Going to job interviews can sometimes feel similar to dating. You’re putting yourself out there, facing rejection, seeking the proverbial “one.” And just like dating, interviews may leave you wondering what’s going through the heads of those on the other side of the table. Is there mutual interest, a potential future together? 

By following these tips and putting your best foot forward, you’re likely to find true (practice) love, while also knowing what your job interview says about you.

The interview process and players

The timeline for physician recruitment varies hugely by specialty and circumstances, says Dennis Burns, a self-described “recruiter emeritus,” now retired after decades as an in-house recruiter with regional and national hospital systems and smaller independent hospitals. “From the first contact with somebody until they sign, every specialty is different,” he says. 

The interviewing process itself, however, tends to follow a fairly reliable pattern. After the initial contact and back and forth, there’s often a phone interview and an online video call with the recruiter followed by a video call with the hiring department or practice and then one or two on-site interviews. 

“Most of the interview processes start with just an initial phone call,” says Jamie Harris, MD, a pediatric surgeon at Phoenix Children’s in Arizona, who interviewed with four employers during her job search. “After that initial process, there’s usually a series of Zoom visits. …Some of the places I interviewed did it all in one day like a marathon. Some were over a couple-week period.” 

Then there may be a wait. “After you do Zooms, you kind of wait for an unclear period of time because they’re also interviewing other people. Sometimes it’s like a week or two. In some of my instances, it was like a month and a half,” says Harris, who is also the site director for medical students and surgical residents at Phoenix Children’s. Initially surprised by the wait, Harris says she has since seen this same cadence play out repeatedly with the fellows she works with. 

Recruiters are often using this time to call your references. Once references check out, you’re typically invited for an in-person interview or site visit.

“Those are usually two days,” says Harris, “and they involve going to whatever sites you’re going to be covering as part of the job, getting a tour of the hospital and also going out to dinner with usually the partners or whoever you’re going to be working closely with.” This on-site time is also a great opportunity to meet and pick the brains of specific research or department teams you’re interested in. 

“Occasionally people will go out for a second look,” she says. “After that, you usually get your letter of intent and then eventually the contract.”

An in-house recruiter often manages the overall recruitment and interview process. Along the way, they may have you meet with many decision-makers. Meetings are typically a mix of small groups and one-on-ones. 

A notable exception is locum tenens interviews, which typically include only two rounds: an initial screener and a follow up with the head of a department. “Locum interviews are generally more informal and faster. These facilities often need help immediately, and if a physician isn’t the right fit, they can easily bring in someone new. It’s a much leaner process compared to permanent hiring,” says Austin Shuxiao, MD, an internal medicine locum tenens physician in New York City and founder of Peach IV. 

Just as employers have varying numbers of people involved in a hiring decision, you as the candidate may also have others involved in evaluating a job, which is why it’s typical to bring a significant other along for the on-site interviews. 

“I’ve often told the candidates at the end: ‘I know you think this is about you, but it’s really about your wife or your husband,’” says Burns. “It’s a family decision, and you want a good match.” 

Identifying what you want and owning it

Finding a good match is contingent on knowing what you’re looking for in the first place. In fact, clarifying your criteria is a fundamental step in your job search—one that can help you skip the hassle of interviewing for jobs that don’t align.

“One of the key things is being honest with yourself about what you’re looking for in a job,” says Harris. “[Make] sure that the job they are offering and wanting to fill is aligned with what you actually want to do.”

Michael Shockley, MD, a general surgeon with Advanced Surgical Physicians in Wellington, Florida, echoes this sentiment. “It’s easy to say, oh, you’ll do anything. But if you’re not actually comfortable doing those things, then you’re kind of signing on to fail,” he says. 

Expressing clearly what you want isn’t a turnoff to recruiters. Alyson Ankrom, physician recruiter with Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar, Missouri, loves finding a candidate “who knows exactly what they are looking for, the type of practice they envision…the type of community they want to live in, the ideal patients they want to treat.” This demonstrates you’ve given real thought to where you could be happy long term.

