ADVICE NEEDED- Hospital for Special Surgery Interview

Nurses Job Hunt

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Hi all,

I was hoping someone could give me a bit of advice as to interviewing with HSS in NYC for their nurse residency program. I really want to do well and stand out amongst the rest. Apart from wearing a suit, bring multiple copies of my resume, being on time- what other things can you suggest? Is anyone aware of the types of questions asked? I've never had the opportunity to be interviewed by a panel- and this is making me a little more nervous than simply having only one interviewer. Any advice/suggestions would be very much appreciated! Thank you!

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Research the hospital! This definitely shows your interest in the hospital, not just the job. Also, I found that it helped me to have answers to the general questions that they ask such as your strengths/weaknesses, career goals, why nursing, why us...good luck!

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Thanks so much for your reply! I hope to do well! If anyone has any advice specifically regarding the interview process at HSS I would really appreciate it!

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NurseJackieO, I have an interview coming up there also. Did you have your panel interview at HSS? What does that mean even? Who is on the panel besides the nurse recruiter? It sounds intimidating!

I usually do really well with interviews, but a "panel interview" sounds like there are multiple people sitting and staring you up and down!

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I was just watching a piece on the news about interviewing for jobs. One nugget of advice they gave: if asked for your greatest weakness, DON'T say "I'm a perfectionist." Apparently everyone says that.:D

Don't be intimidated by the panel aspect. My first interview ever in nursing was in a panel format, and it is a little unnerving, but if you can at least give the impression that you're relaxed and poised, that WILL make you stand out.

Good luck! Post back after the interview.

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Thanks Horseshoe, Yeah, I had my interview already and it wasn't too bad. I usually am very relaxed at interviews, and I have a lot of experience with public speaking, so I wasn't too nervous. However, what threw me for a loop was that I was in the room w/ three of the nurses on the panel who were interviewing me, and also with two other candidates in the room! so there were three people interviewing, and three people answering the questions.

I really don't think it was a good way to screen applicants, and I would have preferred to be by myself and sitting in front of the panel, but i suppose you can't always choose.

I think it went well but what was difficult was knowing how much to say when answering the questions. Because there are other people in the room, you know that they will be moving onto the next candidate, but you don't know exactly how much time you'll have to answer their questions, or how many questions they'll ask you before moving on to the next candidate. I think i do well with one-on-one interviews also b/c since you're half of the conversation, you have more of a say in where the conversation is going, and i've even had some recruiters tell me up front "You are a very strong candidate" or "i really would like to hire you"... but with the panel, it's just really important to keep the confidence and the optimism b/c while they won't say nice things upfront right away, you don't know what they might be thinking. I think with panels they're just very guarded because they don't want to give you any impressions before they consult with each other about each candidate.

Thanks for the encouragement!

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What kind of questions did they ask you?

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They asked some very common interview questions: about previous work experience, how did you transition into nursing, why HSS, where do you see yourself in 5 years, things like that. It isn't always about the questions and the answers, they just want to see how you answer the questions and get an idea of who YOU are.

Also, having been on the other side of the interview process, you never know what they're looking for so you have to just give them a clear snapshot of who you are and hope for the best.

I haven't heard back yet from HSS but they start orientation in May which is a while from now.

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I had a Panel interview there on Jan 17th as well for the In-Patient Residency program. I too thought it was interesting to interview with other candidates in the room, especially since it was only a half hour time slot! I haven't heard back, but the nurse recruiter told me over 60 people were interviewing for about 10 slots. Did anybody get information on when they would get back to candidates with decisions? It is an amazing hospital with a strong reputation, I would love to work there!

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I don't know when we're supposed to hear back but hopefully soon!

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I also interviewed in the 17th. It makes me feel better to know that there are others who also haven't heard back yet either!

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I'm tempted to call and see if they've made any decisions, but the thing is, I already called last week to follow up on the matter and they said they were still interviewing candidates. I already got like 5 offers and I would like to know at least whether I'm definitely NOT advancing in the process since it's really difficult to know whether I should turn down other offers or not.

BTW, does anyone know how the tuition reimbursement for HSS works? One of the people on the panel interview said that if you're employed, the hospital will pay up to something like $6,000 per semester or something if you go back to school for a master's. I remember she wasn't exactly sure of the figure, so I wonder if anyone out there knows for sure. It is certainly an important factor for me.

Thanks!

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