I am a recent grad (May 2015) and I passed my NCLEX in June. I have been working for hospital "X" as a nursing assistant for 2 1/2 years. Prior to passing the NCLEX I had contacted the nurse recruiter for hospital "X" to inquire about applying for position as an RN. After scheduling the NCLEX she met with me for interview #1 and it went well. She then scheduled me for a second interview with a nurse manager and said as long as everything goes well then I should start in August!
So: 2nd interview comes around. The nurse manager who interviewed me seemed pretty nice.....
We sat down in the conference room and she opened my file the nursing recruiter had given her and for some reason my resume was not included in the folder. She asked if I had a copy on me and I stupidly didn't bring one because I assumed the nurse recruiter put it in my file which was the case when I interviewed for hospital "X" the first time when I applied for the nursing assistant position 2 1/2 years ago. The nurse manager said it wasn't a big deal and we continued with the interview.
I felt that the interview went pretty well aside from a few questions. Some questions were "How do you feel about continuing education" and "How do you feel about certifications".
I said I'm definitely open to continuing education if my job called for it although I wasn't sure at this time when and in what I would continue my nursing education/go back for my masters. She said "its not about if the job calls for it, its kind of an expectation" almost in a rude tone. I said "well I am open to going back to school for my masters eventually." She then was saying how nurses are life-long learners as if I said something that made it seem like I wasn't interested in continuing my education? I responded by saying "I knew going into the nursing profession that nurses are life-long learners and continuing education is expected to always learn and keep on top of the changing medical profession etc..."
The next question was about certification. She literally asked "Do you know what certifications are?" Again in a rude way, as if I am a moron and don't know what certifications are. I said "Yes, I am aware of certifications." She said "how do you feel about certifications?" I told her I definitely plan on becoming certified in areas that relate to the field of nursing I go into which is hopefully cardiac (since hospital X is a cardiac hospital). She says "So you are saying you would only get certifications in something you are interested in?" again in a very rude tone and she had a confused look on her face when asking that. I said "Yes, well for example: if I am not on an oncology floor than there is no need to become a certified oncology nurse. I will get certifications that will allow me to better myself in the career field that I am in."
She also asked me if I attend nursing conferences...... I honestly said I haven't because I have just finished school and have been studying for the NCLEX but I plan on attending in the future.
Lastly, she asked what nursing journals I read.... again, as if I have HAD THE TIME to read nursing journals.... I just BS-ed and said I haven't been reading journals but I am very into the American Heart Association and now that I am done with school I plan on becoming a member of the AHA as I go onto their website and read articles often etc.....
At the very end of the interview she asked if I had any vacations planned and if I prefer day or night shifts, and then asked if I had any questions and after I asked her 2 questions: one of which was about what happens next/best way to follow up. She said "well we still have other applicants to go through and we still want to talk to the managers on your unit, then you will be hearing from nursing recruitment once we make our decision."
So after walking out of the conference room she joked and said "so I guess I don't need to show you out?" (since I work there already), we laughed and shook hands, I thanked her for taking the time to meet with me and that was it.
My red flags for this interview:
I didn't bring a copy of my resume (stupidly assumed the nursing recruiter would include it in the folder she gave the nurse manager, plus I had already gone over my resume with the recruiter but I should have taken it!!!!! UGH!)
The questions on continuing education, certifications, nursing journals and nursing conferences: I don't think she liked my answers.
The icing on the cake: When I went to work later that night and told one of the nurses on my unit the nurse manager who interviewed me, she told me that this manager is "the devil" and is a horrible mean person and that she is sorry for me and she will pray for me that I get the job (GEE THANKS THAT MAKES ME FEEL GREAT!)
ALSO: Another nurse told me that she was a nursing assistant at hospital "X" for 3 years and she interviewed with the same nurse manager and was rejected because the nurse manager claimed that "she was not enthusiastic enough about the nursing profession", so the nurse had to wait 6 months to re-apply.
This is making me crazy and I am thinking I failed this second interview miserably. I can totally see this nurse manager saying I am not enthusiastic about nursing because I don't read nursing journals or attend conferences or that I don't seem interested about continuing education (all BS...) To make matters worse I have to wait until July 16th to hear an answer because the nursing recruiter is on vacation until then. It makes me upset to think I didn't get this job, meanwhile I graduated with a 3.91GPA and had my current nurse manager endorse me along with references from two assistant nurse managers and two nurses on my unit. I also have BLS, ACLS, and feel as if I am MORE than qualified to work at this hospital especially after seeing some of the new grads they end up hiring.
As of right now I am considering this interview a loss especially after when the nurses on my unit told me about the manager who interviewed me. I feel like it is a shame to miss out on this job opportunity after working at hospital "X" for 2 1/2 years and having a good academic record as well as references from my own nurse managers/ANMs/RNs on my unit. After this interview I came home and sent out 20+ applications to other hospitals. Hospital "X" was my first choice, and it saddens me that it only takes one woman's opinion even after all the qualifications and references I had to ruin my chance although I can't help but feel I ruined this interview for myself.