No need to play coy

Beyond being prepped for the process and knowing what you want, your enthusiasm about an opportunity—or lack thereof—may be the biggest factor in sending the right signal to hiring committees. 

“I would say one word is both the killer and the lifesaver for an interview: enthusiasm,” says Burns, who explains that seeming flat gives the indication you’re not really interested. Showing enthusiasm can help the process move along in your favor. 

Just consider how an organization’s enthusiasm about you as a candidate may help you realize it’s the right fit. This was the experience of Shockley, who was originally seeking a role in Tampa but ended up expanding his search to his hometown of Wellington and, in turn, found himself met with much greater employer enthusiasm. 

“After not having a ton of success in the Tampa market, we expanded the search,” says Shockley. “It was almost like a night-and-day difference in terms of excitement, support, how I got along with the practice and the people here. It just feels like a match made in heaven.”  

Recruiter red flags

On top of demonstrating enthusiasm, you can set yourself apart from other candidates by avoiding recruiters’ red flags in advance. Here’s what recruiters say turns them off.

A messy CV

Your CV is one of your first impressions before an interview and is referenced repeatedly during interviews, so you might be surprised how sloppy they sometimes are. “I’ve seen really bad CVs. Someone’s been in practice as an example for 15, 20 years and they have just one page hardly written,” says Burns. “Make sure it’s nice, clean, updated…because we use that CV everywhere. We send it around to everybody. So if there’s errors in it, if there’s typos in it, that’s a red flag or [at least] a caution flag.”  

Job hopping or unexplained gaps

If your CV is full of short stints, be prepared to explain before or during the interview. “Lots of movement for a candidate that isn’t doing locums is typically a red flag, though I am generally willing to hear out the reasoning behind the movement,” says Jennifer Lynch, assistant vice president of provider recruitment and onboarding for ScionHealth. “Also, moves from one residency program to another (and another) can be a red flag. One move can possibly be explained, but two moves really raise the red.”

The same goes for unexplained gaps. “It’s understandable if a candidate needed to take time off to care for a family member or for an illness, but there are ways to notate it on a CV,” says Lynch.

Unrealistic expectations

Expectations for salary, schedule, patient load and beyond that are out of touch with reality will likely also leave recruiters with a bad taste in their mouths. “Inflexibility or unrealistic expectations would be another [red flag],” says Ankrom. “Most health systems would do most anything for their providers, but we want to make sure we can meet the needs of everyone in a respectful way.”

Over-focus on money

On a related note, if compensation is the only thing you express interest in, it will raise recruiters’ eyebrows. “I’ve had a lot of people [whose] first question to me when I do a screening with them is, ‘How much money can I make?’” says Burns. “If they hone in on that during the interview process—it’s always about the money and how hard they can work to make lots of money—that’s a red flag.” 

Lack of interest in the community

Talking only about yourself, at the exclusion of asking about the community you’d be covering, can also raise questions about how interested you really are in a job. “[Candidates are] trying to prove who they are and that they have great skills,” says Burns. “I get that, but [it’s a red flag] if that’s all they talk about, as opposed to, ‘I’m here to help the community. I’m here to save lives. I’m here to see my family grow and develop and be here long term.’” 

Ghosting the recruiter

Lastly, recruiters are usually communicating with multiple candidates at a time. If you suddenly stop responding after an interview, it can leave both the recruiters and the other candidates in a lurch. “Don’t keep us guessing whether you’re still interested or not. If you’re not, let us know that. We can take it,” says Burns. “Be honest with people and do it in a timely manner.” 

Recruiter green flags

Green flags are the inverse of the red flags. These are opportunities to show interest, send the right signals and make the recruitment process go smoothly. Here’s what recruiters say makes them swoon.

A clean CV with a clear training timeline

Just as gaps may raise suspicions, a CV with a chronological progression through training sends the right message about your steadiness. “Clear progression in a timely manner from undergrad through residency and fellowship is definitely a green flag,” says Lynch. A clean CV helps guide interview conversations so you can showcase every aspect of your training and career so far.

