11: Should I Look Up Who My Interviewers Are Before I Go? - a podcast by Ryan Gray

Session 11 Some medical schools will tell you who is interviewing you. How much research should you do on your interviewers before your medical school interview?
The episodes in this podcast are recordings of our Facebook Live that I do at 3pm Eastern on most weekdays. Check out our Facebook page and like the page to be notified. Also, listen to our other podcasts on https://medicalschoolhq.net/meded-media/ (MedEd Media). If you have any questions, call me at 617-410-6747.[00:24] The Medical Interview Standard Format The standard format of a medical school interview is you'd be interviewed by 1-3 people. There may also be a student that's interviewing you. And typically, a faculty member is also interviewing you.
This is separate from the MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) where a lot of faculty members are interviewing you over the course of several stations."In a traditional one-on-one interview, you may find out who in interviewing you before you go on your interview day."[01:10] Should You Research Who's Interviewing You? Yes, you should look up who they are. Figure out the research they're involved in, if there's any. Find out what their background is. Maybe you went to the same undergrad then you can talk about that. See if they mention specifically about who they are or where they came from. See if there are any connections you can make with that person.
[01:35]The NO Part of the Answer The'no'part of the answer comes from understanding that who is interviewing you may change. So don't be too prepared and then go in the room and ask a bunch of questions. Then you realize it's somebody different. Now, you're just thrown off your game. This would be very bad.
So if you find out who's interviewing you beforehand, look them up. Do some research. Figure out who they are. See if there are any common connections that you can talk about. See what research they're doing. Have an idea of things to talk about if it comes up in the interview.
Don't expect that the person you did research on is going to be there. It may change. And if it does change, be prepared for it.
Don't go in with any preconceived expectations."Go there with general questions you can ask anybody regardless of who is interviewing you."If you go in only prepared for that one person they told you is going to interview you and it turns out to be something different, that's going to screw you up. Don't let that screw you up. Go in prepared for everything. If it happens to be the person they told you about, great. If not, be ready for that as well.
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