COVID-19 and Virtual Interviews
The 2021 cycle took place in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviewing went virtual, and although many of the same questions were covered, it was in many ways a different experience than in-person interviews. Virtual interviews allowed applicants to apply to more programs than in the past due to the absence of time and travel cost constraints. Applicants were also permitted to schedule two interviews on the same day (one morning, one afternoon), and SF Match placed a cap of 20 interviews per applicant. The 2021 Match Summary Report showed that the cap did not significantly affect the number of interviews per matched and unmatched individual. [3] The AUPO (Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology) announced that the 2021-2022 cycle would also be virtual, and they further reduced the interview cap to 18. [4]
Since you won't be spending on flights, gas, and hotels, practical investments for virtual interviewing include a ring light, a high-quality webcam, reliable WiFi, and an interesting background. Whatever your lighting source is, make sure it is in front of you rather than behind you. Most will agree that your virtual background should not be a blank wall. Instead, use this as a non-verbal opportunity to tell the interviewer something about you, whether it's a picture of family, a poster of a favorite movie, or plants galore!
We also recommend dressing up fully for your interview (yes, that means no sweats) to internalize that you are participating in an extremely important interview, rather than just another Zoom call. You never know if an interviewer will ask you to stand up to teach them something or show them an item listed in your hobbies section of your application – always be prepared and dress appropriately. We also recommend keeping your phone within reach during virtual interviews. Should anything happen to your internet connection mid-way through the interview, programs will sometimes call you on the phone to complete the interview. It is also helpful to have a phone hotspot as an alternative source of internet connection.
Finally, in lieu of the dinners and resident socials that programs used to hold during in-person interviews, many programs will host virtual webinars and "open-houses" where applicants can attend an online meeting to learn more about the program from administrators, faculty, and residents. Many programs publicly state that your attendance or lack thereof does not influence them when making rank lists. Although there is no way to know how true this is, your presence at the webinar is a very small factor, if any, compared to your performance at the interview. SF Match also designates time after the interview season where applicants may attend optional inperson visits to programs they are interested in to better inform their own rank list. These "second-looks" occur after programs have submitted their rank list, so whether you visit or not does not bias a program. You may only attend these in-person visits for those programs at which you interviewed.
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