Advice for interviews?

[noemi04]

I was invited to a hiring event at a local hospital. I've been looking around the net and brushing up on disease processes. Just wanted to know if anyone had any advice about interviewing or what I should bring other than my resume?

[llg, PhD, RN]

Here are a couple of big ones off the top of my head.

1. Show an interest in the job and in the type of patient you would be caring for if you were to be hired. Ask about the patients, their common needs, what resources are available for them, etc. Too many applicants just focus on "What does the hospital have for ME?" Hiring managers want to hire people who actually care about and want to work with their particular patient populations.

2. Don't lie -- and don't give answers that sound too reheorificed and made up. Be prepared to answer follow-up questions based on your responses. It's how experienced interviewers catch people lying -- or at least giving insincere answers. For example, when asked about a weakness, don't say "I am too perfect" because we all know that is a b.s. answer from someone who is either hiding something or who has no true insight into their own strengths and weaknesses. A few simply follow-up questions exposes that.

3. Do your homework about the facility and the job in general. It shows you care and that you are the type of person who does their homework.

4. Don't act as if this job is just a stepping stone on the way to other work that you really want to do. Again, hiring managers want to hire people who actually want the job and plan to stay in it for a while if they are lucky enough to get it.

Good luck.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

people wll ask about strengths and weaknesses. A weakness could be that you are a new grad and do not have a lot of experience yet (but are willig to learn!), or you have experience, but not in this area, or you have exp. in this area, but not in a long time.

Strengths are the opposite.

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

Interviews ask behavioral type questions.

Such as tell us about a time you had to lead a group

What did you do when people did not respond how you wanted

We are looking for your communication style and how well you work with others

Be prepared to give examples of teamwork, as a new grad pull from your life experiences

I interviewed a new grad and when it came to the teamwork questions she gave a very weak answer relating to nursing school, but her resume showed she was the captain of her universities soccer team....um hoping to hear about how as captain you pulled you team together.

Other types of questions would be related to customer service

How you give and receive positive and negative feedback

How do you handle conflict with coworkers

Show that you want to work there

[BabyNurse14]

I agree with llg but I don't think there's anything wrong with asking about future growth within the company and availability for floating to other units...you want to show that you want to learn as much as possible. At this point...act like a sponge soaking up as much information as possible.