Interview preparation guide
Staying professional throughout interview season: residency interview preparation guide
AAMC's preparation guide treats professionalism as a quality applicants are evaluated on throughout the entire interview process, not just in the interview room. Courteous, patient, mindful and gracious conduct in every interaction, including informal resident events, is the standard it sets.
How to prepare
- 1
Treat every interaction as assessed
The AAMC guide asks applicants to remain courteous, patient, mindful and gracious throughout their interactions with residency programs, and warns that everything you say before, during and after the interview can have an impact. Coordinators, residents and fellow applicants all sit inside that window.
- 2
Handle informal settings deliberately
The guide names the risky settings: opportunities to socialise with current residents, such as virtual meetups or receptions. If alcohol is offered, consume it responsibly or abstain, keeping the professional setting and the impression you want to make in view.
- 3
Plan for the season's stress points
Professionalism is easiest to lose when the season bites: a delayed start, a scheduling clash, a waitlist that will not move. The guide pairs professionalism with patience for a reason. Decide in advance how you will respond to the predictable frustrations, so the response you give is the measured one.
A practical exercise
Conduct standard applied to all contacts: [yes/no]. Informal events plan: [..]. Stress-point responses decided: [..].
This is an editorial exercise to adapt to your own interview, not a script or a program requirement.
What the source guidance supports
AAMC's preparation guide treats professionalism as a quality applicants are evaluated on throughout the entire interview process, not just in the interview room. Courteous, patient, mindful and gracious conduct in every interaction, including informal resident events, is the standard it sets.
The exercises and checklists are editorial applications of the cited guidance, not required program procedures or predictions of interview outcomes. Formats and policies vary by program, so follow your actual invitation and school guidance.
Mistakes to avoid
- Being polished with faculty and careless with coordinators or residents; the guide's window covers everyone.
- Treating a reception or virtual social as off the record. It is not.
- Letting a frustrating scheduling moment produce the email you wish you had not sent.
Check your preparation
- Am I holding the same standard with coordinators, residents and faculty?
- Do I have a deliberate plan for informal social events?
- Have I decided how I will respond to the season's predictable frustrations?
Questions for your practice review
- Am I as courteous with coordinators and residents as I am with faculty?
- What is my plan for receptions or social events where alcohol is offered?
- How will I respond professionally when something in the season frustrates me?
Common questions
Does informal contact really get reported?
AAMC's guidance is that everything you say before, during and after the interview can have an impact, and it specifically includes conversations with current residents. Treat informal settings as part of the interview rather than testing the boundary.
Does professionalism affect ranking?
The guide presents professionalism as a quality on which applicants are evaluated throughout the process. It does not publish weightings, and no one should promise you one; the safe reading is that unprofessional conduct can only hurt.
Is this current for the 2027 ERAS season?
AAMC publishes this interview preparation guide as current guidance for applicants interviewing in the 2027 ERAS season. Program formats and policies change year to year, so confirm the details with each program that invites you.
Related guides
Sources
This page is general editorial guidance based on the sources above. It is not a prediction of any program's questions or a statement of its current policies.