Northwestern Memorial Hospital Interview

U.S.A. Illinois

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nikisheth

6 Posts

Hi Everyone,

I have an interview with HR via phone tomm. Can anyone give me any advice? I am a RN from CA.

Hi,

Presently , I have worked at NMH for over 15 years ,and this hospital loves new grads,and the more you look like a little school girl with pigtails the better.Really ! I believe it is the young healthy look they want to put out to the public and cheaper to pay doesn't hurt either.Also, new grads are hired in so many specialty areas with so much less orientation-you know budget cuts. After reading about the present interview process on this post - I was left in disbelief. Way back when, potential staff nurses never went through so much to get hired. Wow ! Good luck to all !

Specializes in Emergency.

What about nurses with 2+ years experience? I will be moving this summer and wondering what the job market is like. (Im an Emergency RN)

leighleigh

2 Posts

I just had the worst experience of my life interviewing at Northwestern. I've been an RN for 4 years, held full-time and casual positions in a few different specialty areas, and have always enjoyed interviews and feel I interview fairly well.

Initially, I submitted my online application and heard back very quickly from HR, who set up a phone interview.The phone interview went well and all of the questions were appropriate and legal. The HR person, in her last demonstration of competence, said she would arrange an in-person interview with the manager.

The whole process went downhill from here. The HR Senior Recruiter took over a month to set up my interview. She did not return phone calls or emails in that time. Then, about 6 weeks later, she reached out to me with urgency to set up my interview. I had a bad feeling and had heard negative feedback from other nurses about Northwestern, but against my better judgement, I agreed to an interview.

I came in and met with the manager and a clinical coordinator on the Psych unit. All went well and they seemed really interested. The clinical coordinator was very nice. The manager was one of those nurses who was clearly from the old school, but was polite and professional. Although she did make it clear that cost was an important factor when decisions were made at Northwestern. I thought she was a bit odd, but it's psych, so you do get some interesting personality types (which is usually a good thing).

Shortly after, I received an email informing me they would like me to come back in "to meet with the staff nurses." I came back in and was led into a room where I sat down with one older nurse, who was one of the day shift coordinators. After asking me some typical formal interview questions (which took me a little off gaurd, as I thought I was coming in to meet the staff nurses), she started talking about the job and the culture at Northwestern. This is when it got really weird. She kept repeating "This is Northwestern. They are watching everything you do, everything you say, all of the time." She started trashing other employees, but mostly criticizing how they dressed. It was really awkward. While speaking ill of other nurses, doctors and even a social worker, she touted how amazing Northwestern was and acted like I should feel so privileged if hired.

Then, she asked me to stand up. She looked me up and down and examined my hands. Then she said,"Your hair, jewelry, pants, and make-up are perfect. You should be wearing a jacket and you have a couple of snow spots of your shoes. People will see that" and I can't remember her exact words from here but she said something about how people judge what kind of person you are based on your shoes. Now, I'm not a model, but most people would consider me a relatively attractive and put together woman in her late 20s. I dress pretty conservatively and preppy and have never been criticized in this area. It's not like I showed up looking sloppy. I was wearing khaki suit pants and a sweater. I didn't dress as formally as I would have if I had known it was another round of interviewing. Anyway, the whole thing was a nightmare, but I stayed calm, tried to respond appropriately and smiled a lot.

I figured after all of this I would at least be offered a job, even though I was considering turning it down. You can imagine how frustrating it was when the HR recruiter got back to me (as usual, I had to reach out to her after not hearing back when they said I would). She told me they were really looking for someone that was "the perfect fit."

I should have listened to my gut, rather than wasting my time with Northwestern. I'm still debating what to do about this particularly unprofessional woman who critiqued my appearance. It was a degrading experience. I felt that was inappropriate, unprofessional, and would never have been done to a male interviewing for a job. However, as my friends have told me, I probably dodged a bullet on this one.

Deepinthegame

49 Posts

Yeah,I realize that this is subjective,but everywhere I have been when working with " Psych" has been weird.

MrChicagoRN, RN

2,597 Posts

Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
Yeah,I realize that this is subjective,but everywhere I have been when working with " Psych" has been weird.

that's called projection! ;)

TriciaJ, RN

4,328 Posts

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

Of course you weren't a perfect fit; you aren't weird. Yes, you did dodge a bullet, but I don't think you wasted your time. At least you know for sure now what kind of workplace it would be.

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