The Interview (11.7.2025) Save

Hey, everyone. This is Jack Cush with RheumNow. Today, we're gonna talk about interviews, more specifically about virtual interviews. I've done thousands of interviews in my career. Most of them were in my position with medical school admissions.

A lot of them were for hiring people to work in my clinic and people to work in my research operation. But it didn't really matter. All interviews tend to be the same. They're a little bit awkward for both the interviewer who may not be experienced and the person who's being interviewed. The bottom line is I'm looking for the right person.

Sometimes I don't even know what that looks like. And on the other hand, the person I'm interviewing has

a lot of hope, but sometimes a

lot of apprehension and certainty. So I have my own perspective on interviews and how they should go, especially during this digital age when everything's changed so much. So I'm going to talk primarily about you, the applicant interviewee, job candidate and what you can do to increase your odds of getting the gig that you aspire to. So I want you to rethink your approach, know that much of what I'm going to say is seasoned opinion, but it's also backed up by facts and research. I've done my homework on this and I've taken my notes.

And that's what I'm going to share with you. Some big observations from doing this for over forty years. Interviews like speed dating and speed dating is, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Well, you know, now speed it up. That's kind of what interviews are.

How can I assess you? How can you assess me when we've got twenty minutes in, you know, a stodgy office somewhere, maybe under adverse conditions? So the thing is that both the interviewer and the interviewee, they both kind of know what they want, but not quite so much. So the thing that you need to know is you're going to get interviewed by a lot of people, You're going to audition for a lot of parts. But the person that's looking at you and making these decisions may not be good at it.

They may do it too infrequently to actually know how to create a good interview. I got learned a long time ago, best interview is where I shut up. I get you to talk about stuff that you're excited about. Then I get to know something about you. But if I'm asking all these pithy questions that are making you going, my God, why is he asking me this?

That's not really a good interview. And you're going to find that a lot of people just aren't very good. Some are going to be very good because they're actually good conversationalists and a good interview lies somewhere in a good conversation. So they may not be good. Then again, you may not be good because by the time you're done doing all these interviews, that's when you're going get good at interviews.

You're going to have your story down. You're to know how to handle tough questions. Wait, it's too late. Your first five most important interviews were wasted. So think about what you're going to do.

What I want you to do is figure out how you're going to be forgettable or unforgettable. Think about this, everyone that wants this job that you want has done the same things that you're going to do, are going to answer the same ways you're going

to answer. And there's going

to be hundreds of people, if not thousands of people looking to do this. My end of the equation is I've got to filter through all these applicants with all these attributes that kind of all look the same to come down to a few that I might have to make a hard decision about. The thing is it's much easier for me to find a reason to forget you, to cross you off my list. You were cross eyed, you came late, I didn't like your lighting, I couldn't hear your microphone. You know, whatever the reason, just give me one and you're off the list.

And now instead of 600 applicants, I've got five ninety nine to worry about. On the other hand, your job is to be unforgettable, to know what it is that will keep you in play and then to know how you can stand out. So, don't give them a reason to forget you, give them a reason to make you memorable. What you need to know is that interviews are very subjective. Often, who often gets chosen is the person who's

a good fit. What's a good fit? Well, that

person was likable, personable, clear, credentialed, had things in their application I really liked, answered my questions really well. And when you do these things, your odds go up considerably. By the way, not much of that is objective. No, it's not numeric. It's not even factual

sometimes. So you're going to have to be good at this subjective stuff.

And then when you can throw in the numbers and facts that make you more likable, that

give you the edge to keep you in play. What

happens if I get one interview? Well, you better nail it. I like multiple interviews because as good as I am at interviewing and getting you to talk about you, your favorite subject, I only have a few minutes with you, and I'm only going to learn a few things, some from your application, some from our discussion. But if I get a few interviews in my group or division or operation, I'm looking at you, we can come together and probably paint a clearer picture about how good you are for this. So multiple interviews are good, not bad.

You may have heard this, if someone interviews well, they'll perform well in the job. Not true. On the converse, if someone interviews poorly, they're not right for the job. Not true. You can see this is quite subjective, but this is what you've got to do.

You're going to nail it based on your application, your interview, and maybe your essay or that thing that they make you write. So let's talk about interviews. By the way, most interviews these days are virtual, 90%, probably in most situations, medical residencies about 60%, fellowships about 90%. If you're up for a part in a movie or a TV show, you know, casting is done by audition tapes and virtual interviews. The problem is when you ask people, which would you prefer face to face or virtual?

