Humility is a strong positive and a quality you want to display during medical school interviews. But be careful about confusing humility with poor eye contact and lack of enthusiasm on interview day.
You can be humble yet still actively engaged with another person in a meaningful conversation. On the other hand, be careful not to overcompensate and risk being perceived as too confident.
[Use five strategies to ace a medical school admissions interview.]
Here are strategies to help you avoid these three common mistakes while interviewing for medical school.
1. Poor eye contact: Not making eye contact can be attributed to shyness or cultural differences, among other things. Although you can learn to overcome your struggle to look others in the eye, you need to make a strong effort to establish good eye contact during your interviews.
If you don’t, you may be pegged as someone who will struggle to build relationships with patients. Some medical students who have not worked to overcome their shyness are identified in clinical settings as having difficulty with patient rapport.
Although some cultures dictate avoiding eye contact with teachers and mentors, you can’t expect every interviewer to consider that. This isn’t a lack of cultural competency on their part — rather, they are considering what most people who reside in the U.S. expect of doctors.
In the U.S., eye contact conveys a sense of trust, particularly if the message is communicated with conviction. On the other hand, limited eye contact conveys mistrust and lack of sincerity.
If looking others in the eye does not come naturally to you, practice, practice and practice. Watch yourself in the mirror while answering hard questions that an interviewer might ask. Try mock interviewing with others and ask them to observe your eye contact.
[Get tips for a successful medical school admissions interview.]
2. Lack of enthusiasm: The second common mistake prospective medical students make is not smiling or looking happy to be at the interview. You don’t want to appear disinterested or disengaged. Remember to smile and appear interested as much as you can.
If you are worried or distressed about situations outside of the interview — such as a parental issue or breakup with a friend — you might comment at the start that you hope you will not be perceived as disinterested because you are preoccupied with a personal concern. You want the interviewer to know that if you don’t appear to be totally enthusiastic, it has more to do with outside circumstances.
Just know that you could be asked to expand on the matter. If that happens, make sure you are prepared to answer. Remember, this is an admissions committee member and not your best friend — be honest but brief.
[Learn to be authentic and thoughtful during medical school interviews.]
3. Overconfidence: Although enthusiasm is important, overconfidence in your ability to be accepted to medical school can undermine your interview. Sometimes a candidate can be so enthralled with the school that the interviewer perceives the individual as believing he or she will definitely be accepted.
While you want to be confident, be careful of being perceived as overconfident — it can come across entirely the wrong way.
This can be challenging to master. And although one interviewer may perceive you as overconfident, another could feel you are a good fit regardless.
If you’re concerned about coming across too confident, you might tell the interviewer, “Although I’ve spent a lot of time here, I am grateful to be interviewed and do not take this opportunity for granted even if I sound overly enthusiastic. I know you have many, many bright and talented applicants to consider.”
Interview day is a time for you to shine — demonstrate through your body language and words that you are excited to interview at the institution and become a physician.
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Avoid 3 Common Mistakes During Medical School Interviews originally appeared on usnews.com
