job interview yesterday? bad sign?

[Meg86an]

I had a job interview yesterday with the NM of the floor. It was very brief and felt more like a conversation. Not at all what I expected. (I am a new grad and this was my first interview) She kept selling me on the institution and why their ortho floor is better than others in the area. (How they do surger). She asked if I had interviewed elsewhere I said no. She asked what shift I preferred. I said either and she said they needed nights. (which im perfectly ok with) She talked about orientation and kept saying when youre done orientation.. (talking in the future tense). She mentioned I'd start in March or April if hired. (I still need to take NCLEX) At the end of the interview she asked me if id like to shadow a nurse that day. I said yes. I wasnt aware Id be doing this so I was in business clothes which was ok. The nurse I shadowed with was great. I asked some questions but without being annoying. When I returned to the NM she asked how it was, I said great. She walked me to the elevator and didnt say when Id hear. I know I should have asked now but as my first interview I didnt know if it was rude. I plan on dropping a thank you card in the mail today but because the NM was so hard to read idk what my chances are. Does it sound bad?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

From the way you describe it, I would venture to say that this manager is not a very skilled interviewer (was that politically correct enough?) When I teach new managers, I always tell them to maintain an ongoing awareness during the interview.. and if they are talking more than the applicant, they're not doing it right. My organization uses a Behavioral Interviewing model, which does impose some structure to the process. The interviewer should be asking questions designed to elicit information which reveals your qualifications vis a vis the job in question. They should be consistent - asking all candidates the same things - so that they can arrive at an objective ranking to determine the 'top' candidate.

New grad interviews are usually a bit different. We don't expect you to come with ready-made clinical skills, but there are other important characteristics such as: problem-solving ability, customer service skills, initiative, etc. that can be explored.

It seems as though you left a favorable impression. I hope you get that job. Keep us posted on your progress.

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

Including you in furture plans sounds like a good sign to me. I interviewed with an ER NM (ER Tech) and the whole time he said things like "you will meet with this person" and "Your schedule will look like this" (Including me). I interviewed on an ICU unit and it went more like "Our techs do this and that"(not including me) and didn't receive an offer.

[Meg86an]

I guess I keep thinking why would they waste my time or theirs having me shadow if they weren't interested. Who knows

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

It's standard at my hospital to let all interviewees shadow whether they plan on offering or not. It's more like a 15-30 minute "here's the unit, this is so-and-so, have any questions" kind of thing. They do this for almost all potential employees except the float pool staff.

[Meg86an]

Oops I wasn't done.

?????

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

?????

Lol. I changed it. I posted mid-sentence, then I went back and edited.

[Meg86an]

Lol ok thank you! So I guess a 2 hour shadow could mean nothing