Please be prepared for your interview...

[Larry77]

We have been doing interviews for a new hospital that's opening so we are looking for 50 ED people. After the first day I was really surprised at the amount of people who were not prepared for their interview. We had some well qualified candidates who had no idea who my company even is..yes they were from out of town but I feel they should have at least Googled us...some candidates had no idea how to answer questions about weaknesses or situations when...so I have a few suggestions for you great people who are possibly looking for work.

--Please know something about the company you are applying to...even just a quick Google search.

--Please be prepared to answer questions like, "Tell me about a time when you had a great connection with a patient", or "Tell me about a time when you were unable to give the kind of care you like to".

--Please be prepared to talk about your own weaknesses or what your previous supervisor would say is your weakness. (Everyone can list their strengths)

--Don't be afraid to brag about yourself and for gosh sakes hold your head up high, you are an ED nurse with some experience otherwise you wouldn't have been given the interview.

--We love honesty, if you are trying to portray characteristics that are unnatural it usually looks awkward. (i.e. if you are a quite person, just say that, don't try to be over the top to try and cover it up)

--And please make every possible effort to come and sit for the interview, management doesn't like to do phone interviews :-)

Anyone else want to add anything?

BTW...we had some absolutely great people who applied and were prepared, thinking about 50% will be offered so far (which is great!).

Larry

[Sassy5d]

Good post Larry but how about unprepared interviewers? People who ask silly and contrived questions like "what are your weaknesses?" without having a clue about what is the relevance if any of such questions and and as a consequence have no idea how to judge the candidates's answers. You mentioned that half of candidates are unprepared for the interview; I will say 50% of interviewers also come unprepared to the interview. They do not understand the rationale for questions they ask and either ask questions that they were asked when they were getting hired or that they googled the night before "questions to ask candidates". These canned, contrived questions deserved canned, contrived answers. Don't expect candidates to prepare for interviews when the hiring panel is a bunch of clueless HR amateurs repeating scripted questions they have no idea why they are asking it.[/quote']

And what are you trying to gain with such questions? My weakness is Doritos loco tacos, but my bmi is 20 *snickers*

[Altra, BSN, RN]

i have usually done pretty well in behavioral interviews by acting and using a bogus personality.... lol many people have. i research the hospital thoroughly and tell them what they like , with a smile!!!! a time when.... a time when here comes a feel good made up story

Not sure what you're looking to gain with "bogus" acting ... if selected on the basis of an inaccurate presentation of yourself, you're only asking to be in an environment which is potentially a very poor fit for you.

[edmia, BSN, RN]

You brought it up and if this is an example you use, it is something you think about. There are a lot of nurses, great nurses, great BECAUSE the have a special needs child and you want to blow them off as "high maintenance"??? That's why intermittent FMLA is in place. It's a good thing we don't know where this new hospital is. I would tell people to RUN. I bet Workers Comp is a four letter word to you, too. And getting pregnant. They would have those little brats to take care of.

I've been following this thread with interest because Larry brought up many good points. I'm only chiming in to correct the above -- Larry did not mention these discriminatory issues at all. That line of thought was brought up by blondesareeasy and mclennan who both talked about not hiring fat smokers or "high maintenance" people with disabled children. Deplorable attitude in a manager.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

Not sure what you're looking to gain with "bogus" acting ... if selected on the basis of an inaccurate presentation of yourself, you're only asking to be in an environment which is potentially a very poor fit for you.

it is 36 hrs a week . i can fit in in most places and adapt well enough: especially to do my job. what are these fits?

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Did you see that this is a "new hospital"?...I would hope that we would not plan on "understaffing", would be terrible foresight IMO.

Oh, please. Hospitals that have been in existance for AGES still understaff! And yes, I absolutely do speak from experience. I agree that the (lack of) foresight is nothing short of deplorable, but it's very common, especially in this economic environment. To blow off such a question as the mistake of a "new" facility is laughable.

[Psychtrish39, BSN, RN]

Personally as a nurse I have had many interviews with those structured type questions. I have had my mind go blank at times but I recovered however in my heart I dont think answering hypothetical questions prove whether you are a good nurse and skilled or not. I think they are a cop out instead of the interviewers asking why do you want this job and what can you offer us as an employee and thats another thing you are never told as the interviewee that you are being interviewed by mulitiple people until you get to the interview and then that is dropped on you some people don't do well in groups of interviewers that way.

I think a good interview to a hiring manager is when a person can answer their questions how they want to hear them. I have been asked in interviews because I have a BSN why I went on to obtain it when the person interviewing me has an ADN needless to say I answered to keep myself competitive in the field and guess what every job where the hiring manager or DNS asked that particular question I never got the position. Just my 2 cents on this topic.

[Flatlander]

Food fight! Food fight! :) Seriously tho', I love allnurses.com and these spirited debates. Lots of good issues brought up and hashed out here. I'm staying out of this one, but learning lots about interviews and the spoken and unspoken attitudes we bring to them.

[Psychtrish39, BSN, RN]

@edmia You are correct Larry did not say those things the persons mentioned above did and yes it a deplorable attitude in a manager or even a human being sounds like stuff you see posted on Yahoo news comments or the other news websites when people think they can say anything because they are behind a computer. If a heavy person or a smoker can pass a physical why not hire them and really you are not supposed to ask about someone's children in an interview and everyone who has children has to take them to the doctor occasionally its called being a human being and having a life outside what your employer has any right to talk about. I was really suprised to see a fellow healthcare peer say stuff like that. Rather heartless and I wouldnt be a good hiring manager I look at people as people not liabilities or assets but I dont do the business side of healthcare nor would I it would suck the soul out of me.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

I dont do the business side of healthcare nor would I it would suck the soul out of me.

Well, it's a good thing somebody pays attention to the "business side of healthcare," because if no one did, there would be no place to take those nifty interview skills. A little love for them, please; theirs is not an easy job either.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I am in the middle of selecting summer externs ... and can say many of the same things about some of our applicants. Some are wonderfully prepared, but others are clearly not. I have received resumes and cover letters that say that want to work at a different hospital ... or work in a different specialty than we have at our hospital ...you name it. Some of the students are barely articulate when I talk to them over the phone. Some seem to have no ability for reflection and self-assessment. Some seem totally incapable of seeing employment from the employer's point of view. They really do seem to think it is "all about them and what they want." I could go on and on.

I feel sorry for them, being so clueless in the face of such a competitive job market. But no, I don't hire them.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

You brought it up and if this is an example you use, it is something you think about. There are a lot of nurses, great nurses, great BECAUSE the have a special needs child and you want to blow them off as "high maintenance"??? That's why intermittent FMLA is in place. It's a good thing we don't know where this new hospital is. I would tell people to RUN. I bet Workers Comp is a four letter word to you, too. And getting pregnant. They would have those little brats to take care of.

Actually, that was another poster, not the OP.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

And I'm surprised by the vitriol in the replies here. Larry has shared some good insight in to what interviewers look for and what stands out positively in an interview. Interviews make me nervous but I've learned how to approach them and do fairly well at them by paying attention to the perspective of the interviewer. Are there questions I hate to get asked? Yep. Does knowing what the interviewer is REALLY getting at with the question help me answer these questions well despite not liking the question? You bet.

But hey, continue to resent the interview process and refuse to play along, by all means. It helps me stand out as a more competitive candidate when I go in prepared with my key points and situations and safe-but-real weaknesses.