Nobody prefers virtual 3%. And even though everyone knows that this is the way it's going. So, why do we do virtual now? It's clear, it's cost, it's travel, it's convenience, it's easier to do, it's time efficient, because it's easier and time efficient, I can actually interview more people, if that's what my goal is, compared to just doing face to face interviews, which are a little harder in scheduling and time. The downside, especially to you, is that you don't get to evaluate the locale, the site, the city, the business, the institution, the university, the operation, the movie, whatever it is that you're interviewing for.

So, let's go over

a few things. First, get the interview. That's the most important thing. What can you do? Very clear on your direction of your career, and what your intent is.

If you're all over the map on who you want to be, what you want to be, you know, what state you want to be in, what institutions you want to go to, what fellowship you want. I mean, that never works out. I call that volume fishing and it's seldom productive. So, be very sure about what you're applying for and for what, why you're going there. Research that place, know what they're good at and see if that fits with you.

You know, talk to others who may know what that operation, that site might be all about. Next, update your curriculum vitae and or resume, especially with regard to that which makes you more bankable, more attractive. It is your training, your skills, your experiences, your accomplishments, your publications. You know, I was second lead in Rip Van Winkle in my third grade play. If I had the space, I'd put it on my resume.

I don't know what's going to get me a job though. So, you have to make those decisions. And then you should think about whether you should change your resume or CV, to be more appropriate for the job and the place that you're applying for. Again, these documents that you supply, short is best. No one's got the time to read your nine page essay.

Long is boring and gets you off my list. So think about again, the paperwork that you're going to provide. Give them an updated recent photo professionally done, a compelling headline, keywords in what you write, all that can be made better by AI. You should write your objectives, what you want in a job and write your essay and write your application, and then run it through AI. It'll just make it better.

AI is not writing it, AI is giving you options that you can consider. Well, I like claude.ai. You can use Copilot. You can use Gemini. You can use ChatGPT four.

They all work very well, but they're all a little bit different. Why not use them all? They're free. And then lastly, apply as early as possible. There are fewer candidates in the bin at that point.

And the interviewers are a little bit more eager to see what the pool looks like. They may be positively inclined. So, let's say you get the face to face interview. Congratulations. This is a real accomplishment.

That means that they're validating that you're valuable to them that they would consider you as a hire. There's something about you they want to know more about. You have to come prepared and make sure that they know what that is. Right? So before you go ahead of the interview, find out, you know, how this is going to happen.

Is this going to be a face to face or is this going to be a virtual thing? Who's going to interview you? How many people will interview you? How long are the interviews each? And what's the process in hiring?

How long after till they let you know? Lastly, who should I address my communications to after the interview? Should I have a question, suggestion, or a thank you note? Presentation, this is everything. You know, look great, and they'll think you're great.

Look sloppy, they'll think you're sloppy. There's no such thing as overdressing when it comes to an interview. Others may show up in, you know, Nikes and a collared shirt or Hawaiian shirt and look really relaxed. There's New York formal and California formal. I'm sorry, formal is what works.

I put on a tie for this podcast and I'm traveling. So dress appropriately on the side of overdressing. You are the whole package. The whole package is how you look. Pay attention to it, whether it's a face to face or virtual interview.

Research where you're going. Research the people. Research the institution. Look up their citations. Look up what they did.

Be prepared to talk about everybody likes to talk about themselves. They want you to talk about you. You can get them to talk about them, and then you'll learn something about them. Plan ahead of time. Show up early, show up thirty minutes early, know your route, have directions, have a phone number and an email and a text number that you can call when things go wrong and you're delayed in traffic, or when you can't get online.

Online, did you say? Yeah, most interviews these days are going to be online. So, the same rules apply for virtual, as I just said, for on-site. Recognize that most of you are not good at technology. Most of you, you know, are going to use either a laptop cam with the microphone built into your Chromebook or your eight year old laptop, or you might use your phone.

Phone's better than laptop. You need to be good at technology. You need to master the media. This is a sign of professionalism in the next twenty years. If you can't do this, you're not in play in the next twenty years.

You've got to be good at technology. So, you need a good, what working quality video source, a camera, a video cam, a webcam, a telephone with a good camera. You need a good light source, you need great sound, internal sound, like on your phone or on your laptop, not good, or an external microphone, which is what I'm using today clipped to my tie. And you need a good environment. I'm traveling, I'm in a hotel room, this is not ideal.

I don't have great lighting, but I have to my right a big window and it's daylight and I look pretty good lighting wise, and I

have a light that's in front of me. If you

watch any of my videos, you'll see I have a podcast studio, which is a closet that's got a lot of baffling in it to absorb the sound, so there's no echo. There's a light overhead and there's a ring light in front of me.

I look good and a lot

of that's makeup too. Nope. Nothing wrong against using makeup, especially on camera. So you gotta set up your virtual studio. This is another sign of professionalism.

