After your interview you will have a lot of information that you will use to determine the program’s rank on your rank order list. You may also decide you need additional information for programs you are very interested in.
Reflect on the Interview
After your interview you will need to figure out how much the residency impressed you. As soon as possible after the interview, take time to write down your thoughts and impressions. Ideally this would be done the next morning, after your head has cleared from the interview day but when you still remember lots of details. You will also want to write down any further questions that may come up after the interview day and a list of contact information of residents and faculty who said they would be willing to answer follow up questions.
Students employ various methods of determining how impressive they found an individual program. Most people use some combination of a scoring sheet and their gut reaction to the program. It is important not to rely too heavily on either one – the overly analytical or the overly instinctual. When it comes to make a rank list, students do best if they keep both in mind. This way, you won’t be swayed by a single charismatic resident at a program tat does not really meet your training needs, nor will you go to the residency that got the highest score but where you did not feel a good connection with the current residents.
Sample residency Scoring Sheet – Residency XYZ:
Contact after the Interview
Always send thank you cards to your interviewers. This means an actual piece of paper, not an email. If you do have questions that come up after your interview, contact the residency or faculty who gave you their information.
A second look is a half-day or day that you set aside to come back and visit programs that you are most interested in. It clearly communicates to the program that you are interested and it allows the program to get to know you outside of the interview day. You should contact the program coordinator to see if they will help you to set up a second look.
Do:
- Send thank you cards in a timely fashion.
- Take time to really reflect on your interview day.
- Consider a second look for one or two programs you are really interested in and are having trouble deciding between.
Don’t:
- Send an administrator a single envelope full of thank you cards to distribute to your interviewers.
- Send an email to a resident or student with 10 questions that would require 3 pages each to answer. Residents and faculty are busy. One or two easily answered questions are fine, but if you require more than what can be typed in a few minutes it is better to see if someone can speak with you on the phone.
- Schedule a second look at every program.
If you get emails from residents or faculty that you met while interviewing at a residency, send them a prompt, polite email in response. You might get multiple emails from different people in the same residency asking if you have further questions; they are trying to reach out and are not necessarily aware that their colleagues are also in touch with you! Feel free to ask any questions that you might have, but it it is also acceptable to let them know that all of your questions are answered for now and that you will let them know if anything else comes up.