29. If you have a video camera and VCR, tape
yourself during a practice interview
and see how you look and sound. Note if your
body language conveys a posi-
tive or negative impression. Try to improve your
performance in a second tap-
ing at a later session.
30. If you have serious problems handling
interviews (such as being very shy or
having a speech defect), seek professional help
by taking a course that teaches
interview skills.
Keys to Succeed
The following tips summarize the major factors
that can decisively influence the out-
come of your interview:
TIP 1
Be knowledgeable
When invited for an interview, be well informed
about the school. To do this, study
its catalog, talk to fellow students who
already had an interview there, and, if possible,
alumni of the school. Also you should review
your application and refresh your memory
as to what you wrote so that you are able to
respond to any specific questions raised by
its contents.
TIP 2
Be on time
Do everything possible to be on time.
Preferably you should be ahead of time, since
this will allow you to become used to your new
surroundings. Take a cell phone with you
so that, if necessary, you can call the
admissions office if you are unavoidably delayed. If
your interviewer is late, take no notice, since
undoubtedly it wasn't intentional.
TIP 3
Be properly dressed
Make sure to dress appropriately. A
conservative suit is appropriate for a man, while
jeans or a sweater are likely to be
self-defeating. Similarly, for women, a skirt suit or
demure dress is acceptable, while a pantsuit is
certainly not appropriate. Avoid too much
jewelry and makeup.
TIP 4
Be honest
Obviously you cannot know in advance the
questions that you will face; you can
prepare for them as discussed below. It is in
your best interest that you avoid any sug-
gestion of being devious. If you cannot answer
a question, simply say "I don't know,"
rather than trying to obfuscate an issue. If
you have a legitimate reason for having done
poorly in a critical major course (such as an
illness at the time of the final exam), it is
not appropriate to bring it to the
interviewer's attention. Remember that for physicians,
interviewing is a component of their daily
work, so it is naïve to feel that you can pro-
ceed in any but a straightforward
manner.
TIP 5
Be a salesperson
Having been given an opportunity to impress the
medical school that you are the type
of student it is looking for, make the most of
it. Determine the message you wish to con-
vey, namely, "You should accept me because . .
. ." Find an appropriate way and time to
weave it into the conversation. If you are
unable to fit it in unobtrusively during the course
of the interview, do it at the very end by
saying, "May I make a final comment, . . . that as
a potential medical student in your school I
could be an asset by virtue of my . . . ."
TIP 6
Be different
You need to call attention to yourself by your
accomplishments so that you stand
out in the interviewer's mind. Even if you have
noted them in your essay, do not hesitate
to make the interviewer aware of your
achievements. This may have involved being a
member of a band, a school newspaper editor, an
artistic achievement, a special job
experience, a bicycle race winner, completing a
long wilderness hike, and so on. What is
desirable is that you demonstrate that you can
undertake a project and see it through to a
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