How to NOT interview for your RN/LPN job!

[musicianRN]

I just got finished with round 3 of the most frustrating interviews! I was an LPN for 15 years before I went back to school for my RN. I am currently in training for management so I have been "forced" to endure the interview process. I would hope that a nurse that was interviewing for our position would read this, but if not, I have no problem trying to help other LPN's be better or RN's suffer less.

What NOT to do:

Do NOT show up late unless you have called and told me why...and it better be good. All I can think is how many times will this happen when they are employed.

Do NOT show up looking like a hooker. If you wear a skirt, wear one that is longer than knee length and make sure you can walk in it. I am not interested in how sexy you can look. If you wear pants, make sure they are dress pants...I don't want to see your khaki's from 9th grade. If any of your clothes are tight...leave them at home. I remember one nurse who's clothes were too tight and I felt like I was watching her slowly suffocate during the interview. Also NO jeans....EVER...period!!! I had several nurses who wore scrubs and that was so much better than ill fitting, crazy looking outfits. However they were coming to or going to their regular job. If someone who was unemployed showed up in scrubs it would seem a little strange.

Do NOT come with hair that is not a natural color and piercings anywhere but your ears. It doesn't bother me, but my patients will call and say I want to talk to the nurse but not the one with blue hair, and nose rings...she looks freaky and made my baby cry. Plus if I hire you, you will have a dress code that will say no piercings, or unnatural hair color...might as well start now.

Do NOT wear stiletto heels. I love shoes as much as any woman, but I have rarely seen someone who could wear stiletto heels and walk normally. No flip flops or sandals....EVER!

Do NOT show me your tattoos. I personally don't mind them but some of my patients will not like them...so keep them covered. Speaking of covered...I don't want to see your boobs either....check your cleavage before you leave home.

Do NOT come with greasy hair, no make up, un-brushed hair or wearing pajamas. I should not even have to type that.

Do NOT chew gum, play with your hands, play with stuff on my desk, pick at the holes in your jeans, mess with your hair, avoid eye contact or look like a deer in the headlights when I talk to you. I know you are nervous and I understand, I can deal with that, but freaked out or fidgety sends up red flags.

Do NOT tell me what I want to hear....tell me the truth. Most interviewers can tell when you have practiced way to much. I always think...how many interviews has this person had without a job offer?

Do NOT make up stuff....why would anyone say they can do something then set themselves up for failure??? I would much rather you say. I have never done that, I have watched/seen/heard about but I personally have not done it. Then tell me how you are willing to learn and how you are a fast learner with an example (everyone is a fast learner in my interviews)

Do NOT complain about the problems you had in your previous job. All I see is you in my office every day whining or everyone else in there whining about you.

Do NOT tell me how wonderful you are. Tell me what things you do well and have an example to back it up.....everyone does everything well in my interviews.

Do NOT come unprepared. Go on our website and see what we are about. If I see that you have not bothered to care about us, I will assume you want a job and those are offered at other places. We are here for our patients and while the paycheck is awesome and expected, we are not here for that primarily. Find out what kind of things you might be expected to do in a setting like ours and start learning about them and then tell me about how you are brushing up on such and such because you know we probably do a lot of that. I am impressed when someone knows they don't know and are willing to remedy that and have taken the initiative to learn.

What to do.....come with a confident attitude and an awareness of yourself, your skills and your abilities. Come with a smile. Its pretty simple.....or at least I thought it was.

BTW...all of the do NOT's came from things that actually happened in these interviews. It made me ashamed of the nursing profession and seriously worried about the caliber of people the schools are turning out.

I am hoping other managers will add to this thread!

[trauma_lama, BSN]

Same here.... Makes me wonder if the OP hit a little too close to home for some of them

YUP. That's what I'm thinking too. Absurd and honestly quite sad that people could be unaware and in denial of the fact that looking nice DOES MATTER. Its not about being pretty or handsome, it's about looking like you give a rat's bum about the way you present yourself and taking pride in yourself. deurrrrrrrrr:idea:

[DaniannaRN, ASN, BSN]

I didn't read all the responses so if some one else covered this, sorry. But as a nurse with tattoos and piercings, I don't see what that has to do with my abilities as an RN. I have 4 visible tats- 1 on each hand, 1 on my left upper arm, and 1 on my right lower arm. I also have a nose piercing and tongue piercing. One can't see my tongue ring unless they are staring inside my mouth, which they shouldn't be. If I were to cover my tats on my hands because co-workers or managers are offended, I would have to wear gloves all day!

I have never had a negative comment made to me or about me by a patient because of my tats and piercings. Majority of my patients liked them, especially older ones who were not able to get their own. I think it boils down to the biases of the hiring manager. Luckily for me, I've never come across those types.

The judgements based on a nurse's appearance (by colleagues) is one of the billions of reasons why I'm happy to be out of patient care.

I do agree with the OP's other points though. Despite my tats and piercings, I was part of a hiring team at one job. The things I would see and hear scared me.

