Between conducting residency interviews at my home program🏠 and helping students prepare for interviews with Interview Boost👓, I've had the opportunity to speak to a lot of medical students across the country. And so far, there's one big issue I've noticed medical students doing that they should stop immediately🙅🏼.
We've talked in length about questions likely to come up during residency interviews, and I've even been breaking down how to answer these questions on my TikTok, so be sure to check that out📲.
The question that has gotten the most attention though is by far the dreaded tell me about yourself.
This question is so broad and simple that for most students, it ends up being quite difficult😣. The thing that I have noticed when asking interviewees this question is that they immediately start listing everything on their CV and feel the need to justify why they would be a good resident😕.
And while I understand why medical students feel the need to do this, it's also the wrong way to approach this question.
Remember: the most important part of a residency interview is an honest conversation where two (or more) people get to know each other🫱🏻🫲🏻. As the interviewer, I've already looked at your CV and read about the experiences you took so much time and effort to describe. So why waste time during an interview to recount something that I already know?🤔
Instead, I want to hear about you. What was your upbringing like? Tell me about your friends and family👨🏽👩🏽👧🏽👦🏽. Tell me all about your hobbies, and don't be afraid to be specific🏈. If you say you like hiking, I want to hear about your favorite hike or the hike you're most looking forward to in the future🧗. If you like trying new restaurants, tell me about the best meal you've had in your life🍝.
By being genuine and sharing a piece of yourself during an interview, you give the interviewer a better idea of who you are and some of the things in your life that led you to this moment💡. As I've said many times before, this can start the interview off on a very positive note and can also lead to some surprising connections and enjoyable conversation during the interview😸.
Best of luck on the residency interview trail! ☘️
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