Matched applicants- without contacts - iamadoctor

[ArchivalUser]

inxs is right. Personal contacts do not work beyond an interview invite and that is mostly a courtesy interview. They do not get you a spot unless you are of course star on resume. professional contacts do work. Worked for me even with old YOG and very mediocre scores. The attending and residents I worked with really liked me and pushed for me. My interview was very good and they liked how I handled very tough questions. GL

[ArchivalUser]

well, i want to know if there is hope without contacts. so lets get back to the topic again. thanks for your input guys.

@distraught: i read your post before you wrote down here which is wat prompted me to start this thread. Its sad to really experience wat u have gone through. but i think there is hope

@ mery: i am with you as well in what you have gone through. I use to read your posts on soap update and i could feel the emotional turmoil.


but if contacts is one of the ways then i guess we need to do something about it. I nothing can be done then we have to face wat comes.

so if any more matched applicants can pool in it would be gr8

[ArchivalUser]

I dont know if contacts matter a lot.....diff people will have diff experiences....if u ask me....interviews matter big time. They gotta like u to take u in. I got my interview at the place i matched without any contacts and matched without any.

[ArchivalUser]

@ ijustgottamatch: thanks that makes me hopeful. were you very good with your interview skills?

[ArchivalUser]

Same here, as i said i did not have any personal contacts calling up PDs for me, only strong LORs and good interviewing skills. you have to show a lot of genuine interest and be humble yet at the same time don't look desperate or arrogant.; it is a fine line to walk and many mess it up. i saw so many candidates on ivs saying stupid things or just not dressing properly and sitting there looking bored;not asking any questions during the tour, etc. by not acting stupid on the iv you have already separated yourself from a lot of people.

[ArchivalUser]

It also depends on the specialty! An IMG will have a hard time matching into any surgical specialties without a strong contact advocating for them. The reason why? Other strong applications in surgical specialties have STRONG advocates pushing their app.

[ArchivalUser]

@ijustgot it is extremely naive of you to say that contacts dont matter a lot. You may have matched without contacts and i always said that is possible. But here is the truth: You MAY match without contacts but you WILL match with them.

@inxs i know what you mean, but i am a living example that proves it does not work always. In my IL hosp. example, when my friend (2nd yr resident) called me after the interview, she said the PD liked me a lot. In fact my interview with the PD was charming. The chief resident told my friend that the PD gave me a 9/10. He also said that in all his years in that program he had never seen the PD give 9 to any IMG. According to him, the PD would reserve 9 for AMGs. She (PD) would say that IMGs would give her artificial answers (prepared) for her questions where as AMGs would be open and honest. She had mentioned that after a long time she had interviewed an IMG who was open, honest, sincere and a pleasure to talk to. What was the final outcome? I did not match. Why? Attendings pushed their contacts up the list at the last moment and I got pushed down.

I am not saying its all bad or all good. All I am saying is that this is more than just an exception. It has become a rule which puts candidates like me with no contacts at an extremely unfair disadvantage. Had those attendings not done this, would I have not matched? This happened to me in 5 hospitals. So, look at the system from my eyes and then make a judgment.

[ArchivalUser]

Not just contacts, but contacts that will pick up the phone AND CALL, not even just sending emails. It means a whole lot, when for example you are applying to an Internal medicine prog in Maryland, and a top notch Cardiologist at Hopkins, who was a former chair of Internal Medicine is calling that prog, esp a community prog saying, "this is your guy/lady!". It is like the person is putting themselves on the line, someone they respect professionally, is saying, this person is good.

[ArchivalUser]

Well....I do agree that contacts matter....to what extent, I dont know. I was one of those guys worried coz I had not got a PM despite having 13 ivs....and I knew that, not having contacts was one reason. But I matched, without even any remote contact...and I matched to a good program in a very good area.I cant be more happy. While I do agree contacts are important to ensure a fair chance of matching, not having contacts doesn't throw u out of the game. U still have ur credentials, personality and luck to push u thru.

[ArchivalUser]

Infact in retrospect, I am thankful I didnt have any, cuz if I had, I might have PMed to smaller pgm. I know its easy to say things in retrospect, but if I were to give advice...I wd say work on getting sum contacts going. U need all the resources u can get.