Common Interview Questions + Responses
Written by Andrew Woods, DO
Application season has come and gone, and so #Match2023 applicants have now turned their sights toward the impending interview season. While all interview preparation is different, and every interview for every specialty is unique in its own way, some questions are universal, and how you answer them often sets the tone for the rest of your interview. So, let’s stop wasting precious time and dive right in!
Question #1: “So, tell me about yourself.”
This question might seem easy, but for me, this was one of the hardest questions to answer. Realistically, this should be your 60-second elevator pitch to the program to give them a snapshot of who you are while also leaving the door open for future questions and conversation. This is also likely the first question you will be asked in every interview, and so coming off as confident and composed will create a levelness for the rest of the interview. I decided to approach my response with a present-past-future structure, which allowed me to be succinct while also not missing anything. The present aspect is who you are now, the past is what you did to get to this point, and the future is how you envision your career trajectory. For me, it looked like this: “My name is Drew Woods, I’m an OMS-4 at (insert school here), and I currently serve as the American Osteopathic College of PM&R Student Council President and in the United States Army Reserves. I played ice hockey at Rutgers and majored in Exercise Science with an original career goal to become a strength coach, but after I worked as an Emergency Department technician, I decided to pursue medical school. I was raised by a single mom in a family of teachers, so she often laments that she messed up and raised a doctor, but while I still don’t know what I want to pursue within PM&R, I have promised her that my career will involve mentorship and education in some form. In my personal life, I’m a dog dad to 4 and a new dad to 1, and I’m excited at the prospect of winding up at (insert program here).” 60-seconds, present-past-future, speaking with confidence and excitement, and you can’t go wrong!
Question #2: “Why do you want to pursue this specialty?”
This question serves as the litmus test for your knowledge and passion for the specialty you are pursuing. This is your opportunity to talk about what experiences you have related to the specialty, what personal attributes you have that fit the specialty, and any cool patient stories that have drawn you in. While I can only speak to PM&R interviews, I was asked this question in every interview and I felt like it was when I had some of the best discussions with my interviewer as we discussed our mutual love for Physiatry. I have also heard from others involved in the interview process that bad or rambling responses are often red flags that the specialty is a backup plan. While dual applying should never be looked at as a negative (although some unfortunately do), you must have the same passion for each specialty because you are interviewing to potentially do it for the rest of your life. You also shouldn’t be afraid to acknowledge some of the drawbacks to the specialty, but be ready to explain why those don’t deter you. For example, “I know that PM&R requires a lot of documentation and peer-peer appeals for insurance authorizations, and while that can be viewed as a negative, I think that I will be able to minimize the frustration associated with that because I know that I will be using my time to advocate for my patients, which is something very important to me.”
Question #3: “What are your strengths/weaknesses?”
Ah, the classic “how do I answer this without sounding braggadocios” and “how do I turn a negative into a positive” situation. Let’s tackle the strengths first; I believe the best way to go about this question is to let your experiences demonstrate your qualities. In a mock interview that I recently conducted, I asked this question and my interviewee said “I think I’m team-oriented, empathetic, and authentic.” While it isn’t a bad answer, it missed a major opportunity to talk about times they have demonstrated those qualities. A better answer would have been “Serving as President of the AOCPMR Student Council allowed me to hone my team-oriented qualities by leading over 50 medical students and empowering them to accomplish goals they set for themselves and our organization. I also believe that I am very persistent, which was required for me to successfully remediate my 2nd year of medical school. Lastly, I try to remain intellectually curious by reading about new topics, both inside and outside of medicine, as much as I can to better myself as a future physician and person.” Addressing weaknesses can always be sticky, but the important thing to recognize is that we all have them. I always view this question as an opportunity to demonstrate a level of self-awareness, and as long as you have an example of how you are actively trying to improve your weakness, your answer should come off flawless.
Like we said earlier, every interview will be unique to you, the specialty, and the program you are with, but some classic questions appear everywhere. We can’t prepare for everything, and the questions that I was completely unprepared for were the ones that I had the most fun with, but preparing for these core questions will give you a confident foundation to ace the first parts of your interviews. Good luck!
**Andrew is currently a PGY-1 resident and the advice provided throughout this post does not reflect the official stance of any organization that he represents or participates in. Engage with Andrew on Twitter @TheAndrewWoods.
