First things first, congratulations to everyone who has started receiving residency or job interview invites🥳! Best of luck throughout the entire process🍀.
For those who have yet to receive invites don't fret, stay positive, and be patient...it is still very early in the season!
As we briefly mentioned in last week's post, one question you will almost undoubtedly get during interviews is "Tell me about yourself". This should be an easy and straightforward question, however it rarely is🫤.
Knowing that this question is coming, however, gives us the opportunity to come up with a game plan for how to tackle it.
That's where the elevator speech comes in🛗.
An elevator speech is essentially a pitch consisting of 4 main components:
1. Introducing who you are
2. Describing what you're looking for in the opportunity/position
3. Mentioning one or two key points about yourself and skills
4. Making a genuine connection with the other person
This elevator speech is meant to be brief, usually around 30-60 seconds or about as much time as you would have if you were riding in an elevator with someone...though this seems like a very slow elevator or a very tall building⏱️.
Now that we know what an elevator speech is, how do we go about constructing one?🤔
Like with any interview, the highest yield is going to come from answering some important questions, formulating your response, and practicing that response to ensure it is natural rather than robotic🤖.
Here are some key questions to consider to get started🏁:
1. What job/position am I seeking?
2. Why am I interested in that position?
3. What experiences have I had that demonstrate my interest?
4. What skills or strengths do I have that are suited to this position?
5. What other unique points can I make to connect with my interviewer?
So how might this look for a medical student applying to residency🧑🏽⚕️? I'll use myself as an example for how an elevator speech may be crafted⬇️
Hello! My name is Masood Mohammed. I am currently a fourth-year medical student at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I'm interested in pursuing an Emergency Medicine residency because treating a wide breadth of patients from newborn to elderly, and stable to critically ill is very appealing to me. I think that my ability to think on my feet and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances parallels what is required of an Emergency Medicine resident, and I've experienced that first-hand on my clinical rotations as well as an emergency ultrasound elective I completed. Outside of medicine, I really enjoy watching college football, listening to podcasts, and dancing.
Do you see how that elevator speech succinctly addresses all of the questions listed above? And after practicing out loud🗣️, it also takes only about 40 seconds!
One final point is that the last sentence of the speech not only breaks away from all the boring medical talk🥱, but also creates the opportunity for the other person to ask questions (i.e. "what podcasts do you like to listen to?" or "what kind of dance do you do?"🕺).
I mention this because those are the exact questions I was asked in countless residency interviews when I was applying 😲!
Creating a high quality elevator speech takes time and practice, and the end result will be different for everyone. However, the effort invested will definitely pay off when your interview starts with a bang from an amazing, well-crafted introduction!💥
📨 Subscribe to Sunday Morning Rounds: My weekly newsletter is filled with tips, advice, and resources to help medical students and residents on their journey in medicine. Subscribe by filling out the short form at the bottom of this page! ⬇️