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What is the best way of answering "tell me about yourself" question during a medical school interview??

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Doc’s Answer

Atiku open-ended questions like “Tell me about yourself,” or questions like it, are common at the beginning of interviews as they ease both you and the interviewer into the interview. It allows the interviewer to hear a short, summed up version of your background and skills, and it gives them insight into what experience and qualifications you think are most relevant to the position you’re interviewing for. It’s also not lost on employers that, although a common interview question, it still has the tendency to fluster or stump candidates.

FIRST IMPRESSION OPPORTUNITY – “Tell me about yourself” is also likely to be asked first. First impressions have a disproportionate effect on overall perception. It’s more difficult to drop after a strong start than to come back after a rough one. Hence, your response has the potential to set a positive tone for your entire interview. Although it might be tempting to share a list of your most compelling qualifications for the job, a more low-key approach will probably help you to develop a personal rapport with your interviewer.

KEEP IT SHORT – This statement should be the “elevator pitch” for you as a candidate, meaning you should be able to deliver it in the time it takes to ride an elevator. Tell your interviewer who you are as a professional and why you want to be in the medical field, what expertise you have or internships and why you’re interested in their school. The best answers to this request are honest, brief, and confidently delivered. Your goal is to share something interesting about yourself that illuminates who you are as a person and an employee candidate.

SHARE ANY INFORMATION – While its open-endedness makes this question intimidating, it also makes it powerful. This answer demonstrates your ability to learn from experience and work as a team, as well as your adventurous spirit. You never have to walk away saying, “I wish they had asked me about my supervision experience,” because you have the opportunity to share exactly what you want them to know. In addition to to share something interesting about yourself, this answer also establishes your a candidate that enjoys talking with people and understands the importance of communication – a valued skill in the medical field.

DON’T WING IT – If you don’t practice your first impression, you might forget some important details in the moment. Plan ahead and decide which information is most important to share. Come up with some good transitions between your personal and professional qualifications to provide a cohesive image of yourself to the interviewer. Select keywords that make an impact and help your qualifications stand out. And, when you’ve got it all sorted, practice out loud to see how long it takes to get through your speech. After a bit of practice, you will feel confident walking into the interview with a smooth, engaging and informative introduction to provide.

Hope this helps Atiku
Thank you comment icon Thank You Andy. “The broadest, and maybe the most meaningful definition of volunteering: Doing more than you have to because you want to, in a cause you consider good. ” – Ivan Scheier Doc Frick
Thank you comment icon Thanks a lot. I'm very very grateful. This is really helpful. Eve
Thank you comment icon Your Welcome Atiku. Change your thoughts and you change your world. Doc Frick
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Lucie’s Answer

Interviewers want to have a quick overview of who you were, are and where you want to go with this new role. They also want to see how you express yourself and how concise you are (advice: don't go into tangent and keep on your story)

#1 How to answer
Present: Talk a little bit about what your current role is, the scope of it, and perhaps a big recent accomplishment.
Past: Tell the interviewer how you got there and/or mention previous experience that’s relevant to the job and company you’re applying for.
Future: Segue into what you’re looking to do next and why you’re interested in this gig (and a great fit for it, too).

#2 Practice makes perfect
Rehearse everywhere, once you have written down your whole paragraph, just repeat, repeat and repeat. The more comfortable you are with your narrative the more the flow would be natural and the more the interviewers will get a clear and crisp impression of your.

Hope this helps,
Cheers
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Joy’s Answer

Every time you attend an interview you can expect this question. Your reply sets the tone for rest of the interview. Few things to remember here
1. This is one of the question where you can let the interviewer know about your strengths and weaknesses.
2. Try to create a good impression about you. Do not speak about irrelevant things. Make sure your reply is relevant to your job profile.
3. Things you might find interesting may not be fascinating to other person. So it is advisable to have a mock interview before attending real one. take feedbacks after each interview and work on them
Thank you comment icon Thanks so much Eve
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Fred’s Answer

I believe this question servers a couple of purposes. First, it's meant to put you at ease. People tend to like to talk about themselves, it's not particularly tough, and it helps establish a rapport between you and the interviewer. Next, it gives the interviewer an idea of how well you communicate. Can you speak in complete sentences? Can you fully express an idea? Do you use a lot of profanity? (I've seen it happen). Finally, it gives them an idea about where the interview might go.

So the specific answers don't matter too much, as long as you speak well. When I am asked this question, I give a brief bio about my personal life, I explain how I got into my field, and why I like working in it. I try to hit the emost relevant parts, but not be too long winded. They don't need the intimate details of every class I ever took in college and job I've ever had, but my path from college to my field is a little strange. I hint at it a bit, and if they ask for more, fine, but I don't want to bore them.

