You wouldn’t be visiting if you weren’t clinically qualified.  Your medical education speaks for itself, your resume caught their attention, you handled the phone interviews well and now its show time.  Your interview suit fits just so and you now find yourself sitting across the desk from one of the practice partners.  It’s Love/Love and the doc is about to serve.  Here are three tips that may decide the match in your favor.

 

  • Don’t underestimate the value of role playing.  It may feel awkward and you may feel like a member of the grade school debate team.  But a few hours across the desk from a colleague fielding likely questions is going to polish your presentation.  As with most other things, the internet is a resource.  Just Google interview questions and you will have all the test questions in advance.  Practice does really make perfect!
  • The first ten minutes of an interview can be stiff and formal.  It’s your job to break the ice and develop some rapport.  Establish eye contact.  Maintain a comfortable posture.  Speak slowly with well placed pauses.  Everyone likes to hear their own name.  If the doctor has pictures of the family in sight ask about the family.  If the doc has a picture of his dog, ask about the dog.  If you see a picture of the doc on a sail boat, it’s a safe bet that he enjoys sailing!  There will be plenty of time to address the important clinical issues.  Finding common ground on a personal level could put you on the letter head.
  • A conversation is an exchange of information.  A dialog is one person talking at another.  Avoid the latter and contribute to the former.  If you have done your home work you should be able to ask pertinent questions.  If you know what you are looking for you should be able to express your needs.  Everyone appreciates a good listener.  Maintain eye contact.  Acknowledge another’s points with a shake of the head.  Body language is a form of communication.  You were given two ears and one mouth for a reason. 

Remember, bring your a-Game to the interview.  Play to win…even when the opportunity isn’t your first choice.  It would be a pity if you discovered one hour into the interview that this is your dream job and you just spent the last 60 minutes doing your impression of a lump on a log.