Physicians are generally pretty good at interviews, but lack of practice can make you rusty. Here are a few refresher tips to help while pursuing non-clinical jobs.
1. Do your homework. You should learn as much as possible about the company and the specific position. Check the company web site and any information available in trade journals and other sources. Ask questions of people who put you in touch with the company, such as friends, colleagues, networking acquaintances, and/or recruiters. Have a good understanding of the products and services they provide, the division in which your department would be, and the type of work you would be doing. Also, have your own materials ready, in case someone needs your contact information, a copy of your resume or a sample of your work.
2. Be enthusiastic. Physicians looking to leave a clinical practice for a new career path too often come across as wanting to leave something behind, rather than being excited about an opportunity in front of them. This sentiment comes across as though the new job is not as important as leaving the old job. Everyone likes to feel like they have been chosen for a reason. Missing this opportunity may insult or at least fail to impress the interviewer. If you cannot think of a few good reasons why the job opportunity is exciting, then maybe it is time to reevaluate whether you would really want the position.
3. Be sincere. Honesty is important in the resume, the interview, and your future work with the company. Good interviewers can usually see through hyperbole. Try to give true answersToo many people say that their search for new challenges has brought them to the interview. Think about the questions that will probably be asked of you, and listen to your answers in front of the mirror. If it doesn not sound sincere to you, it will definitely not sound sincere to an interviewer. It is okay to do some rehersal in advance, but make sure you are answering the question being asked, instead of going into a practiced soliloquy. Also, keep in mind that an organized company will have a download discussion after meeting you. Changing your answers along the course of several interviewers will often be apparent to the later interviewers on the spot, or else during a subsequent discussion after you leave. This comes across very poorly.
4. Be confident (to a point). Know your selling points, and make sure they come across in an interview – not like a Mack truck plowing through the office, but in a less strained way over the course of the coversation. Think about your transferable skills that would most apply to the job in question, and be confident in your ability to do well with these skills. Sometimes physicians take the humble route and play down their background and skills. An interview is not the time to do this.
5. Listen. The inability to listen is one of the warning signals that I look for as an interviewer. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to listen and engage in a two-way conversation. If this happens during an interview when the applicant is on their best behavior, it will certainly happen in the future during internal and client meetings. Make sure that you listen to the questions being asked of you, in order to respond appropriately. This is where force fitting a rehersed answer where it does not belong may get you into trouble.
6. Ask questions. Make a list of questions in advance, but be ready to drop or add questions to the list on the fly during the interview. Obviously the questions should be targeted at gaining more information about the company, the position, or the working dynamic. They also show the interviewer that you have thought about the opportunity and are taking it seriously. For this reason, try not to use up all your questions during the first of a series of interviews. Some questions may apply to all interviewers, in which case it will be appropriate to ask them during each interview. Others are more appropriate for particular interviewers.
Good luck on the interview.