If you do several Zoom calls a month, or if you've done three interviews in the past, I don't know why you don't have a more professional setup. And that's gonna be what follows next. What would constitute a professional setup? Something more than the one thing you're using. Usually, people that are not very professional are using just that one laptop or that one phone, and that's as good as it gets.

First, choose a good setting. As I said, at home, I'm in a closet. I got a big blue background, I got baffling on all sides of me. There's no echo. I've got a great microphone and a great camera, and I've got lighting.

The room must be quiet. If you have other people that live with you, you need to close the door and have a do not disturb sign. That means your cell phone, children, pets are in another room and locked out, and under fear of, you know, crazy, you know, mayhem, would they even want to close, open that door? So, and then in your room that you use, nothing in the background, the only thing they should see is your face. So they don't need to see your doll collection behind you or the banjo I just bought.

No, if you have books behind you, yeah, to kind of look studious, but they're gonna get distracted and say, is that the John Grisham book? Or is that a Patterson book? Or is that the Bible? And they're gonna be focusing on everything but you. Blur your background.

Have a monotone background. Choose your best equipment, best computer, best laptop, best tablet. Update the software, be sure it's working well before you set up your studio. Most important that everyone pays no attention to is lighting. Use natural light like I'm using today.

Buy ring lights, $20, $30, you've got great ring lights that you can have in front of you. I personally like a light behind, not overhead, because you have halo effect, a light in front is most important though. Okay, if not a ring light or natural light, then buy LED lights. Fluorescent lights are not very good, Bulb lights are not very good. You need a light source on your face.

Avoid dark backgrounds and avoid shadows. Sound is next most important and also never given any attention by most people out there who are amateurs. I would say buy, test and use the best microphone available. The worst one is the one that's on your laptop, your Chromebook, Much better is your cell phone. Much better is an external mic that you can plug into your cell phone, like I'm doing today, or that you can plug into your computer.

So today I'm using a micro USB C plug in that Bluetooths to this microphone that's on my lapel. Again, I think I bought that for $25 online. Video source, today I'm using my flip phone. It's very good. It's as good a camera as I have at home.

At home, I have several Logitech webcams. I think the C912 or C612 Logitech is very good, great sound source, great video source, plugs into your laptop, works really, really good. But again, cell phones are really, really also quite good for virtual calls, virtual meetings, interviews. But again, if you're going to use your cell phone, the thing is it needs to be on a tripod. So I have one right now on a tripod that I travel with, and I have the camera in a landscape orientation, not an up and down portrait, but a landscape.

And if I have no tripod, what can I do? Well, the cheapy way out here is to stick your phone in a Styrofoam cup or a paper cup, and then elevate it up off the ground so that the camera lens that I'm looking at right now is at the same level as my nose. The worst use of a camera, any source, is mainly a laptop that's pointed upwards through your nostrils looking at the ceiling fan or ceiling lights above you. Again, I think that you should invest in a good webcam and then a good sound source. So my sound source, that I have at home other than these lapels, I have standalone mics.

Have a YETI, it's about $130 is a YETI, it's very, very good and you can make adjustments on that. I have FINE, F I F I N E, that's a Yeti like that I think is $45 I've got some other ones that are between 30 and $40 that are just desktops that plug into phones or laptops that work very, very well. For these sources, sound and video and light, they need to be close to you. So the sound source needs to be as mine is on my lapel or on my tie or on my collar, close to my mouth. If it's not, if it's a microphone, it should be 12 to 18 inches, away and you should test the sound before you record.

Same thing for your video source. Right now, my webcam is roughly about 13 inches from my nose, and then what you're not seeing below the camera right here is my laptop that I have notes on, that I'm reading from my notes to help me get through this recording, but it's below the camera aperture. The other most important thing is look at the camera and I have an arrow right near the aperture. There's the aperture right there. I have an arrow right below it that's forcing me to keep my eye on the aperture as if I'm looking you straight in the eye when I'm talking to you.

This is highly personable in a very impersonal sort of setup, but this makes it work. If you're not looking at the camera, if your eyes are all over, if you're checking the clock, if I had one person I interviewed once, and I couldn't get them to stop, as soon as they started talking, they would start looking up, like as if divine inspiration was going to feed them the words. It was very distracting and labeled that person as a nut job. Yep, they didn't get hired because I had a reason to forget them. So before you do your virtual interview, check your Zoom connection, either with a technician on the other end, and make sure your internet works.

Test all your technology, the laptop, the internet, the camera, the lighting, the sound, do a sound check, do a recording. I did four before I started this one today. And then if you're unsure about your background, blur the background. On my cell phone, I can't blur the background. If I'm doing Zoom or Teams, I could blur the background with a just press of the button.

