Thread for stories about messing up residency interviews

[Abby Atwood]

I did a terrible job on an interview, and I'm hoping that talking about it will make me feel better.

This interview was after a morning flight that was after an overnight flight that was after another overnight flight to a previous interview; so, in my defense, I had been awake for more than 36 hours. On the plane, I listened to the This American Life episode "Before It Had A Name." This episode includes recordings by David Boder, and it did not put me in a very cheerful frame of mind.

I was asked a question that carried some emotional weight during the interview, and I started crying. It was horrible. I don't think anyone can top this; but, if you have had a terrible interview, it can be cathartic to share.

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[disgonbgud]

The real question is why didn't you sleep on the plane? (sorry, I know this isn't the point of the thread, but ???? )

 

[Abby Atwood]

The real question is why didn't you sleep on the plane? (sorry, I know this isn't the point of the thread, but ???? )

I was planning to. I booked the flights thinking that I could and that it wouldn't be a problem, but I had a lot of trouble actually sleeping. Also, I sneezed on one of the overnight flights and got a bloody nose that lasted about 2.5 hours (it was only heavy bleeding for about 45min though).

 

[Mounjaro]

I watched Shark Tank on my flight, but yeah, getting some sleep would have definitely helped in that situation. As long as you had more than one interview lined up. I thought I did terrible on one interview, but still got accepted regardless.

How did you think the rest of the interview went?

 

[Abby Atwood]

I watched Shark Tank on my flight, but yeah, getting some sleep would have definitely helped in that situation. As long as you had more than one interview lined up. I thought I did terrible on one interview, but still got accepted regardless.

How did you think the rest of the interview went?

Not terrible, but also not well enough to make up for having an emotional breakdown.

 

[rx25295]

try not to fixate on it, just keep on keeping on with your other interviews! From the sound of it, you had a heck of a few days there - take some time to relax for a bit! Easier said than done, but you know.

 

[Mounjaro]

The morning of my interview I had actually packed my brother's suit, I'm 5'5 and he's around 5'2, so different pant sizes and jacket sizes as well. I didn't check until the morning of when I put the suit on (dumb mistake I know). So, the suit pants didn't even fit but the jacket was fine. I had only one choice of pants, khaki's which I had packed to go out casually while I was there. The interview was in an hour.

In my opinion, khaki's are definitely the worst mistake to wear to any interview and guarantee yourself a rejection. Luckily this wasn't my most important interview, so I said,"Okay, I'll just have to make up for it with the actual conversation."

I went into the interview a bit unconfident in myself, and a majority of the questions asked were vague as opposed to the other interview I had. As soon as I went in for the interview they started asking questions on the way to their office. I was kind of surprised. My answers weren't what I had originally prepared for, but I was able to wing it. Half way through when we were sitting down, I finally noticed that the interview had started a long time ago.

Best of luck though, keep on going with your interviews and get some rest next time. I'm pretty sure I'd be emotional too if I was awake after 36 hours. I definitely wouldn't even want to speak with anyone either if I was awake for that long.

Probably just crawl into a corner or something.

 

[PharmerJohn17]

I was asked "why pharmacy?" and couldn't come up with a reasonable answer. I was so nervous for this interview (one of my top choices). It is one of the simplest questions to answer and I bombed it.