bad interview

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I went for a labor and delivery interview. I graduated and passed my nclex over a year ago, but I Didn't apply till now. The interviewer knew this before selecting me for an interview. So when I went she introduced me to the floor nurses and told me that "if the interview goes well I can meet them...or maybe NOT." She said this in an angry tone. She didn't ask me any interview questions other than why I didn't start nursing right away or do something physical to keep up to date. She was yelling at me the whole time, just so upset. She didn't like any of my responses. All of her questions were rhetorical and were rapid fire. I left so confused as to why she took the time to interview me knowing my background already...just to blow up in my face about it. Is this typical for interviews? Will I be haunted by not starting right away in every interview. If she wasn't happy she could of ended the interview sooner and not have been shouting at me. I never ever would have guessed my "interview" could have turned out so bad.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

I can't speak to the interviewer's issues, but to your question, yes, you made a huge mistake in not pursuing a nursing job as soon as you passed NCLEX.

What was your reason?

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

She YELLED at you? I'm sorry, I have a really hard time believing it went down exactly like you say. And if it did, then do you really want to work for such a person (that was rhetorical, the answer is: no, you do not)?

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My grandma and I lived together. She had a stroke and I was faced with a lot of new challenges from that. Eventually my aunt took care of her since she was paralyzed. I moved out. Renovated the house. And put it to rent out to help pay the medical bills. Life happens, but I guess my answer just infuriated her.

I also don't understand why that is hard to believe that she yelled at me?

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I also don't understand why that is hard to believe that she yelled at me?

Because I am a reasonable person and I go under the assumption that most other people are relatively reasonable as well, and YELLING at an applicant during an interview is not the actions of a person who has even a modicum of reasonableness.

Further, I know that it's human nature, when someone is sharing a story of being wronged, they typically view everything through their own filter, and that filter often leads to misinterpretation and exaggeration.

Occam's Razor leads me to conclude that the latter is a far more likely scenario than the former. Nevertheless, I am sorry you had such a bad experience. Again I will state the obvious, she does not sound like someone you would want to work for.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
My grandma and I lived together. She had a stroke and I was faced with a lot of new challenges from that. Eventually my aunt took care of her since she was paralyzed. I moved out. Renovated the house. And put it to rent out to help pay the medical bills. Life happens, but I guess my answer just infuriated her.

I also don't understand why that is hard to believe that she yelled at me?

You use of the extremely emotionally charged language such as what I bolded above is why.

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Dear c6ndy012,

I believe you about what happened in the interview and it is highly concerning that the interviewer presented abusive behaviour. I can also see that one negative staff member can negatively impact the care for patients, so that is highly concerning. The interviewer was clearly unprofessional and she should be ashamed of herself. Yelling is also a form of harassment. I am really sorry to hear that you have experienced this but be thankful that she is not your boss; however, she should be reported because it can contribute to the endangerment of patient safety as well as the well-being of the staff. A healthy well-being and a healthy environment is extremely important when caring for others because they depend on nurses and they trust nurses to care for them.

I have experienced something similar, but I was applying for a retail job when I was younger and the manager who interviewed me was extremely rude and she was also yelling at me. So I walked away and not pursue the job. Looking back at that situation, I wished I took my resume back from her, tell her that her behaviour was unacceptable, and report her. I learned from that experience, so when it happens again, I know what to do, and that is to stand up for myself in a respectful manner and report the behavior.

Please do not feel bad for not pursuing a job right after writing the NCLEX Exam. Life happens, and we all walk different paths and learn meaningful things along the way. You are smart and passed that NCLEX, you have achieved something great and you should be proud of yourself! You deserve so much to practice your care and an opportunity will come into your path soon. Please do not give up and promote what a nurse truly is which is trustworthy, respectful, compassionate, caring, empathetic, and professional.

We all need to collaborate to change the negative healthcare environment into a positive healthcare environment. Why? Because a positive healthcare environment enhance the well-being of staff, patients, and visitors. It enhances quality patient care.

I hope this helps!

Yours truly,

SapphireLight

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You use of the extremely emotionally charged language such as what I bolded above is why.

meanmaryjean,

Yelling is a form of harassment and it is not okay. The interviewer was unprofessional and had no right to yell at the interviewee at all!

Another concern is that the interviewer did not show any remorse, empathy, care, and compassion when the interviewee expressed a very sensitive and personal event that happened in life which delayed getting a job after writing the NCLEX. Life happens, and everybody walk different paths to go through their own meaning of life.

Would you trust the interviewer who yelled and showed lack of empathy to be your nurse or to even be in healthcare? No, I don't think so.

That unprofessional and abusive behaviour should be documented and reported because it could be affecting other staff and patient safety. One negative person can bring a whole team down and jeopardize care, and that is a huge concern! Something must be done to correct this!

SapphireLight

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Because I am a reasonable person and I go under the assumption that most other people are relatively reasonable as well, and YELLING at an applicant during an interview is not the actions of a person who has even a modicum of reasonableness.

what?!

you're a nurse

and you expect the average person to express a reasonable level of reason??

now thats rich.

i think if nursing has taught me anything its that the average person is astonishingly unreasonable and slightly out of touch with reality to some degree.

i had a car salesman yell at me before, because we had a miscommunication about the price of a vehicle i was looking to purchase. and this is no exaggeration. he was full blown yelling. people were looking at us from all across the showroom. this escalated to the point where i stormed off outside, and he followed me outside to continue arguing. this was a salesman. someone who wanted to sell me something.

THIS is how "reasonable" people can be bahaha

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
meanmaryjean,

Yelling is a form of harassment and it is not okay. The interviewer was unprofessional and had no right to yell at the interviewee at all!

Another concern is that the interviewer did not show any remorse, empathy, care, and compassion when the interviewee expressed a very sensitive and personal event that happened in life which delayed getting a job after writing the NCLEX. Life happens, and everybody walk different paths to go through their own meaning of life.

Would you trust the interviewer who yelled and showed lack of empathy to be your nurse or to even be in healthcare? No, I don't think so.

That unprofessional and abusive behaviour should be documented and reported because it could be affecting other staff and patient safety. One negative person can bring a whole team down and jeopardize care, and that is a huge concern! Something must be done to correct this!

SapphireLight

We only have one side of this story. Keep that in mind..

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Specializes in Women’s Health.
We only have one side of this story. Keep that in mind..

I'm sorry but I have to agree with the other posters. Your response to the OP is typical of that when a person finds the courage to come forward and report abuse. It's seems like the norm in our culture to blame the victim (either they must not be telling the whole story or they did something to provoke the abuser). That's not ok and that's why so many people (women and men) stay quite when they are harassed or abused both at home or in the work place. I totally believe that the interviewer could have yelled at her. There are millions of people who mistreat, abuse, steal, and even murder so why is it such a big leap to believe that someone could have taken out their frustrations on the unsuspecting OP?

To the OP, I also had a gap between me passing my NCLEX and when I started working. I'm sorry for your experience but realize the interviewer is the one with the issues, not you. Don't give up and keep applying! I was able to land an L&D job a year after passing my NCLEX. I was honest with the interview panel about having a baby and waiting until I was ready to dedicate the time and focus necessary to be successful in the position. Good luck!

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Hello,

I am sorry to hear about your experience, some people can act like turkeys! Whewww who would want that position anyway? At least you found out upfront the type of people you may be working with! I am more than positive that you WILL find another position as a nurse somewhere. Good job putting your family first, as a career can not compare to the worth of the loving sacrifice you made for your loved one! Good luck and I hope you find a great job that you love! :)

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