Day of Interview

Attire:

• Men - suit (jacket, shirt, pants, tie, dress shoes). Clean shaven, short hair. Stay conservative and professional.

• Women - Suit (solid colors are best). Skirt suit is usually considered more formal. Blouse should be pressed, clean, and well-tailored. White, ivory, or light blue are best. Avoid lace, ruffles, and shiny fabrics. Shoes should have low heels and closed toe. Jewelry should be minimal. Hair and makeup should be conservative and not draw attention (but really I shouldn't be giving clothing advice to women, so if you think you know better... you probably do).

Having put in a good amount of effort in preparing for the interview, the real barrier now is your nerves. Of course interiews are nerve-racking, especially if it is your career on the line.

To relax your nerves:

• Talk to the other applicants! Chances are that they are just as nervous as you are. You'd be surprised at how conversing with others on the day of interview can reduce your anxiety and put you in a more talkative and receptive mood.

• Don't make it too important! I've heard cases of applicants fainting and even vomiting before their interviews. Sure it's your future career that we are talking about, but if you truly deserve to be in medicine, then there will always be a way even if you do poorly in this particular interview.

• Eat a good breafast! A healthy and energizing breakfast will put you in a more energetic and confident state.

• Think positive. In your mind go through the process of the interview step by step, and imagine yourself doing an excellent job. Mental projections of the futures highly influences your future performance.

• Don't come to the interview too early. You'll have to sit and wait. The anticipation will kill you.

Usually an interview day is consisted of a brief talk about the school (if you an out-of-province applicant, be prepared to hear about how great the school is), an optional 30 min to 1 hr tour of the school, lunch, and the actually interview. The order in which these occur may depend on the school and the specific interview group you are placed in. Some applicants have the interview in the morning and some in the afternoon.

For the actual interview, keep in mind of the following:

• Don't be late.
  
  
• 93% of human communication is nonverbal, so be careful of how you carry yourself.
  i. Smile and approach the interviewers with firm handshakes.
  ii. Maintain eye contact with each of the interviewer when you speak (but obviously don't stare them down).
  iii. Open body posture (no crossing your arm or leaning back. Lean forward and engage your audience).
  iv. No fidgeting, and convey confidence. If you have high self-esteem, it will invariably manifest in your body language.
  
  
• Take your time to think before answering. People often feel the need to answer immediately after a question was asked. Good answers take time to synthesize, so don't be afriad of taking your time.
  
  
• Don't speak too quickly. Not only does this convey a lack of confidence, it also gives you little time to think when you answer. If you are generally a fast speaker, you may consider speaking a bit slower than usual to buy yourself extra time to think between your words.
  
  
• Do not lie! This is not tolerated in the profession of medicine.
  
  
• Do not brag. It lowers your credibility.
  
  
• Do not cry. Many students have very difficult life stories. If you decide to share them with the interviewers, make sure that you can handle it emotionally. Crying will not buy you pity points. It will disturb the flow of the interview and make you seem unprofessional.
  
  
• Thank your interviewer in the end.