[DebanamRN, MSN, RN]

I still wear pantyhose to interviews.

[Amymit]

I have one thing to add to this list...do NOT come into an interview smelling of SMOKE!!!! I do understand that people smoke and what they do in their time is fine, but working around any patient who is ill and smelling smoke is not pleasant! I grew up in a home with smoking parents, I really didn't like it and always tried to 'cover' the smoke smell with perfume. I now know that did nothing other than make me smell like a smokey flower! I don't know what those who smoke in their homes should do, but figure out a way to lose the smoke smell for an interview!

As far as the rest of the advice, I think that it is right on the nose. I managed a retail store that hired teenagers and I held them to the same standards. I would not hire someone who came in to ask for an application looking like they had just come in from a day at the beach. I continued to hold them to those standards once they were hired. I've had many of these teens thank me for teaching them to always look their best when they come to work. I understand the industries are different, but it is always best to portray self confidence and professionalism with your appearance and dress no matter where you are interviewing!

[dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN]

Our second to last class in our senior year of nursing school was basically entitled "don't dress like a hooker when you go to your job interview." I guess our instructor had gone to a conference with some nurse manager types and one had actually pulled her aside to say that one of the students graduating from the school that she taught at had come to a job interview very inappropriately dressed.

It seems like the biggest problem among my generation and the younger-ish types is that they can't differentiate club wear from business wear. Not even stuff that's incredibly overtly sexual. But showing up in a pair of tight black leather pants and the heavily sequined shirt that they bought off the "dressy" side of Forever 21.

On the other hand, I've worn my "fifth grade khakis" :lol: and an appropriately nice top to a job interview. I also have a nasty habit of fiddling with my wedding/engagement rings when I'm nervous. I've mastered the art of doing it discretely, mostly because the only other viable option is sitting on my hands through the entire interview and I think that looks even weirder.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

wow...i have to say...that it must be nice to be soooo perfect! people go into this profession because they care, and maybe your superiors need to reassess your position. i understand, as most ppl do, that you need to show up on time and look professional; however, maybe ...since your so perfect...you could show some of these, "hookers", how they can do better next time! maybe teaching, or encouraging them, (an important part of our jobs as nurses) would be more productive. we all come from different walks of life, with different upbringings, and experiences! this career is tough enough, without managers who have no compassion or drive to make this world a better place! you need to re-read your letter, because you sound like a very bitter, angry person, who...i am happy to say...works in a back office and won't be caring for my loved one! colleen b. r.n.

i didn't think the original poster sounded angry and bitter . . . venting, perhaps, which is one of the functions of this forum. but not bitter. i don't understand why so many seem to have problems with the perfectly reasonable suggestions the op put forth. and now you're dragging compassion into this? compassion has nothing to do with this discussion, and i'm beginning to think it's a dirty word that shouldn't even be brought up on this forum, since all we seem to do with the word is bludgeon each other over the other's supposed lack of it.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i am a woman, i do not wear makeup, and haven't for many, many years. you are setting yourself up for a lawsuit if you do not hire a woman solely because she is not wearing makeup. do you require makeup of the male nurses you employ? the fact that you are a woman saying this is deeply disturbing.

i don't think the point was to force every female applicant to wear makeup. i think the point was to suggest that everyone look well-groomed. if you're gorgeous without it, you don't need to wear it. if, like me, you look like the walking dead without it, perhaps you should wear it to your interview in the interest of putting your best foot forward.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

when i mentioned the water bottle, i suggested it to be used while waiting for the interview in the hallway or outside. i would never drink it while in the interview. i would never chew gum in the interview either.

several interviews they actually offered me water but i still declined. i can drink when i'm out of that room.

i guess i'm with you -- i don't understand why it's so completely out of the question to have a dry mouth for the half hour or so you're in the interview. just deal with it.

of course if everyone thinks it's ok to swill water and chomp on gum during and interview, i'm going to look like a much better candidate in comparison, so go ahead you'll. make me look good!

[bookworm78910]

In school, one of our instructors advised us to go to job interviews dressed like the best dressed person you would expect to see in a clinical setting. So, a dress shirt, tie slacks and jacket with dress shoes would be appropriate for most settings.

[cstatic]

I think people sometimes have not been taught the difference between dressing up, dressing sexy, and dressing professionally.

[Epic_RN]

My school had mock interviews in front of a panel made up of fellow students. Everyone had the opportunity to be both on a panel and the person being interviewed. It was a definite eye opener for us on both sides of the table. The panel wrote pros and cons regarding eye contact, dress, appearance, content, resume, examples and research of the "chosen" hospital. The panel then chose two candidates to offer "positions" to. That was so helpful when we started interviewing for actual positions the next month! I think that is probably why local hospitals hired over 80% of my graduating class before we even actually graduated. More schools should have this, IMHO.

[nursingj]

I will be going into a job interview this week, thanks for the tips. I like to think of myself as a professional and go to interviews educated and looking professional. I was fired from my last job, how do I handle that part of the interview?