A few more thoughts for interviewees

Just held another interview practice for 2 interviewees tonight. This was the first session that I asked for a participation fee because I am starting to shift my private tutoring hours from HS students to premeds. With my previous experience with 18 participants, tonight's session was a lot easier to manage.

At the session, I collected some tips that I think would be useful for most interviewees, so I'll share them here:

1. Use the 2 minutes of reading the prompt to first identify the points you want to cover and formulate a strong opening statement. I find that many interviewees start their answer a bit shakily, only to gain confidence about 30 seconds into the answering period. If they had a simple, strong opening statement, I could follow their thoughts more easily and I generally ended up being more impressed than someone who gave basically the same answer but with a poor opening. Compare the following two openings:
   
   
   
   1. "I think the statement... I think there are a few things that one must consider in this situation... The statement asks about the issue of confidentiality, which I think is very important..."
   
   
   2. "In dealing with the issue of confidentiality, there are several conflicting interest involved. Foremost, the patients trust doctors with their private information... However, infectious diseases pose a threat to the public's interest... To resolve this conflict, I believe..."


2. Always introduce yourself! Depending on your comfort level, you could shake hands with the interviewer and give a big smile. For some people, that will do wonders to calm their nerves. For some, it's more straightforward to stick to business and go right into the question. But whatever your style, remember that a positive first impression wins you half the battle.


3. Demonstrate empathy whenever possible. I wrote briefly about the acting stations in this post, but I'd like to add a few basic skills of empathy so that people have a more concrete idea of what this means.
   
   
   
   1. If you can identify the emotion, identify it! If the person looks depressed, say something like: "you look like you are feeling depressed, would you like to talk about it?"
   
   
   2. Ask plenty of questions. "What's bothering you?" "Has this feeling affected your day-to-day functioning?"
   
   
   3. Appropriate physical contact is fine. Pads on the shoulder is a pretty direct way to show comradeship if done appropriately. Don't force it if you don't feel comfortable.
   
   
   4. Empathy doesn't have to be limited to acting stations! There are lots of situations where an understanding of people's emotions is crucial for a full appreciation of the situation. Ethical dilemma? What emotions could be present on either side of the table?

These tips are pretty general, but I think many people can benefit from them. Of course, a better way would be to practice with someone who can give you specific feedback.

Good luck, get some rest, and take care of yourself! You want to run at 100% capacity and only a good life style can help you do that.