I also try to be a little humorous. I'm not playing a stand-up comic telling jokes, but laughing and smiling has always served me well.
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Sreya’s Answer

Hi Atiku,

I don't have experience with med school interviews but I have been asked the question many times during interviews so I hope this helps!

I think the best way to answer this question is to create a story. I always start out with talking about my background, more specifically, my undergraduate school and major. Then I talk about why I got interested business (this will be medicine for you). I think it would be great to be able to tie this into some personal experience. Then I like to talk about what experiences I've had in school or career wise that has made this interest grow for example, I did internships at "xyz" company and learned "xyz" skills or I was on the board for a club at school that was medicine focused. With all these experiences you mention it would be ideal to be able to show how they built on top of each other and allowed you to keep learning. At the end you could tie these experiences to why you think you would be a good candidate for that specific med school!
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Ray’s Answer

This is the best question you can get in any interview. You always want the interviewer to remember something about you and here is your chance. Think of one of the more interesting accomplishments/successes in your life that makes you stand out.

This question also offers a chance to tell the interviewer the most important things you want to tell them about yourself but can't seem to find the best question to incorporate your answers. Use this open-ended question to summarize who you are, why you want what you're applying for, and what makes you qualified.

I also like to close with what you plan to do once you get what you're applying for, make them realize you are already planning for success and this is not the destination but the next step. It's about being confident, but not arrogant.

Good luck!
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Blaire’s Answer

It's important to have an elevator pitch at the ready for interviews, or just introducing yourself in general. Try to start with your history in a nutshell:

- What you've done in your career (or school) history
- What you're known for as a person
- What gives you energy / what you're passionate about
- What you aspire to (micro picture) / what are you actively working to (big picture)

Though this isn't specific to a medical interview, it applies in most circumstances in life.
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Divya’s Answer

Hey, this is a very common Q being asked in interviews. Such Qs create opportunities to introduce yourself, build perspectives & create your brand. Best way to deal with this Q is by using "Elevator Pitch". In one of my recent mentoring sessions, I did talk about the importance of effective elevator pitch. The basic ingredients to this are;
- Keep it real simple (less than a minute)
- Introduce yourself
- Talk about your skills / expertise
- Talk about your USP (value proposition)
- Be clear & grab attention
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Ritu’s Answer

The first question that you would get on any interview is "Tell me about yourself?".
Please make a draft and put your best version of yourself in that.
You have to bring in your positives, professional attitude and add a personal touch to it to make it interactive.
You need to practice and talk confidently on this.
This creates a positive impression and vibe for the rest of the interview.
Good Luck!
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Patricia’s Answer

Start by telling them about yourself, what drives you every day, what's important to you, and why you chose a career in the medical field... Then, add a little razzle dazzle by telling them what you will bring to the table. What strengths will help you excel in the field and what you will do to ensure you adapt and learn quickly when it comes to things that are new to you.
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Yasemin’s Answer

HI Atiku! Medical school interviews are definitely something to work on; I would practice beforehand as with other interviews as well. However you don't want to sound too rehearsed, more so a balance to make sure you have some ease going into the interview. I have yet to go to a medical school interview as well but I have been practicing as well and below is a link with much helpful advice. Some advice from what I've gained personally is that medical schools know your application pretty well, your grades, activities, MCAT score, etc., so maybe you can tell something about yourself that's different. They already know your application and want to see who you are as a person besides that; maybe talk about special experiences you've had, your family, travel, languages, etc. For example my parents came to the U.S. a year before I was born and I was a complete surprise for them but even though my dad was wary of having another child after immigrating to a new country, my mom was certain to have me ( I was going to be her third)! My mom and of course my dad too, were happy to have me and my mom always says how much I've been helpful to her especially with her healthcare! Also as a fun fact even though I spoke Turkish because of my family, I learned to read and write Turkish on my own; grammar wise this was pretty hard because of learning the different sounds but through practice I did it! Honestly in the end, just be yourself and be honest!

I hope this helps! Best of luck!

Yasemin recommends the following next steps:

https://bemoacademicconsulting.com/blog/How-to-answer-the-dreaded-med-school-interview-question-tell-me-about-yourself
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Carolyn D.’s Answer

Answer this question with authenticity and knowledge of who you are as a person. Tell a story of how you came to desire life as a physician. The interviewer is looking for signs of an empathic, altruistic foundation from your every day life. They already have your credentials. The interview is to showcase your humanity.

Carolyn D. recommends the following next steps:

Review your personal statement and tell that story
Body language is everything. Engage with the interviewer.
Be conversational. Try not to sound scripted
Limit the awkward pauses...uh, um, and well.
Ask for clarity on a question to give you time to develop a response
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