insider Medical Admissions Guru on the Go© under-one-minute, stop-motion video called, “Spiffy Tie for the Dull Guy.” If you’re heading to residency or medical school interviews this season, you’ll want to learn about this effective way to protect your candidacy while you evade the fashion police.
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I get asked by clients about the best way to send post-interview thank you notes – email versus snail mail. I strongly advise sending hand-written notes. Email can be viewed as less labor-intensive or thoughtful.
You can still get the notes in quickly: Put them in the mail the morning after you’ve completed your interview. I’ve even had applicants tell me they bring blank thank you notes to the interview day, complete the cards after their interviews, and leave them with the administrative assistant.
The interview – whether for med school, residency, or fellowship – is subject to basic legal rules. Admissions officers/faculty members should refrain from asking questions that are irrelevant to the position the interviewee is seeking. Questions about race, religion, and marital/family status are no-nos.
When I was interviewing for residency, I was asked about my dating status… If you think these missteps are old news, a lovely client last year told me she was asked about her family planning. Very awkward.
If you are asked these types of questions, you can simply answer (if it’s not distasteful to you) or respond by addressing the intent of the question without revealing personal information. (“I think you’re asking whether I’d come to your institution if accepted. I can assure you no family issues will keep me from attending.”) You can also refuse to answer the question; of course, this last tactic might cost you the position you are seeking – as unfair as that is.
Early this year I launched the Insider Medical Admissions Guru on the Go© stop motion video series. These super speedy videos, offering expert admissions advice, give great tips in under a minute. Now, as medical school and residency interview seasons approach, I’m posting three original Guru on the Go© videos over the next few weeks. Keep your eye out for the first one, “No Ring, No Thing.”
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
