Group Interviews

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 20, 2005

I've been at group interviews during the hiring process both as the applicant and as one of the interviewers. I imagine this won't be much different because, in a way, you are being evaluated as to whether or not they want you in their program. I've seen a lot over my years as a nurse and I am thinking that the instructors want a hand in making some decisions about who gets into the program. My guess is that they've probably seen some real problem students come through and they are trying to assess for this and stop it before it even happens. I wonder if there are going to be nursing students in this group. That would be interesting.

That said, you just approach it like any other interview. Answer the questions honestly. Be pleasant. You might get one or two "funny" questions from someone in the group, but they usually come out of a history of having a particular problem in the past they are trying to identify ahead of time. Just be ready to answer the kind of questions that may be asked to get an idea of your character and personality. Have answers ready for:

what draws you to nursing? Or, why do you want to be a nurse?

information you gave on your application including what you wrote on the essay accompanying your application

what are your study habits? How do you learn best? (Since this is an accelerated program this might be a very important concern to them)

how do you deal with stress in your life?

how do you handle conflict with other people?

what are your strong characteristics?

what are your weak points?

what do you need to improve in yourself?

what are you really good at?

where do you see a career as a nurse taking you in, say, five years from now?

I'm sure there are other questions. You should do a little reading up on preparing for a job interview because this is going to be the same basic process. Keep a positive attitude at all times during the interview. Before you leave the interview, ask them how they will notify you of their decision if they haven't already told you. I used to have a list of questions asked of pharmacy school applicants at their interviews for pharmacy school because I used to help the pharmacy techs at my in-laws pharmacy prepare for these interviews, but I can't find the file in this computer. It's probably in my old laptop, but it will be a project to pull it out and dig through the files on it, if the thing even works yet.

They are going to want to weed out people who seem to be difficult to get along with, argumentative, insensitive, have a negative attitude about things, people who exhibit a nonchalantness for authority or a sense of egomania that separates them from everyone else. I'm sure there are other things, but those are the ones that come to my mind at the moment.

Good luck!

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Dec 20, 2005

Never been to one, but do want to wish you nothing but the best!

smile123 · Dec 21, 2005

Hi! I have been invited to a group interview at Jacksonville University for their accelerated BSN program. I am a nervous wreck because I don't know what to expect out of a group interview:uhoh21: . Have you any of you ever particiated in a group interview? If so, can you tell me what to expect?
Thanks a bunch!!

I was part of a group interview and it was very strange. They asked the same questions to all the participants and we went around the room answering in a round robin fashion. For question #1, they would ask everyone to answer, person #1, person #2, person #3, etc (for the 8 or 9 people in the room!) Then they would ask question #2, but start with person #2, then person #3, etc. By the time it was 5th or 6th person's turn in the sequence, it appeared the participants had already added all they could to the question, so the rest of the people would say, "ditto" or words to that effect. That is the wrong strategy.

Instead individualize your answer. This helped me no matter where I was in the "order". For example, suppose you got the question about what qualities does a nurse need to have. You can talk about a quality a nurse should have and then give a personal example of how you exemplify that quality or have experienced it in your life. Then you are not "upstaged" by the people ahead of you.

I have had other group interviews where you work on a given scenario in teams (of other participants). They observe how well you interact, who takes the lead, who is supportive, who is a facilitator, etc. For that sort of problem, it does not help if you are dictatorial, a wall flower, or just a "yes" person. You have to watch out for people who are going to be "bossy" and see how you can work with that person. (This is much like it would be if you were working on a unit, work politics.)

There are also other group interviews where you are the only candidate, but there are 3 or 4 people in the room who are throwing you questions. In that case, there will always be the "odd ball" question. If you don't understand it, ask them to repeat the question and clarify it for you. (That will give you a little more time to think.) Also, don't feel compelled to answer right away. It's OK to have a pause rather than say "Ummmm" or "ahhhh". It shows you are collecting your thoughts.

Of course, it helps if you have practiced answers to typical questions ALOUD with a friend who can be a mock interviewer. If you audio tape yourself, you can play it back and see whether you have lots of "ands and "ums", etc. If you video tape yourself, you can see whether your body language comes across as confident and positive.

Look upon the group interview as a way to shine! They know all about you on paper. Now they want to see how well you come across in person. You can do it! Hope that helps!

Smile123