Match matters: Here’s some advice on how to interview for your residency

’Tis the season.

Thanksgiving? Sure. Christmas? That too. But for thousands of fourth-year medical students and foreign medical graduates all over the United States, fall through early winter is a time of job hunting — interviewing for residencies. This is a critical step in our training, where we specialize in the individual fields of medicine that will carry us through our careers.

The residency hunt is no small task.

Where we match can have a profound impact on our lives, and on the communities where we learn. It’s a steady address for the next three to seven years, if not for an entire career. It’s building relationships with other doctors that can last a lifetime. It’s the day-to-day experience that molds us into doctors we want to be.

I interviewed at 14 places, asking some questions, but wishing I’d asked others. From quality of the training, to family practicalities, to gut feelings, many factors influenced