preparing for interview

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 20, 2003

It seems to me that you are on the right track by making a list of likely questions and thinking through possible answers ahead of time.

Here are a few tips for answering them. Please note, though ... I'm in the US and not Australian. However, your list sounds a lot like the types of questions frequently asked here, so I suspect my suggestions should have some relevance.

1. Take a deep breath before answering. Also, in many cases, it's perfectly OK to use a little humor to diffuse the anxiety by smiling and saying something like, "I thought you might ask me something like that." Then, take another deep breath to further relax yourself and begin your answer.

2. Remember that the interview is probably not looking for one specific "right" answer so much as looking for a good answer that demonstrates your ability to think about deep issues, organize your thoughts, and articulate your preferences and values. "Tell me about yourself." and "What interests you about working here," may sound like fluffy questions. However, how people answer such questions reveal a lot.

3. Imagine yourself in the interviewer's position. What type of person would you want to hire? Do your personal qualities and qualifications match that ideal? If yes, include those things in your answer. If not, then maybe this position is not a good for you. Be realistic. If you find yourself feeling the need to exaggerate or lie, then you may need to reassess your suitability for the specific job for which you are interviewing. Taking a job you are not suited for can make you miserable, so take those feelings of doubt seriously.

4. Lead with what you enjoy and where your talents lie. Discuss what gives you pleasure about nursing and the types of nursing activities that give you the most personal satisfaction. Hopefully, the job you are interviewing for will include some of those types of activities.

5. If asked about weaknesses, don't pretend to be perfect, but learn to state your weaknesses in a positive way. For example, instead of saying, "I'm not very good at ..." or "I have no experience at ..." say something like, "I am really looking forward to learning more about ...." or "I would like to improve my skills at ...." Such an answer demonstrates that you recognize your ongoing learning needs and will be a willing orientee.

Well ... this is just a start. I could go on forever and bore you to death. Hopefully, others will post with additional tips.

Good luck,

llg

Nurse Kat · Mar 21, 2003

I graduated last year and had four interviews for grad nurse programs around melbournes cbd and I stressed about the exact same questions!

Telling them why you picked them is easy, why did you? Location? Hospital size? Specialty rotations?

I applied for all large public hospitals with good research programs because thats what I'm interested in. To answer their question i said that I was interested in working for a hospital that can offer me many different clinical areas to rotate through during my career,not just during my grad year.

They want to know that your not just planning to stay for the grad year and then going somewhere else. If you are planning to travel after your grad year tell them but add that you want experience with them cause you plan to continue your career there when you return.

With the other questions, just think about what characteristics they're looking for from staff. Friendly, team worker etc. You can relate these to other work experience you've had outside of uni too. eg. I think that my job during high school at Maccas taught me how to work well in a team environment and I ended up as a team leader or whatever...(fiction, I never worked at maccas but you get the idea).

Whatever you do dont stress, all of the interviews I had were totally friendly and relaxed!!!

Another good idea is to do a little research about the hospitals you've applied to before the interviews. Go to their web sites and surf around, check out their mission statements. They normally list the values and goals of the organisation making it quite easy to work out what they are looking for.

And go to the information sessions...they were great. They all had formal talks (often telling you what they were looking for) and then informal chats. The people available to talk to were often the same people who conducted the interviews and they do recognise faces!

Finally, it may not seem that important but appearance does matter. Dress professionally, do your hair. Our tutor told us that some of her friends were interviewing and hated it when people showed up in jeans etc.

Good luck and enjoy your last year of uni!!!!!