What was that?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I got called for a hospital interview. I was told I had to come in to interview the next day, that that was the only day available, and there was a chance they wouldn't have any other days if I couldn't make it in the next day. I actually had to work, but really wanted the hospital job, so I said, "sure," I'll come in at that time and found someone to switch. I went to the interview, thought I did fairly well, except for a bloop about receiving a gift card from a patient(they asked about a time I went 'above and beyond'), got a rejection email 5 hours later. What the? Why so fast an interview and so fast a rejection? Was it the slip up about the gift card? I didn't explicitly come out and say that I accepted a gift card. I just said I was given a card and gift card. So depressed. This was for a new grad position and I have a year experience. Honesty please.

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Specializes in LTC.

Honestly, they probably did not like the fact that you accepted a gift card from a patient.

If you did not then I would of clarified and stated " I was offered a gift card but I did not accept it because it is unethical"

I really hope you didn't accept the gift card.

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Specializes in Medical/Telemetry. Now ICU.

I accepted flowers from a patient as a student nurse. And was damn proud of it too!

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No, I did not accept it. But, in hindsight, I could see how it would come across like I did as I didn't clarify. I was just trying to prove a point that I go 'above and beyond'. :sniff:

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It was for a new grad position and you already have a years experience?

That was probably the reason.

You don't qualify for the position.

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Specializes in LTC.
No, I did not accept it. But, in hindsight, I could see how it would come across like I did as I didn't clarify. I was just trying to prove a point that I go 'above and beyond'. :sniff:

I'm sorry this happened. Interviews can be hard sometimes and there have been times when I put my foot in my mouth during an interview.

It is a learning experience. Keep looking and hopefully you will find your hospital job. :hug:

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Specializes in M/S, Travel Nursing, Pulmonary.

I've answered a lot of these "blown up interview" questions by putting out there the same little factoid that, for some reason, gets forgotten a lot. I am VERY certain it pertains to you:

HR people have quotas to fills, a number of interviews per posted position, and they must satisfy it. Mind you, this is fact, not my take on things, not my impression...............they are mandated to perform "X" amt. of interviews per position.

Often, during interview #3 or 4 or w/e, they make up their mind about who they want to fill the position with. In truth, the competition from the start was between two or three people that were being considered for the position (often, an internal applicant vs. an external one with more experience or w/e the situation is).

So, we have an HR person who basically has already decided who is going to fill a position, but their "quota" is not fulfilled. What do you do? Oh, I'll just call in a a few more people, give them the impression they are in the running for the position, get the paperwork filed and my job is done.........with the person I picked a long time ago filling the position.

Truth is, this is what happened to you. You were interviewing for the sake of them being able to say they interviewed enough people, not because you were being considered for the position. Hence the "tomorrow is the only day we can do it" approach. LOL, that was the HR person's deadline and they were desperately seeking a few more interviews. The position was filled before you got there.

This may sound harsh and mean, and to a point it is. It is rude/dishonest to interview people when you have no interest in hiring them, but it happens. So what can we do about it? Well, first thing is, realize it happens and don't over think what went on during the interview "Hmmmm.......if answered this or that differently, would I have the job?" The answer is "No", it wasn't your interview skills or the color of your shoes or the firmness of your handshake that kept you from being hired. Don't let this happening to you diminish your confidence and ruin future opportunities.

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As someone who has done some interviewing myself I can tell you that its just like a first date, lol, you know before you are halfway through the interview whether or not you want to hire the person. So be glad that the person got back to you so quickly versus having to wait and stress out about it for a week ( I hate that!). And when you told the person about the gift card, it wasn't whether you accepted it or not that came to my mind, my first questions was did you actually give valid examples of how you went "above and beyond", not just "my patients love me, one even tried to give me a gift card one time". When you are being interviewed and you get a question like that, the best thing to do is give a specific example and add details on what you learned from that particular situation, how it made you stronger/a better nurse. Especially when they ask you something like (that dreaded question!) "what are your weaknesses" still give an example of a situation you went through and where you saw your weak points, then turn it around and tell them about how you recognized these weak points, what you did to improve yourself (read a book, internet research, asked your manager for advice, etc) and then give an example of another situation that came up where you utilzed your improvement. Believe me, behavariol based questions are EXHAUSTING! Try being interviewed by 13 people at the same time all sitting in a circle around you (aced that interview!). But by giving these kind of examples an interviewer can actually get a real picture in their head of what you will be like on the job, they are way more likely to remember you and compare you to other people being interviewed (in a good way) and your examples stick in there head more when they are considering who to hire.

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Specializes in Hospice / Psych / RNAC.

It's really simple; they realized you had 1 year experience. No new grad programs take experienced RNs.

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As a follow up, I had another interview today with a different hospital (same parent company) and was offered the job on the spot. :D I'm tickled. It is in my area of expertise, rehab. Thank you all so much for your feedback. The first interview put a damper in my spirits, but now I have a job with a great hospital and team!

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I've answered a lot of these "blown up interview" questions by putting out there the same little factoid that, for some reason, gets forgotten a lot. I am VERY certain it pertains to you:

HR people have quotas to fills, a number of interviews per posted position, and they must satisfy it. Mind you, this is fact, not my take on things, not my impression...............they are mandated to perform "X" amt. of interviews per position.

Often, during interview #3 or 4 or w/e, they make up their mind about who they want to fill the position with. In truth, the competition from the start was between two or three people that were being considered for the position (often, an internal applicant vs. an external one with more experience or w/e the situation is).

So, we have an HR person who basically has already decided who is going to fill a position, but their "quota" is not fulfilled. What do you do? Oh, I'll just call in a a few more people, give them the impression they are in the running for the position, get the paperwork filed and my job is done.........with the person I picked a long time ago filling the position.

Truth is, this is what happened to you. You were interviewing for the sake of them being able to say they interviewed enough people, not because you were being considered for the position. Hence the "tomorrow is the only day we can do it" approach. LOL, that was the HR person's deadline and they were desperately seeking a few more interviews. The position was filled before you got there.

This may sound harsh and mean, and to a point it is. It is rude/dishonest to interview people when you have no interest in hiring them, but it happens. So what can we do about it? Well, first thing is, realize it happens and don't over think what went on during the interview "Hmmmm.......if answered this or that differently, would I have the job?" The answer is "No", it wasn't your interview skills or the color of your shoes or the firmness of your handshake that kept you from being hired. Don't let this happening to you diminish your confidence and ruin future opportunities.

Why are they required to fill quotas? I don't see the point, other than sadism.

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OP, that's because it's not about hiring the best person, it's about hiring who you are told to hire by certain folks. They must appear to be EEOC. All hospitals do it. So they often call ya to interview just as a "body" so they can say they did consider a variety of applicants...

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