Few thoughts on the most crucial part of the residency journey in the next 3-4 months->interviews.
For interviews, 2 things are important:
a) ALWAYS BE YOURSELF. Period. Don’t act. Don’t lie. Don’t oversell. They have years and years of experience. If you try to fake something you are not, they will catch you and you won’t even realize it.
b) Prepare. Prepare. Prepare.
Why prepare if we have to be ourselves? The reason is that we have never given interviews/have very less experience of giving interviews in general. HOW YOU SAY IT IS AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT YOU SAY. So, when we have to convey a specific point, we need to use specific words and gestures and unless we have practiced it, we don’t know whether we have effectively put forward our point or not. Say for e.g. you are asked the most common interview question, “Tell me about yourself.” You have the best possible content and you blurt it out like a robot. Monotonous speech. No pauses. Weird hand movements. I could go on and on. The point is that ONLY content will not make you stand out. You have to effectively convey it using effective voice modulation, pauses when required, appropriate hand movements etc. This can be achieved by practising with multiple people especially residents/fellows/attendings. Also, practice with non-medico friends. They give you a different perspective and often have more experience in dealing with interviews. The major takeaway is that you have to prepare both content and delivery!
Good luck