Getting the most from residency interviews

For Pharm.D. students who have submitted residency applications and are busy trying to balance rotation responsibilities with scheduling interviews, booking flights and hotels, and frantically searching for professional references in order to gain an edge and impress the targeted programs, it can be easy to lose sight of the purpose of the interview. The interview is but one part of the applicant profile, but it can make or break a program’s perception of the applicant—and vice versa. By knowing what programs are attempting to gain from the interview, candidates can put themselves in the best position to make a great impression and match up with a top program. Over the past 20 years, the number of pharmacy residency applicants has grown exponentially.1,–3 This growth has surpassed the expansion of pharmacy residency programs, leading to an ever-increasing number of unmatched candidates2; further, the growth of well-established programs takes time, and the gap between the number of candidates and the number of available positions is likely even wider in these top-tier programs. With these systemic stresses, the onsite interview is more important than ever before.