[cat04]

Hi everyone!
I am about to graduate from my nursing school and lately we've been discussing job interviews. Can anybody tell me how to overcome the nervousness and stress that comes with it? (for me anyway) I get anxious just thinking about it! Please help!

[Blackcat99]

Most job interviews are stressful. Being nervous is normal. Even experienced nurses get nervous at job interviews. Just accept the fact that you are going to be very nervous. My attitude is to just do the best I can and then I let "God" worry about the results of the interview. Good luck to you.

[talaxandra]

Know also, that the people interviewing you are aware that you're nervous, and will take that into account

[Jo Anne -OLD]

Originally Posted by cat04

Hi everyone!
I am about to graduate from my nursing school and lately we've been discussing job interviews. Can anybody tell me how to overcome the nervousness and stress that comes with it? (for me anyway) I get anxious just thinking about it! Please help!

Practice,practice,practice
With a friend.
Monster.com has practice interview questions quiz...there is even a section for nurses/healthcare. Check it out.

[mac23]

Practice but don't sound too rehearsed in your interview. I stressed about interviews so much but so far it really was nothing to stress about. I've really only had one interview where I felt like it was a real interview (situational questions, goal questions, how would you rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5). It was fine though, the NM was very easy to communicate with. Good luck!

best advice is to have questions for your interviewer( will i have to work nights, do you self schedule, required holiday work vacation time etc....
(some say don't ask about vacation and holiday time but at one interview I did to find out that all vacation had to be scheduled a year in advance and you could only take 1 day during the summer and one day from november to jan 2nd. That just didn't work for me!)
, how is performace evaluated, how long is orientation, how many preceptors will i have (one place I had 8 different preceptors and that was NOT cool;.....find out as much as you can about the hospital (their mission statement etc) if you've had past experience know something about your previous employer.. I had one interviewer ask how many beds my previous hospital had (thank goodness I knew!) know how you view yourself, how you think others view you (I had a lot of questions like what would someone say about you concerning XYZ,

Talk with the recruiter before to get info about the hospital. One place i worked i had no idea i had to pay for parking until i was sitting in general hospital orientation. I also had no idea parking was as far from the hospital as it was, ask about benefits if they are going to be important to you, uniform policies, ....

again good luck

[rollingstone]

Sounds pretty normal to me. Most of us get nervous anticipating a job interview. Just do it anyway.

[kona2]

I agree with the others. I am about to apply for a new job, and I am a little nervous too. It doesn't matter how experinced you are, we all get the jitters a bit when we apply for a new job. However, you need to remember that you are there to sell yourself! Look over your resume and remember why you would be such a great addition to the team (of your new job). Let your excitement and enthusiasm shine through! Practice interview questions ahead of time so you won't be so nervous. Job interviews can make you nervous, but they are also exciting! Good luck! Hope you land your dream job.