This is not your standard blog about interviews. I am not about to write to you about what to say and not say or what to wear or not wear. Those can be found in other blogs (here and here). I want to focus on the things nobody tells you about these interviews. This blog is not for only those applying this cycle but it is for every premed since it is best to begin using these techniques right now.

Think about this for a second… If only 7% of all communication is verbal, why do we spend so much time on what we say for the interview? 93% of all communication is non-verbal, with 38% of that coming from the tone of your voice and the other 55% stemming from your body language. I’m not saying not to work on what you will say, but let’s also master the non-verbal. The cool thing about this is that it applies to all your conversations even if you are not yet interviewing for medical school. As I interact with patients on a daily basis, I use many of these same techniques.

The subconscious is very powerful. Use it to your advantage!

The truth is that every single one of you will walk into your interview at an advantage or disadvantage before you even utter a word. Your name, your gender, your race, your physique, and your smell will create a subconscious bias to the fairest of interviewers. You may be digging yourself out of a hole even before you introduce yourself or may be attempting to meet high expectations. Simply by being invited for this interview, your interviewer most likely already assumes you are bright. Every interviewee should want to leave the interviewer with 3 thoughts about you:

Here are areas you must capitalize on that will highly influence your likability with the interviewer.

1. The Handshake: One of your first subconscious messages will be sent in a handshake. I highly recommend against shaking your interviewer like President Trump and many other politicians. They often exhibit signs of dominance in their greetings. There are 3 main type of handshakes (firm, dominating/crushing, or passive/dead fish). The firm handshake is what you are going for here. The shake should be firm but match your interviewer’s grip and last roughly 1-2 seconds while you stare them in their eyes. You don’t want to crush their hands or shake while placing the second hand over theirs. This is a domineering sing. You also do not want to come across intimidated or passive with a weak, loose handshake.

2. Posture: This one is the one many of us miss out on. When standing, you want to appear comfortable with hands to your sides and not in your pockets or on your hips. Walk at a brisk pace towards the front of the group during tours. While seated, I recommend sitting straight and slightly leaned forward. Open your body up. Do not cross your legs or arms. Do not slouch. Do not fidget around. You want to relay confidence, openness, and an engaging personality.

3. Hand Gestures: Your hands can be amazing tools to wow your interviewer with. Remember, showing your palms is a good thing. This historically has been a sign of openness and honesty showing others your are unarmed. Touching your palm or palms to your chest is a sign of sincerity and shows you are passionate about what you are saying. Clasping your hands or touching your fingertips together with the thumbs forming a steeple can be viewed as a sign that you are confident in what you are saying. Do not tap or wiggle your fingers, hide your hands, cross your arms, pop your knuckles, point with your finger, face your palms downwards, continually touch or pick at your face, or overuse your gestures. And of course, make sure your gestures are not stiff and actually match your words.

4. Mirroring: This is huge. People tend to like and trust others who behave like them. We are very tribal and tend to gravitate towards others who fit in our circles. Many of us do this subconsciously as is. It is good to pick up on mannerisms and behaviors your interviewer is using and occasionally incorporate them in your communication later in your discussion. You must practice this technique as it needs to be smooth and subtle. You should not mirror negative actions and you must not get distracted.

5. Eye Contact: We’ve all been in conversation with someone who gave us the creeps simply from their stare or others who come of as timid simply from staring at their shoes. Some believe you can peer into one’s soul through their eyes. Appropriate eye contact will speak to your confidence, attentiveness, respect and self-esteem. I know it can be very intimidating to stare directly into your interviewer’s eyes. If this is the case you may feel better staring at their forehead or nose. It is important to keep this natural as possible so do not stare but instead take brief breaks. Allow your eyes to light up when you are speaking about something you or the interviewer are passionate about.

So there you have it. These are non-verbal actions that can significantly impact your chances of getting into medical school. This is a huge reason why some students who appear less accomplished academically will be selected over others. If done right, your interviewer will be running out of the interview room in a good mood ready to tell his or her colleagues how they just met the most amazing candidate. Start practicing these with your friends. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you have any other non-verbal interview tips?

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