Career Planning
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Preparing for Your Interview
The Do's of Interviewing
You’ve fully prepared and and the onsite visit date is here! You’re ready to visit the city, tackle the interviews, and impress your potential practice partners. Remember: Confidence is attractive. Arrogance is not.
Review the additional tips below to knock your interview out of the park.
You’ve fully prepared and and the onsite visit date is here! You’re ready to tackle the visit the city, tackle the interviews, and impress your potential practice partners.
Remember: Confidence is attractive. Arrogance is not.
Review the additional tips below to knock your interview out of the park.
Show Up Prepared
By now you should have completed the following assessments:
You should know your top 5 deal breakers and deal makers and you should have a list of all the questions you want to ask throughout the day.
You should have done your homework and know exactly who you will be meeting and hopefully identified a few common interests or background
Dress for Success
You may feel sartorial impressions are meaningless and the credentials and experience documented in your CV is all you need to get the job, but interviews are formal situations.
Overly casual attire – jeans, tennis shoes, sandals, casual shirts or basic blouses – will look unprofessional, can cast a negative impression, and will cause others to question your professionalism.
You need to give the occasion, the people you are interviewing with, and the organization you are visiting the seriousness and respect each deserves by dressing in conservative business attire.
A well-pressed, dark business suit is ideal for all candidates. Ensure your image is helping, not hurting, your first impression.
Appropriate Options for Women:
- Dark pant or skirt suit
- Dark slacks with a dark cardigan and simple, silky blouse
- Black or brown, low-heeled shoes
- Avoid: jeans, shorts, short skirts, casual shirts, T-shirts, tennis shoes, sandals
Appropriate Options for Men:
- Suit and tie
- Gray or tan slacks with a dark blazer
- Light colored dress shirt
- Dark socks with black or dark brown shoes
- Avoid: jeans, shorts, casual shirts, T-shirts, tennis shoes, sandals
Use Common Sense
Be sure to turn your cell phone off or place in silent mode. Do not distract yourself with calls, texts, or alerts.
Be sure to avoid chewing gum. Breath mints are acceptable and you should have some on hand.
Be prompt. Review your itinerary carefully and often. Make sure you know the location of the interview and directions to the specific office or meeting room, and give yourself plenty of time to get there.
Bring Copies of Your CV
Even though you have already provided your CV electronically, bring extra hard copies in case your interviewer does not have one during the interview.
Be sure to bring several copies in case you have multiple people joining one interview session.
Carry them in a leather binder, nice portfolio, or dark folder along with a pen and paper to take notes, place your interview schedule and agendas, and your list of questions for the practice.
Show Engagement and Enthusiasm
Be the first to introduce who you are to the interviewer. You do not have to wait for them to make the first move. If seated, stand promptly.
Look them in the eye, address them by name, and give a firm handshake as you give your name and why you are there. Always use titles such as Dr., Mr., Mrs., unless explicitly told not to do so.
Your enthusiasm and energy will be noticed and make a positive impression. Don’t be shy!
Complete a 360° Evaluation
While onsite, be sure to evaluate everyone you encounter.
This includes anyone employed by the organization or practice, colleagues, advanced practitioners, physician leaders (division chief, managing partner, medical director, etc.), nursing leaders, hospital administrators, OBs, and receptionists or administrative staff.
This is your opportunity to see if this will be a good fit culturally and if you think you would like to work with this group and this facility.
Bring your list of priority questions and take notes as you capture key information to help you make your decision.
Be Nice to EVERYONE
Your goal is to make a positive and lasting impression with everyone you meet while onsite for your interview. Be friendly. Be courteous. Show gratitude.
This includes being nice to people at the facility that are not associated with your interview at all, such as housekeeping staff, volunteers, people on elevators, etc.
Everyone you interact with is interviewing you, watching you, and assessing you. Never take your game face off while you are onsite (and even out in the community) and make sure everyone you encounter is left with a positive impression.
Build Rapport with Physician Leadership
If a job is offered and there is any need for negotiation, you will want to use opportunity to build rapport with the person on the other side of the table.
Always engage in friendly conversation before the interview starts and seek genuine common ground and connections.
Talk About Yourself
Your interview day is not the time to be shy. You are there to tell them why and how you are a good fit for the job.
This will require you to not only talk about yourself openly to others, but to actually sell your skills, experience, credentials, and expertise. Do not hold back. This is the moment to take credit for your hard work and years of training.
If you are particularly challenged by this, plan to spend more time practicing your responses to common interview questions. Plan to incorporate meaningful anecdotes with your responses and to quantify your achievements. That said, this is a team-based role, so be sure to credit those who helped you in your successes.
Know the Difference Between Confidence and Arrogance
Arrogance is behavior stemming from the need to feel superior to others. Ironically, arrogance comes from being insecure, which is the exact opposite of confidence.
Confidence is behavior stemming from competence, assurance, and certainty about your skills, capability, and potential contribution to your profession and prospective practice or employer. Confident people do not need external validation from others but are self-assured in their ability to deliver results.
In your interview, if you are boasting about yourself because you need to feel superior and you need others to hear it, this will be seen as arrogant behavior.
However, if you explain your ability to contribute to the practices goals, and communicate skills and achievements with genuine regard for the group and your ability to help them meet their objectives and requirements of the job, you will be seen as confident. Confidence in your ability is an extremely positive characteristic in a physician candidate, if you are truly equipped and capable of practicing medicine.
Know the difference.