Genuine questions

A great way to demonstrate interest to recruiters is to ask questions. This can include both formal questions in the interview itself and conversational questions during the less formal interactions throughout your visit. Burns says he takes notice of candidate interactions. “[In] lunch with the staff as an example, when they say something like, ‘Well, tell me about your life story. How did you end up here, and why do you stay here?’ If they reach out to other people and begin to listen to them as opposed to just me, me, me, that’s a green flag,” he says. 

Interest in the community

Showing interest in the community is also key. When candidates “[want] to make a difference in the community and [have a] strong relationship with patients …this aligns directly with our mission of providing compassionate care,” says Ankrom. 

Pre-interview research

Conducting preliminary research preps you for all these conversations, leading to better questions and more sincere understanding of the opportunity. “If they’ve done the research behind the scenes about the area, about the community, and about the practice, or the hospital or the FQHC and they really understand what they’re getting into before they show up on site, that shows a lot of enthusiasm,” says Burns.

Taking the long view

Recruiters are often planning for what the organization and community’s needs will be two, three or four years down the road, and they want you to be thinking long-term too. “It’s important for them to say, ‘I think this would be a great gig for me for five years,’” says Burns. “If they [can make] that kind of commitment, then we make that commitment.” When you’re excited about a role, be sure to mention you’re excited about a future with the organization, not just a present. 

Reviewing interview basics

Before walking into a round of interviews, it’s also worth revisiting the interview basics like wardrobe, scheduling and when to tackle contract conversations. The basics may sound simple, but if it’s between you and another candidate, they might just be the cherry on top.

Dress the part. Yes, even video interviews call for professional attire, says Burns, though he notes what’s professional enough may vary by region. Choose your wardrobe in advance and make sure items have been washed and ironed as needed. 

Know where you’re going. If you’re interviewing somewhere you’ve never been before, don’t rely solely on Google Maps. If time allows, do a test run to find the specific building and office. 

Bring your significant other. It is standard to bring spouses and partners to site visits. They’re often invited to special dinners, and they should certainly attend any appointments with a real estate agent.  

Give yourself enough time. Time management is important in every clinical setting, and your interview gives you a small opportunity to showcase it. As Shuxiao puts it, “Don’t be late to your interview. If you [can’t] be punctual for something as important as an interview, you can’t be trusted to be punctual for work.”

Review the itinerary in advance. Double check all scheduled interviews, meetings, tours and meals work with your flights and other commitments. Know whom you’re meeting and when. If there are any key players who aren’t on your schedule but whom you want to meet, ask the recruiter in advance if it’s possible to add another meeting to the itinerary. 

Finishing strong

At the end of the day, interviews, like dates, aren’t just about impressing the other side of the table; they’re about finding your ideal practice. Being clear with your interviewers (and yourself) about what you’re seeking, prompt in your follow up and enthusiastic about the future will help you identify and land the right job for you. In this way, what you want to display to recruiters is much like what you want them to display to you. 

“Every step of the way with this job, I didn’t really have a complaint—from the moment I applied to [the recruiter] reaching out twice to make sure we touched base,” says Shockley of the role he ended up taking with ASP. “Then meeting with my [now] partner at the practice, great conversation. …I felt like I was greeted with excitement about the potential of me joining the practice and the future we could have together. As the process went on and I had more data points, it was just so very clear this seemed like the right place for me—especially to start, but I think for the long term.” 

As Shockley demonstrates, mutual clarity, communication and excitement are signs of a good fit. And a good fit is what both you and employers are both looking for: a provider or a practice that doesn’t just look right on paper but also feels right in person.

“I feel very fortunate,” says Harris of her choice to join Phoenix Children’s. “I felt like I meshed in really well with them. I could tell they all got along really well [and] the group cohesively worked. I think all of those together were what helped me say yes to the job.” •