UO > Feature > Acing the Interview

Acing the Interview

An honest self-assessment and research on your prospective
employer can help you land the job that’s right for you. A
step-by-step guide to making the right impression.

By cynthia myers Published July/Aug 2000

Next to finding the right spouse, finding the right job is probably one of the most important searches anyone can make. End up in the wrong place and you’ll be miserable. Land a plum position and you’re on your way. First, of course, you have to get through the job interview, that nerve-wracking process of meeting face-to-face with your possible future supervisors and peers, trying to determine in the course of a few hours if you are ‘right’ for each other.

“Interviews make you insecure,” notes Leah Cooper, MD, of La Junta, Colorado. “They make you feel like ‘Here I am once again trying to make people think I’m good enough.’ You wonder ‘Do I fit the mental image of who they want for the job?’”

You could think of it as the workplace version of the blind date. Make a bad showing and you may have lost your dream job. Put your best foot forward and you could be on your way to a long and satisfying relationship.

Fortunately, unlike the average blind date, you don’t have to walk into the job interview clueless as to what to expect and what is expected of you. In fact, preparation is the key to a successful interview.

Gearing up for the interview

“I think one mistake physicians make is that they haven’t really thought things through,” says Mike Strieker, the president of Healthcare Recruiters in Phoenix, Arizona. “They haven’t really sat down and asked themselves, ‘What do I want in my career?’ They need to ask themselves where they want to go. They need to think about not only what type of organization do I want to be a part of, but where will that lead me in the next five to 10 years?”

Some questions to ask yourself before the interview:

What type of position do I want?

Are you looking for a hospital-based position, an academic post, large-group practice, small-group practice, or solo practice?

Where do I want to be geographically?

Do you want to live close to relatives? Close to the mountains or the beach?
In a rural area or metropolitan area?

What amenities do I want nearby?

Are good schools important? Shopping? Recreational opportunities?

What procedures do I want to do?

What do I want to avoid? Am I willing to take call, and how often?

Where do I want to be in my career in five years or 10 years?

“[Doctors] also need to look at what else is important to them,” Strieker adds. “What about their family? Do they have a spouse who will need to find another job? Do they have children? Will they need to consider schools? Those things are important.”

Kyle Christiason MD, who accepted his first position out of residency in July of 1999 with Integra Health in Cedar Falls, Iowa, advises physicians to compile lists of questions to ask about a potential job. “I think doing a lot of research is important,” Christiason says. “Make your questions pertinent to your own situation. It’s important going into the experience to prioritize your goals. What is most important to you—location, size of group, the overall environment for your specialty in that region?”

Cooper agrees. Part of a small, rural group practice, she recently interviewed for a teaching position in a large city. She spent a lot of time preparing for her interviews. “The main thing I did was talk to people who had made similar choices,” she says. “I talked to people in academia, and doctors who had made the switch either from practice to academia, or out of academia, back to practice. I spent some time getting together questions I wanted answered.”

Once you’ve established what you’re looking for in a job, the next step is to research the organization with whom you’ll be interviewing. “First of all, know what you’re looking for,” Strieker advises. “Second, know the organization, whether that be a company, a hospital, a partnership or a medical clinic. Know what their plans are. Where do they want to be five or 10 years out? Do your homework. Go on the Internet and find the company’s or hospital’s Web page to find out more. Call your stockbroker and find out how the stock is doing. If you call investor relations, they’ll usually send you an investor’s package. It will contain a lot of information about where that company is going. What is the company’s mission statement? That can be very important in determining if that company has the same goals and philosophy as you. Also, call people who work there or have worked there in the past and talk to them.”

In the course of your research, if you discover things that don’t fit with your goals, don’t be afraid to ask more questions or even cancel the interview. “I’ve been on the other end a lot lately,” Cooper says. “We’ve been trying to fill several positions here and we’ve been interviewing people. My advice, coming from both sides of the table, is to really decide what you want as opposed to the shotgun approach of just interviewing at a bunch of different places. If you’re really not interested in a particular area or position, it’s a lot of wasted energy and time on both sides and can generate some bad feelings.”

The big day

By the time the day of your interview arrives, you should have a good picture of the type of organization with whom you’ll be interviewing, a good idea of what you’re looking for in a new job, and a list of questions you’d like answered to help you make your decision. You’re probably excited, maybe more than a little nervous, and you want to make the best impression possible.

Start off right by arriving on time for your appointments. “Physicians are notorious for not being on time,” says Katie Warren, the director of physician development at Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. “But I think when someone is taking time out of their schedule to meet with you, it’s very important for you to respect that.”

In fact, it’s a good idea to arrive a few minutes, or even half an hour early. Spend the time before the interview collecting your thoughts and getting a feel for the layout of the hospital or clinic. Take a walk around the neighborhood, have a cup of coffee, or simply sit in the lobby, and observe the people working there.

First impressions really do count, so dress comfortably, but well. “I always recommend business attire,” Warren says. “To me, the better you’re dressed, the more prepared you’ll seem.” Go easy on the perfume or cologne and keep jewelry and accessories understated. Err on the side of conservative.

While you don’t want to be weighted down with things to carry from place to place, you should bring a few important papers with you. Warren suggests having five copies of your CV on hand. “The person arranging the interview should have handed these out prior to the interview,” she says. “But sometimes you’ll run into people who haven’t seen it and they’ll want to review it, so it’s good to have it available. And definitely make sure your CV is spell-checked.”

She also recommends having a list of at least four references on hand. “And make sure your references are accessible,” she says. “Sometimes it can take weeks or months to get references back and that will delay the interview process.”

Depending on the type of position for which you’re interviewing, your interview may take one of several formats, though plan on a full day of activities. Warren describes her organization’s typical interview process as a mix of informal and formal meetings, with community and hospital tours interspersed with interviews with key people in the organization. She also tries to arrange time with as many of the interviewee’s potential colleagues as possible. “I like to include a lot of different physicians from the organization, so that [the interviewee] can meet the various players he or she will be working with,” Warren says. “If you’re an emergency room physician, you’re going to be working with a lot of different physicians from the different departments. If you’re a family practice physician, you’re going to want to meet the OB physicians and the ER physicians who will also see your patients.” The day will often conclude with a dinner at a local restaurant or country club.

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