Successful virtual interviews for surgery residents

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic resulted in surgical residency and fellowship interviews shifting to a virtual, web-based format. Although virtual interviews have important benefits, this change also brought about new challenges for applicants, including a new interview etiquette and potential difficulty in evaluating and discriminating between programs. The aim of this article is to provide applicants with guidance for every step of their interview process so that they can confidently put forth their strongest performance. Preparing for effective virtual interviewing begins long before the interview day and involves critical self-reflection, practice with mock interviews, optimizing the interview environment, and conducting a technology trial run. During the interview day, standard interview advice for face-to-face interviews remains true for virtual interviews. However, there are a few additional considerations, including minimizing distractions, muting oneself in a group setting, and turning off the camera when stepping away from the screen. After the interview, there are several ways for applicants to elicit more information about the “fit” of different programs of interest. We recommend leveraging personal relationships to ask additional questions and consider visiting select programs in person, if possible. Although our recommendations are not exhaustive, we hope that by following these virtual interview best practices, applicants will be more prepared to present themselves strongly and successfully navigate the virtual interview process.