Help! interview advice

In an interview situation, I am looking for nurses who are well-spoken and articulate, who listen as well as they speak, who seem confident in their abilities and knowledge without being arrogant, who have a well-organized and professional-looking resume, who have some problem-solving skills and are self-motivated, who seem comfortable in both team and autonomous work scenarios.

Yes, there is a nursing shortage, but it does not affect all institutions and companies equally in all areas. Most places are not just going to hire a warm body with a license; you still have to go to an interview with the intent of putting your best foot forward and making the best, most professional impression possible.

If you're afraid that you don't have a great-looking resume or aren't sure how to dress for or act in an interview, there are thousands of resources online and at your local library. I highly recommmend doing some research before your next interview. If you find out some things you don't know, you can make corrections before applying for the next job; and if you find out you're doing everything right, that may give you the extra shot of confidence you need in your next interview. Good luck!

This is a common problem that I see as well. Because of the nursing shortage, most nurses do not take the interviewing/resume writing process nearly as seriously as they should. I have seen so many nurses come into interviews with just jeans, and a poor attitude on their shoulder that it makes your head spin.

Despite the fact that there are a huge number of openings you can bet your bottom dollar that the good jobs (i.e. day shift M-F) are going to have a fair amount of applicants. For that reason you need to be a fair amount more prepared than the average nurse who is looking.

I would recommend looking up interview tips and practice some of the most common questions (like "what is your greatest weakness?") with your friends. Some good sites to find this type of information can be found below:

http://resume.monster.com/
http://interview.monster.com/
http://www.hotjobs.com/htdocs/tools/index.html
http://www.dynamicrecruiting.com/Interviews.htm
http://www.dynamicrecruiting.com/Resumes.htm

Go into the interview itself, prepared, dressed up and with a good attitude. Most of all answer the interviewers questions with statements that pertain to how you will be able to help them. All to many people cut their own throats in an interview situation by talking about things that are detrimental to getting a job, such as how they "don't get along with management" or how they are "just using this as a stepping stone till something better comes along". It is amazing how often someone will let something slip in an interview situation that kills his or her chances of landing a job. Watch out for traps like these and approach the job hunt more prepared than others who are in the market and soon you will find yourself trying to decide which job to take vs. wondering why you are not getting any call backs.