Pre-interview Jitters

[MIA9er]

After two weeks of waiting for a reply, I have an interview scheduled for next week! I am so nervous because I've been on an "extended vacation" since about July (when I passed RN boards). I am originally from a small town where everyone knows about everbody, but since I've passed boards I've moved to a whole different state and city that is waay bigger. Someone please give me encouragement that I can do this! I start getting butterflies when I think about walking in to meet the Med/Surg manager! I believe the saying is true- the boss will know within the first seven seconds if they will hire you or not. That makes me so nervous! But on the other hand, I am soo excited to get out there and start my career!

[MIA-RN1, RN]

You can do this!

You are a Registered Professional Nurse; an interveiw is definitely within the scope of practice

Get a nice business outfit, comfy shoes and go into that interview knowing that nursing is what you were born to do.

Big city or small town, we're all just people. Go for it!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

relax! you wouldn't have been contacted for an interview if they weren't interested in you. just one thing, i would suggest you have an answer ready for them about why you haven't worked since july. i'm sure they will be interested to know.

i have been compiling a list of interview questions. here is a list of what most employers are looking for in the people they hire.

the positive attributes that most employers are looking for in a worker are:

initiative

dynamic energy

responsibility

ability to give good customer service

capacity to learn

productivity

flexibility

leadership

team work

ability to tolerate pressure

analytical ability

desire to develop professionally

here are some questions that you might be asked at a job interview:

what do you think makes nursing the right career for you?

what are your professional objectives in the future?

how do you manage work stress?

how would you express your frustration?

how do you react when someone criticizes you?

what are your best qualities that will make you a good nurse?

how do you face tasks you dislike?

how do you react to the critics if you think they are not justified?

what kind of people do you dislike?

what is most difficult communication problem you have had with your colleagues?

how do you manage stress?

how do you accept dressing codes?

do you have a good relation with your work mates?

what have you learned from your mistakes?

describe the perfect nurse.

how would a friend of yours describe you?

what do you think about policies and rules?

do you consider yourself a person with self-initiative?

do you have an analytical mind?

are you interested in the investigation?

what do you do when you have difficulties solving a problem?

what is the most boring task you have ever performed? how did you manage it?

what is the most interesting task you have ever performed? how did you manage it?

what are the requirements for a person to succeed in nursing?

what is your opinion about your last teacher.

questions you might want to ask:

what kind of professional advancement is available to nurses here?

what are some of the attributes of working for your hospital?

if i were to get a job offer from another hospital, why would i want to work for this one?

what is the criterion you will use to select the person you are looking for?

what kind of support can i expect from the nursing educators and preceptors?

how does the hospital handle new grads that might be slow in becoming oriented to their new jobs?

how long have you been the manager of this unit and what is your nursing background?

how many nurses have quit and how many hired for this unit in the past 6 months? how long have some of the nurses been working on this unit?

who will be precepting me? can you tell me something about them? will i always have the same preceptor or will there be more than one?

have you ever had a new grad who didn't seem to work out? how was it handled?

if for any reason it seems that orientation is just not going well for me what will happen and who should i talk to about it?

[MIA9er]

thanks for the tips and encouraging words... the reason why i haven't worked since july is because i got married in july and moved to cali in august to be with my husband- he is in the marines. i think employers may hold that against me somehow? it took me 3 months to get my license transferred, plus i wanted to enjoy being a newlywed/housewife for awhile (i'd been a student all my life until then), plus, i had a huge family reunion at christmastime (in las vegas). i've had enough of that domesticated wife stuff, for now:rolleyes: . how can i explain all this to the interviewer? i don't want to go into personal details in the interview.

[pugmum]

thanks for the tips and encouraging words... the reason why i haven't worked since july is because i got married in july and moved to cali in august to be with my husband- he is in the marines. i think employers may hold that against me somehow? it took me 3 months to get my license transferred, plus i wanted to enjoy being a newlywed/housewife for awhile (i'd been a student all my life until then), plus, i had a huge family reunion at christmastime (in las vegas). i've had enough of that domesticated wife stuff, for now:rolleyes: . how can i explain all this to the interviewer? i don't want to go into personal details in the interview.

when i do interviews, i do not mind a few personal details...if asked, i would just say briefly that you married and moved and had to wait for your license.

good luck to you on your interview, relax... you have a list of possible interview questions from the op, go through some of these...you'll do fine! :)

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

the reason why I haven't worked since July is because. . .

Sounds reasonable to me.