How to Prepare for Med Interviews - The what, how and when.
👋 Hey future Meddies! Welcome to our first blog post:
Each week, we do a short deep-dive into medicine interview essentials.
This week, we go over the general approach in preparing for Medicine interviews - When to start, what to do and how best to do it.
What/How?
Your interview performance depends on solely two factors: substance and delivery. What you say, and how you say it. Let’s go over how we can prepare for each:
What? - The Substance
Start by digging into your recent experiences. Heck, it can be from years and years ago - the interviewers will never know. Make a list of some salient experiences that can serve as anecdotes for your interview answers as you talk about how you overcame adversity, when you showed teamwork or leadership and your contributions to the local community.
For example:
Played tennis from a young age. Participated in numerous competitions, and represented the school as the team captain
Faced difficulties with a group member during a school group-work project. Took the time to learn their strengths and interests to motivate them into a suitable task for them.
Volunteered for the Red Shield Appeal as part of our school’s Interact group. Learnt the value of sacrificing some of my time for the wider benefit of the community.
The more anecdotes you can come up with, the more choices you will have to pick from during your interviews. Having to rely on the same experience to answer multiple questions would not be the best look.
💡TIP: Interviewers have no way of verifying what you say. But remember that your actual experiences will make you sound more genuine and confident, even if you need to exaggerate slightly.
How? - The Style
How you say it - this includes the structure of your answers, and the quality of your delivery.
Your answers need to display a deeper level of self-reflection, honesty and a cycle of improvement. The interviews are not an opportunity for you to show off - rather it is a showcase of both your strengths AND weaknesses; how you have developed the former and how you plan on addressing the latter.
Example 1:
“I am funny and was nice to everyone in the school, so I was voted in as school captain. This evidences my popularity and confidence, and I learnt a lot of leadership skills through the role.”
Example 2:
“As the eldest brother of 3 in our family, I hated having to sacrifice things to my younger siblings growing up, but I have learnt that leadership is about gathering everyone to pull in the same direction, even with some self-sacrifice.”
👋 Wondering how you can make your answers sound more authentic?
These are obviously two extreme examples, but which answer showcases leadership better? The school captain who shows off their title, or the older brother who discusses the difficulties of leadership and provides a measured response. Every interviewer will say the 2nd.
With any interview, your delivery is also very important. This comes down to practice. Start by writing out answers to common questions, so you can practice the quality of your answers. Then practice saying these answers - to the mirror, to your friends, to your family, during mock interviews. You’ll be surprised how much your answers to questions like “Describe yourself in 3 words” improve with practice talking about yourself.
When? - Timing
Now: make sure you’ve applied to your chosen medical schools. Do some research into interviews - like reading our handy interview guide 🙂
1 month before interviews: Start making an Anecdote Bank, and flesh out what you gained or learned from each. In a notebook, make the following headings, and write some notes about your personality and experiences under each. Our 1-on-1 Mentoring services help you uncover a deeper meaning to your experiences, and package your anecdotes into a showcase of your self-reflective qualities.
Who Are You?
Proudest Achievement
Strengths and Weaknesses
Friends
Family
Teamwork
Conflict Resolution
Adversity
3 weeks before interviews: Practice! Practice! Practice! Get a friend or family member to ask you questions, and provide feedback on your answer. Record yourself and take note of your mannerisms and answering style, and try to fix obvious weaknesses you see.
💡TIP: Our 1-on-1 Mentoring provides a safe space for you to practice your answers with one of our experienced medical student mentors and receive helpful feedback. When you’re ready, Mock Interviews are the closest you can get to replicating the real interview environment - we highly recommend our Practice Package, which comes with both a MMI and SSI mock.
Speak with one of our friendly tutors with the link below!
📚 This Week’s Homework:
Here is a short list of questions which have been asked in previous interviews. We’ve curated this list to stimulate your thinking about the experiences you have been through, to generate an Anecdote Bank for yourself.
Tell us about a time you resolved a conflict.
When have you displayed leadership? What unexpected difficulties did you face?
When was the last time you took a risk? Tell us about what you learnt
How do you manage stress?
What is your proudest achievement?
Stay tuned for our next issue!
❓We’ve introduced a mini Q&A section, so send in your questions to medterview@gmail.com.
And if this has helped you, our 1-on-1 Mentoring can tackle your preparation in a tailored, personal fashion to craft your anecdotes and improve your delivery. Sign up using the button below.
