Virtual Interview Resources for Residents

Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodation for any part of the residency, fellowship, or AFC trainee application process may contact, in confidence, Learner Experience.

Resident Support Resources

As you are approaching the next chapter in your training and careers, we understand that you are facing unprecedented times due to COVID-19. Many of you at your stage in training may be planning for upcoming professional virtual interviews. PGME wants to share with you some excellent resources to help support you with your evolving virtual education and professional needs. Please review the available resources outlined below to support you with your virtual professional development needs.

Western Career Education Website

Helpful Interview Prep Materials

You will find helpful practice information on preparing for interviews including possible question types and strategies. These resources are updated regularly and there is a surplus to best support you in your desired area of development.

e-Learning Module (20-30 min)

You will find a short interactive development module that covers how to best prepare for an interview and also arms you with various effective response strategies.

InterviewPrep

You can create a personal account to InterviewPrep using your Western Identity and virtually practice interviews from home. You will find many valuable resources to assist you with your interviewing virtually. Make sure to view the InterviewSuite that feature expert tips and advice on all things interviewing and also review the User Guide and best practices handbooks. Once ready, you can then conduct interviews and receive feedback from anyone with an email address.

Mock Interview Opportunity (45-60 minutes)

We have collaborated with Western Career Education on your behalf to create a personalized, virtual, mock interview professional development opportunity. You are welcome to set up your own personalized virtual Mock 45-60 minute interview with a qualified Career Education Staff. This will be a video recorded virtual Zoom interview session with Medical Education/Training specific questions. Please complete foundational virtual interview preparation in advance of booking to ensure you receive the most from this session beyond the basics in feedback. *Book your personalized mock virtual interview session today!

*Mock Interview Requests can be made by filling in this form.
We anticipate you will find these available resources will be helpful and supportive for your interview preparation. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

You can reach us by email: postgraduate.medicine@schulich.uwo.ca

Helpful Resources

Preparing for Virtual Interview Success

Virtual Interviews

Testing your Technology

AAMC Virtual Interview Guide (Applicant Perspective)

Preparing to Answer Interview Questions

Practicing and preparing is an important part of interview success. Below are some possible strategies for you to practice and utilize for your interview.

Behavioural Questions

These questions are designed to elicit information about how you have performed in the past because past behaviour is a good indicator of how you will perform in the future. Questions generally access the traits, attributes and competencies necessary for succeeding the role.

These questions often begin with phrases such as: Tell me about a time when you; describe a situation in which you; recall an instance when you; give me an example of...

How to Answer

Behavioural questions ask for you to tell a story from an experience in your past, which highlights a specific quality or competency you possess. A good story has multiple parts and doesn’t omit important details. The STARS acronym enables you to structure your response and outlines the key points that you should highlight, in the order they should be addressed. When using the STARS acronym, pull examples from work experiences, volunteer, activities, school projects, internships, etc. Remember to not use the same experience for every response!

S	Situation	Setting the context for your story.
T	Task	What was required of you?
A	Action	What specifically did you do? And why?
R	Result	What happened? Good or bad? Can you quantify the result?
S	Summary	Did you learn anything? Is there a strength you possess that was a highlight in the story? How is this story relevant to the job you’re interviewing for?

NOTE: Be careful when talking about other people in your stories, speak to specific actions as opposed to your judgements (e.g. instead of saying your co-worker was lazy, explain what gave you that impression – would show up late for meetings, wasn’t meeting deadlines for tasks, etc.).

(Source: Western Career Education)

Situational Questions

These questions establish how you would react to real-life situations. This type of question tends to assesses your problem solving and critical thinking skills (e.g. You have a conflict with someone who is senior to you and is not your supervisor. Describe how you would handle it.).

How to Answer

It’s really important that you share/say out loud the dialogue that would normally just happen inside of your head. How you think about the situation can be just as important as what actions you might take. Actually imagine yourself in the situation you’ve been presented with, detail what you would do and explain why. The RACED Model will help you do that.

R	Restate	Restate the situation briefly. This will give you a chance to think and re-organize your answer. It will also allow you to imagine yourself in the situation.
A	Analyze	What is the dilemma here? Talk about both sides if you see them.
C	Cause/Outcome	State possible causes of the situation (best case scenario vs worst case scenario). Make assumptions if necessary. What would be the outcome for picking one side or the other in a dilemma? Think about impacts: to yourself and others and the person involved.
E	Experience	See if you have a similar experience that shows qualities you possess/how you’ve worked through a similar situation in the past (you can apply the STARS Acronym here).
D	Decide	Make a decision.Talk about the possible actions and WHY you’d do it. Talk about the implications of your decision. Try to show as many positive qualities here - this is your chance to shine!

NOTE: It may be tempting to answer based on what you think the interviewer wants to hear or to focus on “best case” scenario. This can be risky. The interviewer is looking to understand if you have a reasonable strategy for dealing with challenging issues, so don’t avoid the conflict! The interviewer is also looking for genuineness and consistency in your views.

(Source: Western Career Education)