Experienced NICU nurse Interview Help Please!

[KSep5]

Hello,

I am new to all nurses, but it seems to be a great resource for advice so here goes: I am looking for some tips on interview questions/what to study for an upcoming NICU interview. I have 14 months experience in a level 3 NICU. The catch is that I have never interviewed for a position after having some experience. I have only interviewed as a "new grad." I know for those interviews, it was very basic: "Why NICU," "Where do you see yourself in 5 years," "Strengths/Weaknesses," etc. What should I expect going into an interview when I have a little experience under my belt? Should I still expect personality based questions or mostly questions from experience? After moving from the east coast to the west coast for my husband's job, interviews have been few and far between since most hospitals want more than just 1 year of experience. Needless to say, I really need this one (and I really miss working with the NICU babes.) So please friends, any advice would be greatly appreciated! :)

[nakeia]

Since my first new grad job in the NICU I had four interviews before obtaining my current job which is my first after my new grad job and they all asked the same things:

Tell me about yourself? Tell me about the type of unit(s) you came from? Tell me about the type of patients you have cared for(this is when they usually tell you about what type unit they are and what they offer)? Then they will start to ask questions related to your work ethic such as: tell me a time when you were faced with a difficult patient/parent/coworker, how did you handle it, what was the outcome? Tell me a time when you had a teaching moment with a coworker who had less experience than you (to see if you have good preceptor skills)? Tell me a time when you felt the need to get a second opinion from another/higher up provider to advocate for your patient? Tell me a time in your practice when you had a learning moment that changed the way you did your job (learning from your mistakes)?

Give or take they will be around these type of questions. Nothing knowledge/situational based. They know you know your stuff/how to take care of preemies since you have worked in the area before. They just want to know what type of nurse you are and experience you have had and if you will be a perfect fit into their unit. Hope this helps.

[KSep5]

Thank you Nakeia, That was helpful! I was wondering if it is common to be asked knowledge based situational questions, so it sounds like I should just focus on questions regarding my personality and work ethic. Thanks for the help!