Interviewing for Residency Programs with Confidence

Practice your interview using BIG Interview

BIG Interview is a free (to CU students) online system that combines expert training AND practice available 24/7 to help improve interview technique and build your confidence. It includes medical residency specific question sets.  Instructions for using BIG Interview. 

REAL QUESTIONS BY SPECIALTY FROM PAST INTERVIEW SEASONS

Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions—the ones that usually start with “Tell me about a time when…”—can often be the hardest to answer. The key is to recall a relevant meaningful experience and explain what happened in a way that shows you're well-suited for the residency program, without taking up too much time.

Try practicing the STAR technique to answer these questions. With the STAR technique, your answer gives the interviewer all the information they need to evaluate your past behavior and examine what it means for how you would perform in their program.

The STAR acronym stands for:

• Situation: The context for a past experience, often a problem or challenge that you faced.

• Task: Your responsibility in the situation and what was required of you.

• Activity: The action(s) you took in the situation.

• Result: The outcome of your action(s).

Need more information and examples? Click: The STAR Technique (idealist.org)

Meaningful Experiences Examples Template