So anyway, and then have a backup plan for when everything goes wrong. Now, when it comes to the interview, you need to make a strong impression. This is really, really important. Whether you like it or not, you are selling you. And most people are a little bit modest and aren't very good at sales, but you have to know your strengths and you have to be bold in letting them know your strengths.

You have to be bold in letting them know what you want to do. If you don't know what you want to do, don't interview. Get a Eurorail pass and see Europe, and then figure it out later on. Most important is show up early, have strong eye contact. Keep your eye on that arrow and that aperture.

When the interviewer is talking to you, you should nod, you should acknowledge, when they say something funny, you laugh, when they say something ridiculous, you roll your eyes, you're engaged. Right? This is what works. Listen to the interview. And I like to have a piece of paper and pen nearby because when they're talking, I might jot something down because I want to get into the camera just shook because I made the gesture of writing down, what I wanted to say, because I don't want to forget the important things when it's my turn to talk.

Show personality, show enthusiasm, show authenticity and professionalism. This makes friends, builds rapport. I think that that's really important. So they're going to ask their questions, and you may not know what those are, you may not even be able to answer them well. But, ultimately, you're gonna get around to what you wanna get around to.

You could turn their question into your thing. Listen to an NFL coach after a game. They always get asked a question that they never answer, but they blurt out something that's important to them. Nobody calls them on it, and what they said makes it into the paper. That's what you need to do.

You need to have your three things. First off, you need to know what your one thing is. What are you all about? What's your passion? If you don't have a passion, get one.

If you don't have a passion, say I'm in search of one, which means I'm in my passion is in finding a great project, a great mentor, you know, a great institution, because I wanna be great. And then talk about your three things, three issues, three stories, three points, three accomplishments that you wanna come out during the interview. Because when you talk about you and your stuff that you're interested in, you become animated. You become interesting. Otherwise, it's monotone you, and that doesn't sell much of all at all.

So again, what's your passion? What's your achievements? Show that you have abilities far beyond those that they will interview before and after you. What happens when they ask you hard questions? They might.

You know, if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Me? I'd roll my eyes and say I would look at them and say, you don't do much interviews, do you? But I can get away with that. I'm snarky.

Which brings me to another point. Don't try to be funny if you're not funny. Be who you are. If you're snarky, show you're snarky. Show you got a little edge.

You know, think about this. There are many famous stories of actors who are in auditions for a very important part, and the person who got the part was the one who came in and before they even read for the part, they started yelling at the director. What kind of operation is this? Who the hell is this? Who wrote this crap that I have to read?

You know? They came in with attitude. Now that's not for everybody. That's a bold thing, and that's likely to get you thrown out. But if you wanna stand out,

be you. If you're not funny, don't be funny. If you're, you know, if you're not an actor, don't try to act.

If you're a researcher, impress them with your

research. So, they're going to

ask difficult questions. Think when it's difficult, you should think before you answer. The pause shows that you're thoughtful. Second, address any weaknesses that may come up. Be honest, tell them these are areas that I have improved on.

These are areas of growth. You you got to show that you're self aware, capable of receiving criticism and moving forward. You know, I like to say, learn to love your troubles or your problems, because that's where all the greatness lies. If you don't know the answer, it's a, I don't know, But then pivot in a way that either puts it back on them, or gets to one of your three great stories that you want to talk about. Or say how eager you are to learn in another way.

Can you ask questions? You should ask questions at each interview. They're interviewing you, but you're interviewing them. You're going have to make choices about this job too. So, ask about day to day responsibilities.

What does success look like in the first ninety days? What's their idea of an ideal candidate? And give them feedback as to whether that's you or not. What's the big goals of this operation, this institution, this university, this production that we're getting involved in here? Where are the big opportunities if I come here?

Is there a program for mentors and mentees? Is there a long term future here beyond what you're hiring me for? And then again, ask the person who's interviewing you about them. What was your experience like when you came here? What did you think?

Why did you

come here? And how's it

been since? What do you enjoy most about where you're asking me to come? So that yeah. Ask plenty of questions. Not too many.

Three or four would be fine. Do not ask about salary, vacation, benefits, or burnout. Not good when you're looking for a job. When you're done, thank them, nod, follow it up with a thank you note. I think that, you know, my last piece is this may not work for you, but it's worked for me.

When I get hired or interviewed for things, I act as if I belong. I act as if I'm running the show, or maybe not running the show, but as if I'm not just a visitor who's dropping in for fifteen minutes. You know, I'm taking responsibility of my own actions, I'm questioning them about their actions, you know, if you act like you belong, they might think that you belong. Anyway,

good luck on your interview.