boring on paper...

[blz]

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[asmallchild]

So I recently had a meeting with my PI (I'm on a research year and my PI is an ENT at my home program) to look over my CV. Anyways, my PI basically tells me that I'm pretty boring and standard on paper and I need to include some interesting skills and talents to be more enticing to programs. I'm aiming for the more academic programs but my PI made me feel like i've got no shot because I'm not a concert pianist or a professional beatboxer. I know ENT is getting tougher to match but it seems pretty rediculous that I have to learn an "interesting skill" just for applications.

I've got your standard interests most dudes my age have: traveling, working out, teaching, scuba diving, hiking, motorcycles

My CV is your standard academic oriented applicant (step1 263, Honors in all rotations except an HP in peds, likely AOA, few pubs with a bunch more being submitted- all in ENT.)


So my question is: how do you make yourself look more interesting lifestyle-wise?

This sounds a bit like tooting your own horn but I'll assume it's a genuine question and give an answer.

I really think your PD is just trying to give you something to do in the meantime. With stats like that, I doubt you have to worry unless you're targeting a specific area to pursue residency.

Hobbies/interests are important because (at least for me) they comprised a bulk of the interview questions. Research is always a good interview topic but there's little to discuss in the way of your Step scores and AOA status. ("So, howdja study for Step 1?")

The activities portion of your ERAS application provides a nice topic to talk about during interviews. I actually spoke about hobbies that I used to be quite involved in prior to medical school. (Medicine has made me boring) The key is to be able to talk about it in an entertaining 30 second snippet. You don't necessarily need to have Olympic aspirations to be able to talk about it. Although kudos to you if you can juggle being an outstanding student and a potential Olympian

 

[SocialistMD]

So my question is: how do you make yourself look more interesting lifestyle-wise?

While I'm not a fan of doing things to bolster your CV, but the most logical thing to do would be to get some sort of certification in something you enjoy. The most obvious would be to become a diving instructor (combining your interests in teaching and diving).

 

[asmallchild]

While I'm not a fan of doing things to bolster your CV, but the most logical thing to do would be to get some sort of certification in something you enjoy. The most obvious would be to become a diving instructor (combining your interests in teaching and diving).

Or even with regards to traveling, if you can sneak in a trip sometime in 4th year, that'll be a nice experience to talk about.

If not, think back on prior vacations/trips/expeditions and find some entertaining tale to weave. No one has to know it occurred a decade ago

 

[ORLHNS41]

I doubt that your interests are even considered when interviews are being offered (not to mention your interests sound good anyway). Big academic programs get a lot of applications (ie: UNC told us this year they received over 320 applications and I'm sure other programs have similar numbers). Most interviews range between 12 and 20 minutes, with 15 minutes being the most common, and they are over before you know it. In most cases, you don't get to discuss everything you want to about yourself. I found that being able to talk about research is a big help, especially if you have done something productive on your own. You will be asked about your research in 90% of your interviews. This is a great way to show bigger programs that you are serious about going into academics, because everyone will say that. You could also consider going to a conference, or better yet, presenting at a conference (oral presentation would be better than a poster). I wouldn't be surprised if you already have done this or plan on it.

Also, many programs won't even read over your application before you enter the room. Sometimes you will even have to hand them your file when you enter, and they will read it over for a couple of minutes while you sit there. It sounds crazy but every faculty member interviews every applicant, so you can imagine the time it would take to read your whole file. I will say that those programs that are prepared stand out from the others.

You have the most important stuff: board scores, grades, research. You'll be getting offered tons of interviews and will likely have to turn many down. Just make sure that you can interview well, discuss your research in a meaningful way, and get great letters of recommendation. Also, be humble and down to earth... nobody is the perfect applicant. I had very trivial little things pointed out at times (ie: why did I HP a clerkship when the rest were honors). Just don't make excuses.

Best of luck.

 

[BOOURNS]

This sounds a bit like tooting your own horn ..

Ha... X2.

Seriously, as long as you are remotely likeable and not a sociopath (or can hide it well) you will have no problem matching into a "top" program.

 

[medstylee]

This sounds a bit like tooting your own horn

isn't that what you're supposed to do on sdn, though?

i hear it's pretty easy to learn how to play the oboe in a short amount of time...

in all seriousness, though, you have a really outstanding application. i know oto is close to as competitive as it gets these days, but i'd have to imagine you're going to be one of the top applicants. you'll already stand out with what you have going for you.

 

[blz]

Thanks for the input.

 

[resxn]

Your paperwork gets you interviews and you'll get as many as you want with your stats. I think his point was that once you get interviewed at the elite programs, your paperwork will look very similar to the others. You simply need something that will set you apart from the rest. Whether that's an experience, a skill, a job you had, a story to tell it doesn't matter. All that matters is that it is memorable.

I had very bland paperwork. Numbers were pretty average. But I played college golf and I got to play against both Tiger and Phil at different times in my career. That alone ended up being 50% of what I talked about at interviews. I wasn't even a good college golfer at a below average golf school. I'm sure I would have faded into memories without talking about it so I know that experience alone had a lot to do with making me memorable.

You don't need something fantastic, just something memorable.